“Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.” Yes, it is that time of the year. We hear this song, or a variation of it everywhere.
Does it induce some stress in your daily routine? A lot of tasks to accomplish before the holiday season starts and you are invited to a host of parties and have to start cooking! Do not worry!
Read this article and get some tips.
Use the principle of RELAX.
R – Resonate
E – Energize your positive thoughts
L – Look for help
A – Appreciate your family and friends network
X – Exercise meditation and read
Resonate
Think about the year objectively. What are the things that went well, what went wrong, how can you improve in the coming year? Make notes for yourself. Do a personal evaluation of your year. Note the findings in your journal just for the last ten days of the year. Review the journal next year during the holidays. Just like you make resolutions for the beginning of a new year, do the same for the end of the year. Compare between last year and this year. Practice gratitude for the events that were exhilarating and rewarding. Let go of bad experiences through meditation.
Energize your positive thoughts
Easier said than done! You already have a list of positive events in your life. Just fuel them more to make the thoughts resonate, and re-live those moments of ecstasy and joy.
This will make you think of those events to be larger than life.
Look for help
Now you have a list of things to do, check off items on your list, but do not attempt to do it all. Put the list on the refrigerator and glance at it every day. Get one person to help you with every task on the list. This will reduce your burden of planning and organizing.
Seek help to be helped!
Appreciate your family and friends
Your family and friends comprise of a large portion of your life. Appreciate their presence in your life for making your life complete and powerful!
You are a sum of all the people that are in your network. Make phone calls to connect with your family and friends. Tell your story and listen to theirs.
If possible, meet them in person. Have simple arrangements for food, and you will enjoy the experience. Be honest about the experience rather than the fancy decorations.
X-ercise meditation and read
Last but not least, take time to meditate and reflect on all that has happened over the year. Practice gratitude once again.
Read some good books by looking at the list of books that you have been eyeing for a long time. I am sure you have some!
In Toastmasters, introduce the concept of RELAX in your meetings and talk about the above.
Have an engaging table topics session about the techniques to relax. You will be amazed at the different techniques people use to relax and rejuvenate.
Learn from others’ experiences and make a plan of your own. Take joy in the little things of life!
Smell the cookies baking in the oven and look at the colorful fall foliage around you.
Take a walk in the moonlight and look at the stars with the blades of grass underneath your feet!
Breathe in, breathe out!! We will be at the end of the holiday season pretty soon. You do not want to waste one second of it.
Relax to amplify your positive aura and enter 2024 refreshed!
– Priya Shastri, DTM
VP Education of Big Basin Toastmasters, D101 and Member of Women L.E.A.D. Toastmasters, D101