As we zoom towards the festive season I thought the time might be right to write on creating wellbeing during the festive season.
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Managing the multitude of social commitments, financial commitments or even the emotional seesaw of what this time of year can bring is often very stressful for a lot of us.
These are my top tips for getting the most out of the Christmas period:
1) Stop avoiding uncomfortable emotional experiences – it is very easy to mask loneliness, sadness, anxiety with food or alcohol this time of year. Instead, notice your emotional experience, make room for it, reach out to your support system and indulge in extra doses of self-care.
2) Ensure you savour the experiences you are having. It is very easy when we are busy, to focus on what has to be done next, rather than fully immersing ourselves in the experience we are having now.
Whether its having Chrissy drinks at the pub with your colleagues, or watching Carols in the Domain on TV with your family, get present.
Pay attention to what is going on around you and consciously bring your attention to the present moment if your mind drifts to future plans or worrisome events that have already happened.
3) Practice gratitude. The festive season and the end of the year are perfect times to reflect on the events that have occurred this year that have given you cause to be thankful.
Spending time actively thanking those to which you feel grateful – either in person or via written form has the capacity to enrich your relationships as well as give you a wellbeing boost.
4) Give. Christmas time is synonymous with giving for many of us.
Perhaps this year, you could contemplate changing your routine to give in a different way.
Offer acts of kindness to strangers; invite people into your home you usually wouldn’t to help them celebrate; or help an elderly neighbor with the mowing.
Whatever it is, giving of your time allows for a fostering of community spirit and also adds some variety and novelty to your own experience – which also has the capacity to boost your happiness.
This period of time has the capacity to be about relentless acquisition of unnecessary things, or, it can mean much, much more than that – it all depends on how we choose to engage in each moment, and how much intent we use when choosing those moments.
You can contact me on my website: www.zahnecastley.com, email: zahne@zahnecastley.com or join in of Facebook at Zahne Castley – Positively Thriving.