How keep the Happy in Happy Holidays.

The holidays are coming and if you are like most people, you have mixed feelings about it. Here is how to keep the Happy in Happy Holidays. First, make a conscious decision that you will be happy this holiday season. Making the decision that you will be happy creates expectations in your mind that you will be happy and your life will begin to align itself to make this happen. The decision causes you to focus on making it happen by planning for it and taking actions to make it happen. Decide what will make you truly happy and start implementing the plans for it right now. Remember we tend to get what we focus on and by focusing on having a happy holiday season you can increase the odds this will happen. You will be in control of your life and this will improve your morale as well. So what would make you truly happy this holiday season? Pick up the phone right now and invite someone you would enjoy being with to lunch. Get out you planner and ink in a day of visiting people and places you have been wanting to but didn't have time to. The key is to decide what you want to do and make it happen. That way you are insured of having some of the key pieces needed for a happy holiday in place. Ask yourself what you can do more of to make the holidays fun and also what you can do less of that takes away from the fun. Make an effort to maximize the fun things and minimize the less fun things as you plan your holiday activities. The 80/20 rule states that we get 80% of the results from 20% of our activities. So concentrate on the 20% of your activities that give you 80% of your satisfaction during the holidays. I take the 80/20 rule a step further to point out that we also get 80% of our dissatisfaction from 20% of our activities, so concentrate on cutting those activities down. Next plan to make the year 2006 your best year ever. Planning to make 2006 your best year ever will help you have a happier holiday season by giving you hope as you view your life. When we have hope for the future, we can tolerate things in the present a lot better. Even if events get a little hectic in the holiday season you will find that you won't notice it as much as your focus will be on the happier times ahead. As a side note, the technique of focusing on a better future can be used to get you over any tough time in your life, not just the holidays. We will help you make 2006 your best year yet in a future article, but for now we will focus on the upcoming holidays. Give yourself a reality check on what to expect during the holiday season. We tend to think that the images that are projected in ads or movies are what we should be experiencing ourselves and this can cause frustration and disappointment. Not everyone can be happy at every moment during the holiday season. Accept the fact that you will have ups and downs and this is just a fact of life, you are not a failure or a bad person because of it. Begin to say no to some of the holiday events that will be coming up. Pass some of the lower priority events up entirely, and cut the time you spend at more important events down. Can you turn a dinner invitation, into a stop by for dessert type situation for instance? I will let you in on a secret, some of the people inviting you to events would rather be doing other things themselves and will secretly be glad you cut the time down, or switched the event to early in 2006 when things are less hectic and you can really enjoy yourselves. Take care of yourself physically. Get enough sleep, watch what you eat and drink, and get your exercise and so on. If your body won't support you, you can't enjoy the holidays. Look for ways to make time to be by yourself during the holidays, even if it is just a twenty-minute nap. During the holidays, we tend to be with more people than normal and our time alone is cut down. Make sure you have some time alone to regain your balance and reduce your stress. Spend some time helping the less fortunate than you. Helping others helps you as well as the people you are assisting. Seeing others less fortunate than you helps you realize how good you have it and gives you a lasting sense of satisfaction when you see your efforts with the less fortunate take effect. Now here is a real "grinchish" suggestion. Don't cut back on your time you spend on your job during the holidays as much as you might be tempted to. Some people take vacation days during the holidays and this extra time at home can wear thin fast. If you add many extra days to the holidays you already will have, you may find yourself bored at home or involved in activities that you don't enjoy. The weather can be bad during the holidays and finding yourself housebound doing things you don't enjoy can really rob you of enjoyment. The first workday in January is always the one day everyone arrives early. The holiday season truly can be a wonderful time. You can see people you enjoy, you can express your love and receive love, you can do things you wouldn't normally take time to do and so on. If you take time to focus on making these things happen for you and cut down on the things that take you away from that, you will indeed have a Happy Holiday.