I’m starting to see the flood of articles showing up in my Google alerts about the “Seven Ways to Survive Holiday Stress,” or “Six Ways to Make This the Best Christmas Ever…Without Getting Stressed Out.”

We were out shopping over the weekend and as we approached the overcrowded parking lot, I first thought, “oh boy, we’re not even going to get close.” I gave myself a second to consider my options and then just asked Sheila if she was up for a nice brisk walk to the store. She agreed and we parked far away. The walk was invigorating.

In times of even small adversities (and this one was miniscule) our brains react in one of two ways. They can either see the situation as a threat or a challenge. If it’s a threat then we have to do everything we can to arm ourselves but if it becomes a challenge, then we’ll enjoy the situation in front of us.

It is your call about how you approach the holidays. If you like to freak out and feel overwhelmed, then go for it. After all, you can’t manage stress. If on the other hand, you prefer to enjoy the moments, even given the extra amount of energy it needs, then give yourself a few seconds after your first reaction to see how you really want to spend your holidays.

© Richard Citrin, All rights reserved, 2017

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