CELEBRATION – JOY – POSITIVE ENERGY

This year has been a doozy and it can feel inauthentic to celebrate it. While decorating our home super early (anyone else?), my son called me a Grinch! At first, I got defensive and then I realized that I was definitely giving off Grinch vibes!! I was feeling the weight of the world in a pandemic.

“4:00, wallow in self-pity. 4:30, stare into the abyss. 5:00, solve world hunger, tell no one. 5:30, jazzercize; 6:30, dinner with me. I can’t cancel that again. 7:00, wrestle with my self-loathing. I’m booked. Of course, if I bump the loathing to 9, I could still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling and slip slowly into madness.” — The Grinch

Then it occurred to me that I had an important choice to make. I could stay weighted down or rise above it all to celebrate all that I have to be grateful for. Hmmmmm, let me think. ; ) Just kidding, if you know me, then you know my answer is always to rise!

If you want to rise with me, here are some ideas for how to lighten up when it all feels so heavy…

Ask yourself how you want to show up for your loved ones considering they have been under stress too. Visualize yourself as that person. How do you look? How do you act? What are you doing?
Decide to embody that vision. Make a fresh start tomorrow morning and be that person you visualized. At the end of the day, evaluate how people reacted to you and how it made you feel.
If good, decide to continue it the next day and string the days together showing up in this positive way. Keep in mind that this does not mean you are disowning how you truly feel in any way. You’ll still need to work through negative feelings that come up about the state of things and how it’s affecting you.
After a week or so, note the benefits over time. Are you happier, feeling lighter, more connected, inspired, joyful…?
Ramp up your giving. It feels great to fulfill someone’s wish list, surprise a loved one with something special, and donate/volunteer for a cause that is meaningful to you.
Practice self-care and focus on reducing stress despite all that is going on. You deserve to take breathers and do things that fill up your cup so that you can have positive energy to give out. Make sure to do at least one significant self-care practice each day. Ideas include exercising, prepping healthy meals, massage (self-massage through foam rollers, balls, electric massagers, etc.), hot baths, beauty care, etc.
Journal your negative thoughts. Use it as a trash can by dumping out all of the things that are bothering you. Then take out the trash by tearing up the pages or burning them. Focus on releasing it.
Once cleared of negative thoughts, journal about what you’re grateful for or new visions for the new year. This will summon positive vibes for you to carry into your life. To make this easy, I’m giving you a free gratitude journal to download. Click here.

The holidays can add extra stress so you’ll have to find ways to enjoy them. It’s likely you are not able to do them the same way this year so let go of those expectations and make it fun to break traditions by embracing radical new ways of celebrating. Go with what your heart calls you to do and let go of anything that feels like an obligation. Blame the pandemic if you have to. Do it your way this year!

What is your vision for a good holiday this year?

Create it with your loved ones. You’re a leader and, most likely, they will follow and help you create it if they understand why it’s important to you. Ask them for input on how to make it special for them too because people support what they help create. Together, you may just find new ways of celebrating and new traditions to take into the future.

For more, watch this video update: