Eleven Tips to Beat the Holiday Blues

Nov. 26, 2010 - PRLog -- Eleven Tips to Beat the Holiday Blues

1. Please yourself first.   Recognize that it is impossible to “perfectly please.”  You have much more control over pleasing yourself than another.  Build your holiday shopping list around making, going to stores, and buying presents that you enjoy and make you happy during the act of gifting.  For example, if you enjoy cooking and baking, make homemade cookies and cakes a staple of your gift giving.

2. Recognize that additional time demands are real.  Cut yourself some slack and send out the holiday card and annual letter on New Years.   Prioritize your time and focus on the children or others that come first.  You don’t have to attend every party.

3. Focus on what the holiday spirit is really about.  Regardless of your religious affiliation it is a time to celebrate such things as the family being together and the joy of new beginnings.  These spiritual experiences do not require money, high expectations, pleasing, or even a lot of extra time.  They do require a focus on the here-and-now pleasure of being with the children, parents and other friends and family.  A homemade gift is fun to do and much remembered.

4. Recognize that grief reactions will be accentuated, but rather than focusing on the loss, experience the joy of the positive memories, the eternal gifts left behind by a loved one.

5. Control what you can and do the next right thing.  When there are seriously out-of-order individuals at the gatherings give yourself permission to limit your time at the gathering; arrive late and leave early. Do not invite these individuals to the gathering.

6. Recognize that even an annoying and irritating relative has a few positive features.  It is a limited time that you are together annually.  You will be much happier if you use this time to have a positive thought and even to make a positive comment about the disliked relative.

7. Accept the natural order of change in life.  Children grow-up and move away; enjoy the opportunity to have a more intimate and less hectic holiday season.

8. Holiday Burn-Out is possible and likely so set aside some alone time to read, relax and reflect, work-out, or just look at the clouds in the sky.

9. Overwhelmed by it all? Then it is time to focus on one thing or one step at a time.  What needs to be done today, this AM, in the next hour or MOMENT?

10.  Shift your focus away from being better than your brother, the next door neighbor, or the TV guy.  Focus on who you are and what you want to be known for at the holiday time. More than likely, you can focus on a set of PRICELESS BUT FREE characteristics or traits over which you have near complete control such as: kindness, forgiveness, hope, caring for another, praising and complimenting others, looking for and finding the best in others, spending a quiet moment with another while you pray for the health and welfare of a friend, teaching a child a new skill, or just sharing a funny story at dinner.  The list goes on and on . . .

11.  Listen to Jackie Monroe and Dr. Russ give advice on how to beat the Holiday Blues.  Tune to MI Optimism: A Positive Place on the Radio by going to http://www.MIentertainment.biz at 1 pm, Saturday November 27, 2010.  Hear them interview Paul the Pessimistic Soul and Optimistic Olive, his wife.  No time on Saturday, find it on podcast next week.

For more Moment-to-Moment Optimism click on: http://www.drrussbuss.com

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At Moment-to-Moment: Our mission is to teach "skilled optimism"- how let go of a negative in a moment and view life as one continuous learning curve with multiple "do-over" opportunities. Products include a daily blog, seminars, publications, speaking, radio show, & coaching.