With time-honored traditions, festive lights and delicious food, the holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year. But it can also be one of the most stressful. Family encounters may bring up challenging memories of the past. Gift-giving gets expensive. And sometimes, it feels like you’re running from one activity to the next – without truly being present for any of them.
The holidays are a time to thrive, not just survive. They’re an opportunity to take a step back, slow down and appreciate the gifts of life. That’s why we created this holiday thrive guide to help you make the most of the season and excel throughout the year. Here are six ways to thrive this holiday season.
1. Save your relationship from holiday stress
With all of the obligations of gift buying, traveling and festivities, the holidays can add undue pressure to even the most extraordinary relationships. To truly thrive during the holidays, it’s critical to examine and overcome your own limiting beliefs around relationships. Make sure you learn how to support your partner through the stressful times, see your partner’s perspective and stay connected to ensure you are both feeling good about your budgets, holiday plans and expectations.
2. Eliminate holiday financial fear
Hostess gifts for the holiday parties, decorations, presents for the family, bonuses for the doorman or newspaper delivery boy, and maybe that little something for yourself – it is all too easy for your finances to get out of control during the holiday season. Rather than having your holidays tainted with mountains of stress over how much you’ve spent, feed your mind with essential financial information like how to beat financial fear, financial detox and how to reach your financial goals faster.
3. Take care of yourself
This season is teeming with decadent desserts, rich beverages and joyful festivities that disrupt even the best tips from holiday guides. With colder weather and darker nights, the challenge of working out on a consistent basis becomes even more daunting. But with the right tips and tactics, you can beat the winter workout rut, detect hidden sugars, leverage the power of hydration and the benefits of acupuncture and still achieve lasting weight loss. You can enjoy yourself all season long, while still taking care of both your physical and mental health.
4. Keep your employees engaged and productive
Holiday festivities can turn a less-than-beautiful office building into a winter wonderland with parties, secret Santas and the never-ending stream of delicious treats. It can also make your business significantly less productive. Use the holiday season to teach employees about time management and other useful skills. And keep your employees – and yourself – away from distractions like online shopping by keeping the vision of the company’s mission at the forefront and creating raving fans, especially within your company. You can even share this holiday thrive guide to inspire your team to thrive at work and at home as the end of year approaches.
5. Revitalize your focus
The holiday season is full of joy, but it’s also a time to look back on the past year and reflect on your personal growth. Sometimes we start the year off full of ambition, but instead of pacing ourselves, we burn out too quickly only part of the way through. Find out if you are sabotaging your own success and what is really driving your decisions. Or, if you’re feeling stuck, find out how to break through the plateau. The holiday season is your time to think about what’s really important and head into the coming year with new focus and energy.
6. Cultivate gratitude
You’ve renewed your relationship, your business and your health. But what about your soul? No holiday guide is complete without tips for spiritual wellness. What makes you feel fulfilled? What brings you complete and total joy? A good place to start is to cultivate gratitude. Shift your mindset and know that no matter what life brings, it’s happening for you, not to you. Find the blessing in every experience, not only around the holidays, but throughout your entire life. Give back to your community to fulfill your need for contribution and remind yourself of all you have.