This time of year is great, the running around, the last minute gifts, putting up with family, lots of drinking, eating and trying to keep everyone happy!  If you find yourself getting just a little too caught up take a step back and try to make it through using these simple steps, why let everyone else have all the fun! Take a deep breath and ENJOY the days ahead!

We suggest checking them more than twice – think twice daily!    Don’t make the list on the go, but sit down, and focus solely on what you need to do to make your holidays enjoyable and memorable.  Write it all out.  You will be energized, and ready to conquer!  Just don’t forgot to keep your list with you at all times so you can check, modify, update, and congratulate.

This is one of the first things to get thrown out the door during the holiday season for people, because there is no time!  What we often forget is that we waste way more time when we feel sluggish and cranky, the feeling we get when we stop exercising and start eating a lot of stuff.  We need to be in our best mood, and what better mood booster than the endorphins released during and after exercise?!  Try to do at least a brisk walk for 30 minutes every day if you can’t get to a class or the gym.  It also helps release the guilt from eating those extra few cookies.

You can call it whatever you want- meditate, relax, pray, sit, lie, bathe, etc.  The concept is to stop the world for ten minutes each day, and just breathe.  Let your thoughts simply go through you.  Focus on the feelings we should associate with holidays – thanks for the blessings we have.  Make a conscious effort to feel that warm, generous feeling of gratitude in every inch of your body.  Let it wander through your fingertips, arms, neck, and travel all around until your whole being is at peace.

Every Day.  All Day.  Sure, move on your lists, but don’t do it like a bull in a china shop.  We often forget what the holidays are all about because of the to do’s.  We live in a time of economic hardship, where a lot of people in the U.S. can’t even put food on their tables.  We need to consciously remember to be thankful to ourselves and to others throughout the season – as that is what it truly is all about.

5. Forgive yourself and others.

This is especially true during the holidays.  We may have the best of intentions, but ultimately forget to thank this person, don’t send a card, buy a wrong size, etc. etc.  We need to realize that the holidays are an especially harried time for the brain.  Every day intend to do the best you can, and work to let the rest go.