Google “how to handle holiday stress,” and the result is 44,700 entries.
44,700!
That’s 44,700 articles, books, blogs and websites, all giving you tips and tricks to staying sane during the holidays.
There’s lots of great advice being shared in the spirit of making the season bright (including a book by my friend Sandy Fowler). And the amount of advice is in direct proportion to the amount of stress people feel while they’re decking their halls and jingling their bells.
This year, I’m adding one more idea to the thousands that are out there. I’ve decided to approach the season with a new mindset, one that helps to keep me centered in a place from which I can give and receive with gratitude.
I’m calling it the Antidote Intention Experiment.
The Poison: Lately, I’ve let scarcity thinking invade my thoughts. I fall into thinking there’s not enough and there never will be enough time, energy, money. And that leads to overall fear… not exactly how I want to spend my holidays!
The Antidote: What’s the opposite of scarcity? Abundance. Abundance means there is plenty of energy, contentment, joy, gratitude, money, giving and receiving. It starts in the mind and becomes reality.
For the next month, I am going to take one simple action from a place of abundance every day. The intention is to joyfully reaffirm the gifts that are present in my life and to express my gratitude outwardly. I may send someone a card, give a compliment, buy someone’s coffee, make a donation, or give a smile to someone who doesn’t have one.
My theory? It will be almost impossible to get lost in scarcity thinking if I live my intention of expressing gratitude and abundance.
What “poison” gets in the way of fully enjoying this time of year? Scarcity? Overwhelm? Loneliness? “I should” and “I have to”? And what’s the antidote? What choices do you have?
Whatever poison you name, know that there is a way you can keep it from taking over your life. It’s true, you will get busy and be pulled in all different directions; use your Antidote Intention to stay grounded and clear.
If that doesn’t work, you can always turn to Google’s other 44,700 ideas!
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