Managing Holiday Stress: How to Release & Receive...

This time of year can bring a heightened mixed bag of emotions from holiday cheer, sadness for passed loved ones, to family and financial stress.  Whether you look ahead with excitement or a Scrooge-like dread, we tend to be looking forward. That could be looking forward to after the Holidays or looking forward to the new year.

In addition, you may be reflecting back on the things that you want to bring into the new year with intention.  As you think about your 2020 aspirations and hopes, it’s important to also be intentional on what you need to leave behind.

This time of year is a good time to take stock of what you need to say “goodbye” to.  When we think of resolutions and goals, we tend to think of what we need to do or want more of. We focus on what we need to “add” into our lives.

Things such as:

“I will eat healthier”

“I will start my podcast”

“I will prioritize my relationship/dating more”

“I will make more money/reach that income goal/savings goal”

We tend to focus on what we need or want “more of”.  But that’s only a piece of the puzzle.  

You also need to identify the things that may be adding unnecessary struggle or even blocking you from reaching a long standing goal.  What do you need to say goodbye to? 

If you want to prioritize your relationship more, take a look at what gets in the way of quality time.  It may be as simple as a “no-phones” rule on date night. It could also be making your habit of answering emails on weekends a thing of the past.

If you want to reach a savings goal, what are some money leaks that you might plug up before the new year?  Perhaps it’s forgoing eating out for lunch every day and scaling it back to twice a week and bringing your lunch the other days.  You could take a gander through your last bank statement and cancel any subscriptions that you aren’t actively using. Leave those unused charges and services behind!

I could keep going, but you get the point.  Think about what you want, envision it, journal it, chant it, and put out your desires into the universe for the upcoming year.  Just don’t forget to ask yourself…..

What are you leaving behind?