WAYS TO SAY STRESS -BYE BYE

Do only the most important things.

People say to me, "I’ve got my friends, my family, my company party, my church, decorating to do, gifts to buy, food to cook, and dozens of other activities during the holiday season.  They all seem important.  So how do I take your advice and do only the most important things?"

First, all the people in your life are NOT equally important.  Focus on the folks who mean the most to you and get to the others later in the year.

Second, all the activities on your holiday schedule are NOT equally important.  Select three activities that would bring the most meaning to this season for YOU.  Make sure you do those three things and don’t add anything else to your schedule unless you truly have the time and desire.

2.  Practice an attitude of gratitude.

At the same time it’s all too easy to get stressed out during the holidays, it's also easy to get somewhat negative during the holidays.  But you can eliminate the stress and negativity by practicing an attitude of gratitude. Simply put, the more thankful you are the less stressed you can be. 

Let me recommend a simple exercise for each of you.  Every day during the holiday season, take two minutes to list all the things you’re thankful for.  And then take a walk outside, by yourself, and say out loud a thousand times, "Thank you." 

And what will happen?  When the holiday stresses start coming in your direction, your list of thanks will come back into your head and neutralize your stresses.

3.  Remind yourself "You'll never get it all done, and that's okay."

I was raised in a family where my parents said, "First you work, then you play.  Get all your work done and then you can play." It’s not a bad thing to tell kids because they’ve not been to a time management seminar yet.

The trouble is if you take that advice literally, get all your work done and then play, you'd never have time to play.  You need to remember that no matter how hard you work or how fast you work, on the day you die there’ll still be a few things left in your in-box. 

The same truth applies to the holidays.  You’ll never get all your holiday chores done.  There’s always more you could do to create that picture-perfect holiday.  Let it go.  Remind yourself you’ll never get it all done and that’s okay.

So be it.  Let it go.  The founder of Christmas said, "I come to give you peace."   He didn't say, "I come to give you a hectic schedule that's so out of control you'll be glad when the holidays are over."

4. Avoid mind binders.

Never say such things as "I get so stressed out during the holidays ...  There's so much to do ... I always come back from vacations more exhausted than when I left."  The more you think or say such things, the more stress you'll have(SOURCES)