Belief, Hope and Resilience Can Change Your Holiday Vibe!

As I sit to write this blog today,  we have all just come off the beautiful and filling Thanksgiving weekend and are gearing up for the Holiday season.  Festivities have already begun with Hanukkah starting the Sunday after Thanksgiving and the Advent Season upon us and Christmas around the corner.  This is truly a magical time of year, a season of light, miracles, expectation, and hope.  

At this time of hope, we should be contemplative and prepare  our hearts for the joy of what the holidays can offer.  It should be a  time to kick back, relax and do fun activities with family and be joyful.  But is it really?

This all sounds so wonderful, but we also know that these next four weeks can be extremely hectic and chaotic.  Many of us will start to feel we have too little time and way too much to do with holiday preparations that include gift buying, card writing, and running around!

In addition to the upcoming holidays, we are also affected by all that has gone on in these past two years which includes the pandemic, social unrest, economic hardships, supply chain  shortages, and the list can go on. Many people find themselves asking, "should we have hope during the holiday season and at ALL  for that matter?"  The answer is absolutely, yes!

Why Hope is Possible and Important!

Simply put, hope comes with the possibility and expectation of something better.  This could be a better future, a better job, an overall better situation.  According to  Dr. Brene Brown, a researcher, and thought leader, she found that hope was integral in the development of resilience.  Hope shows up at the worst possible time when things are tough and difficult, but keep us going during the hard times. According to Dr. Brown, hope is not an emotion,  it is way of thinking, it is our mindset.

Dr. C. R. Snyder, a hope researcher says that hope happens when we set realistic goals and we have the ability to believe in ourselves to reach those goals.  This includes the ability to stay flexible and develop alternate routes of getting to those goals.  Dr. Snyder also says that hope is learned and that we learn hopeful, goal-directed thinking from other people.  It is important to note that having hope is not a passive exercise in wishing for something, we have the hope that with a plan we can do something we set our mind to.  

Hope During The Holiday Season

So how do we have hope and resilience during a time that has been extremely challenging,  and especially now entering into a season that can deplete us of energy and leave us exhausted?

First, is to remind ourselves that to have hope is to have the expectation of fulfillment, that what we are hopeful for will happen.  We also need to set realistic expectations for ourselves during this time and come up with a strategy for the four weeks ahead.  Perhaps we need to ask ourselves a few questions like, " what can we let go of?" or " what can we delegate to someone else?"

Coming to the realization that we don't have to do it all is liberating.  So many of us want to create that "perfect" holiday experience for ourselves and our families and find it's exhausting and unrealistic.  Instead of approaching the holiday season tired and defeated,  how about a different approach?  How about a strategy for the next four weeks?

Developing a M.A.G.I.C mindset helps cultivate hope

As health and wellness coaches working with women to be their best, we have found that helping them cultivate a mindset of possibility and hope is important in reaching their goals.  This same principle and strategy can be applied in helping women and all people in their approach to the holiday season.   

The M.A.G.I.C Mindset is a strategy that incorporates self-care, relaxation techniques, and tools that can  help a person develop skills to navigate the holiday season in a more joyful, hopeful, and relaxed way.

The acronym M.A.G.I.C stands for:

M = Maintain Emotional Balance

A = Allow for Unexpected Changes and Prepare Your Reaction

G = Give Without Expectation and Practice Gratitude

I = Include Your Needs In The Busy Time

C = Choose Calm  Over Frustration and Overwhelm

During this holiday season, the next time you are feeling over-whelmed or feel like you are just too exhausted to enjoy the festivities, just think of the word M.A.G.I. C to change your mindset!

For additional suggestions about how to cultivate a M.A.G.I.C Mindset during the holiday season, click the following link to download our Holiday M.A.G.I.C Mindset Survival Kit. Holiday M.A.G.I.C. Mindset Survival Kit