The Positive Spirit of Christmas.

For many Christmas can be a very stressful and expensive time.  There never seems to be enough hours in the day, and money which has normally budgeted down to the last cent just to make ends meet needs to be stretched even further.   For many there is not happy glow just a feeling discontent, uneasy and unhappiness.  That everyone else has something that they don’t, or that they need what everyone else has to be happy.  So what need to happen to change the mood of the season from frown to a smile?

What we need to focus on is what we actual have in our lives. It may be that we have good health, great friends and a place to call to home.  People that keep us centred, help us feel loved.  A lifestyle that is easy to sustain. But then comes a long Christmas and the pressure to do everything, from seeing people we really haven’t communicated with since last Christmas, to buying expensive gifts that we really can’t afford, and then to eating and drinking just a tad too much and not really enjoying any of it.  So how can we use positive psychology to change this around?    We plan and focus on what we need, may be the following steps will help. 

Step one:  Remember that before the silly season started, that we normally planned what we were doing, with whom and how much time, money and effort was involved, this is something that we should be kept up.  And we shouldn’t accept every invite that we receive, especially if the people involved don’t or aren’t support of our life choices.  This will help eliminate some of those feeling of discontent as we won’t be comparing ourselves to them.

Step two: Plan and buy present early, and remember it’s hard to meet everyone expectations of what they hope to receive.  If the gift comes from the heart and is given with love, then hopefully the recipient will love it too. If not maybe they have issues and it not your responsibility to make them happy all the time.  

Step three: The food doesn’t need to be restaurant quality it just need to be prepared with love and a little bit of salt and seasoning.  Plan for the number of people that will be with you on Christmas Day, don’t be afraid to ask people to bring a favourite dish or contribution to the meal.  After all you don’t want to spend the entire day cooking, cleaning and doing a never ending pile of dishes.

Step four: Remember it should be about family and friends, not about the commercial experience that is being sold to us by the marketing companies.

Above all if we focus on what we can do, for ourselves and each other rather than the focus is on the positive, of what we have and not what thing we should have a do.  This is what positive psychology is all about, the focus on what we have that makes us happy. 

So to all, I wish you a Merry Christmas……..