this goal of true joy and contentment, you need a firm decision and commitment to yourself: I deserve joy. I deserve financial freedom. I deserve wonder and laughter. Then you can act to support that commitment. You CAN!
For me, the months of November and December are pure, unalloyed joy – and no stress whatsoever. It’s taken a few years to get all the way there, but if you make changes step by step, year by year, you can transform your life.
Action Item: List 5 items or elements, focus on them, and say NO to absolutely everything else. It could be caroling, making a gingerbread house for kids, taking time to stroll or drive and ooh and aah over other people’s lighting extravaganzas, or buying an easy-care artificial tree and focusing on laughing while hanging ornaments, fully aware that there is no “right way” to trim a tree.
Because resisting the siren call of what everyone else is doing can be overwhelming, make staying out of overwhelm an unbreakable commitment with the next, fundamental, item.
Fundamental Action Item: Learn my 5 Tools/5 Minutes program and do it faithfully every day. It truly takes only five, dedicated minutes every day and it really is powerful.
Action Item: Find 3 fun (preferably creative, new and/or involved in movement) activities for yourself and your family. Make sure your family understands that these are the Special Holiday Moments in which the love that defines your existence takes center stage. They are joys, not chores, and (especially for teens) they are not optional.
This year, the Bellevue Botanical Garden’s light show is on my list, as is falling down 100 times while trying to ice skate for the first time (my conservative estimate!), accompanied by at least one photo for the yearly family newsletter, laughing all the way, and a trip to snow country to spend a day getting very, very cold as we build snow creatures and laugh ourselves silly. In previous years, I made dozens of new ornaments with kits from the craft store, took an art class with my husband on Craftsy, and indulged in hours of Seattle Symphony bliss.
To reduce stress, you also need to reduce your shopping. The huge expense of gifting a large list produces enormous shopping stress but also generates financial stress and limits your overall life options. How will you build the deep savings you need to fund your business or education goals, and have a comfortable retirement, if you dump thousands of dollars on holiday gifting every year? Make the holidays about love and sharing. Craft, crochet or buy one gift per child. Gift every adult with what they really need: a solid reminder of how deeply they are loved. Tell your family and friends, in a printed or handwritten letter, exactly WHY you love them so much. What makes them uniquely the smart, witty, generous or creative souls that you treasure? Mention specific incidents. Pour your heart on to paper.
These letters are also a splendid warmup to creating a yearly newsletter that is full of funny incidents, pet foibles and your own pratfalls. These are the newsletters that people love to read!
You deserve a holiday filled with only joy, not stress. Fortify yourself with daily practice of 5 Tools, 5 Minutes, then start implementing these steps to take back your life. Wishing you days of comfort and joy!
Victoria C Leo brings her witty,
style to the serious subjects of health and
wealth for audiences determined to
transform their lives – permanently. With
her no-nonsense, bottom-line approach
married to genuine warmth and caring,
her programs will blast you past the
barriers that have been holding you back from living the life you deserve to have. Explore her free
mini-classes at www.soaringdragon.biz
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