Staying in the Holiday Spirit

Written by Rinatta Paries


The holiday season can either be exiting and joyous, or saddening and lonely. How you experiencerepparttar holidays is completely up to you. Really! Whether you feel sad or happy, lonely or connected is completely up to you.

Your thoughts, your activities, andrepparttar 131415 kind of situations you put yourself into generate your feelings. In other words, you do not have to experience sad or unhappy holiday feelings unless you want to. If you want to change how you feel, simply change what you are doing, and this will change your feelings.

What makes you feel sadder duringrepparttar 131416 holidays? What makes you feel more disconnected, out of touch withrepparttar 131417 spirit ofrepparttar 131418 holidays?

Right now make a quick list ofrepparttar 131419 activities, or lack thereof, that may make you sad or unhappy aboutrepparttar 131420 holidays. Do something different about two of these right now.

Here are some more attitude-altering activities to help you stay in (or get into)repparttar 131421 holiday spirit:

* Doesn't feel like holidays at your house? Put up lights! Decorate in holiday motif. Play holiday music and light candles.

* Don't have plans for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.? Volunteer! Helping those in need can do wonders for your attitude. Or call up some friends and plan a small get together.

* Aren't looking forward to seeing family? Take interest in each of your relatives as you speak to them, in a much deeper way than ever before. You may enjoy them for a change.

* Exhausted from cooking and running around? Take an hour, half-hour or even 15 minutes all to yourself. Don't do chores, errands, clean up, etc. Don't do anything you have to do, even if you feel guilty. Do whatever YOU like.

For a new life in the new year, take action!

Written by Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D.


Stuck? Wondering what to do about finding a job, a relationship or a new home? Don't get caught inrepparttar self-analysis trap: months, days and even years of "thinking." I've met dozens of people who think "getting free" begins with an armchair, a self-help book and a beer. Action creates energy. Have you ever spent a whole day driving? Lying onrepparttar 131413 couch with a book and a heavy-duty remote control? Atrepparttar 131414 end ofrepparttar 131415 day you're exhausted. Action fuels thought. You can sit on a couch all day withrepparttar 131416 self-help book, but how will you completerepparttar 131417 exercises? The world looks different as you sit in your living room. When you get offrepparttar 131418 couch and facerepparttar 131419 outside world, your answers will change. Action is a test of your readiness to change. Are you thinking of hiring a coach or counselor? Before you pick uprepparttar 131420 phone, take some small action on your own. Get a list of articles fromrepparttar 131421 library or web. Make some phone calls. Are you moving? That's a good sign. Want to change? Do something different. In a tape version of her recent book, Thunder and Lightning, Natalie Goldberg advises writers to overcome blocks by changing small elements of their lives. Take a different route when you walk home, she suggests; if you normally drive with your left hand onrepparttar 131422 steering wheel, tryrepparttar 131423 right. Some ideas: Do something alone that you normally do with others: shopping, traveling, eating in a restaurant. Do something with others that you normally do alone. If you have a routine for evenings or weekends, find new activities.

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