Staying Happy This Holiday

“In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.” ― Fred Rogers

Depending upon how you count, there are only twenty-five days left before Christmas is upon us. Yes, only twenty-five days left to find the perfect gift. Only twenty-five days left to plan the holiday meal. Only twenty-five days left to stress over all of it.

90% of people stress over something during the holidays

What exactly do we stress over then? According to a Consumer Reports survey, these are the top things we dread this time of year.

68% - Crowds and long lines
37% - Gaining weight
37% - Getting into debt
28% - Gift shopping
25% - Traveling
24% - Seeing certain relatives
23% - Seasonal music
19% - Disappointing gifts
16% - Having to attend holiday parties or events
15% - Having to be nice
12% - Holiday tipping

I actually find the "having to be nice" kind of amusing given the fact it should just come naturally. Sad to say, there are folks who simply find it hard to be nice. Beyond being nice, there are many things which induce stress in a lot of people.

How do we stay positive and enjoy the holiday?

To keep yourself happy and stress-free as possible, consider the following five ideas. Take a few moments before we really get into the deep end of the holiday rush and consider how you can have a happier holiday season.

1. Be realistic and avoid trying to be perfect - there are 365 days in a year and it is practically impossible to make one day perfect when we know the other 364 days are imperfect. There is beauty and fun in the imperfections of life. Embrace the idea that no one person and no one day is perfect. When you do this the pressure of being perfect yourself will be lifted and make you much happier.

2. Be healthy in your food, drink and exercise - a work Christmas party, a holiday get-together with friends and many other fun activities will fill your belly with great food, lighten your head at times from drinking alcohol and keep you less active in other parts of your daily routine. There will be less sleep, less exercise, less of the normal. Simply do all of this in moderation and your health will keep you happier.

3. Be grateful for what is going right - shopping for a gift that is out of stock, the dessert pie which didn't turn out quite right and so many other things that could wrong. What are we to do? We can be thankful for what we do have. If you think about it, there are a lot of good things going on in your life and I am sure you can find them. When you are grateful for what you have, life will be a lot happier to you.

4. Be mindful of being around positive things - maybe this one time of the year you avoid reading or responding to all of the negativity circulating on social media. Do not forget that bad news, bad comments and bad things sell. Good things are boring but search for the good news in life. Spread good news and avoid spreading the negative. When you generate a positive attitude, you will be happier about yourself.

5. Be the nice person you really are - being nice is inside all of us in varying degrees. Do you really need a parking spot up close? Let them have it, park further out and get a bit of exercise. Someone cut you off in traffic? Maybe they have a sick relative so show a little grace. All kinds of frustrations are not worth the impact they could have on your happiness. Spread a little niceness and happiness will come to you.

There you have it, staying happy this holiday season.

Sounds easy, should be easy but we all know it really is not. It takes works on our part and hey, do not sweat it if you cannot do all five things. Pick one, pick two but simply try. Being stress free and happy is not something for just this time of year.

Try to be happier for most of the year.

Stress consumes our happiness and being positive is not just a cliche. Being positive is a way of life, a happier life! And life should be that way, correct?

Stay inspired my friends!

Building St. Peters #HolidayWeekRepeats

April 11, 2011

St. Peter's Basilica Floor Plan

"To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time." - Leonard Bernstein

Not long ago I performed some volunteer work at my local church. It was one of those work events in which the talented church members in the construction industry put those talents to a grand plan. For me, its a matter of volunteering my back to assist them in bringing that plan to fruition.

This particular project was to rebuild a seating area by installing risers for those seated further back. Quite an undertaking when I first viewed the area and the work required. But to accomplish the task is this purpose of my article today; putting your plans into action.

Each of us has a dream or vision for what we want in life.

Sometimes it is a well announced vision while many times it is quietly kept to ourself. The core thing to remember is that it takes action to put your plans on a course to accomplishment.

Look back at all of the great cathedrals built around the world. Most of these first grand buildings were built in the 1100 and 1200s AD. Even the grand St. Peter's Basilica in Rome was a vision at first. What followed was a plan followed then again by action.

I watched the lead people review the drawn plans, take measurements once, twice and discuss. Then action occurred and as we worked, the plan started to become a reality.

BELIEF in a vision takes you to the point of planning and preparing.

You then must ACT upon the plan and begin moving forward with what you want to accomplish.

Finally you come to REALIZE that vision.

We can dream and envision day in and day out about what we want in life. We can even sit at the drawing table creating plan after detailed plan on how to achieve it.

But in the end, if we want to view the grand Sistine Chapel ceiling of our life, we must begin by building the foundation. We must raise the walls in order to support our dreams. We must act upon the plan.

Will you turn your dreams into plans today? Will you turn your plans into action? Will you?

Stay inspired my friends!

Stampeding Turkeys #HolidayWeekRepeats

November 28, 2014

"Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like." - Will Rogers

The day after Thanksgiving is a big, big...really big, shopping day for millions of people. It is referred to as Black Friday and generally signals the start of the Christmas shopping season.

It will be a day filled with slow moving traffic jams, tired and hungry crowds of people along with credit cards being overspent. It will be fun and also full of frustration. There will be varying stages of stress among people trying to find the perfect deal on the perfect gift.

Stores will be enticing you to overspend and to buy what really isn't needed. The stores will continually try to keep you coming back for more and more. Just be careful to spend in a sensible manner. Do not spend yourself into a painful January credit card bill hangover.

And before you immerse yourself in the fun and madness, take time to remember it is not the amount you spend on a gift.

It is the sincerity of giving which is important.

Remember there will be others in the crowd. So be patient, be kind and be willing to understand this should simply be about having fun. Have a great time being among the masses! I will be watching football.

Stay inspired my friends!

Single Ember #HolidayWeekRepeats

May 21, 2010

“Abruptly the poker of memory stirs the ashes of recollection and uncovers a forgotten ember, still smoldering down there, still hot, still glowing, still red as red.” - William Manchester

A story was told at a meeting I attended by a man named Steve Bullen. Along with his wife Simone, they once pastored a church in North Atlanta before moving back to Australia. Steve was speaking to a large group of men about re-igniting their lives and a story of many years ago during a beach-side conference which always held a very large bonfire at conference end.

In the days leading up to that beach-side conference, the folks involved with putting on the event had built a huge pile of wood and timbers for the final night's bonfire. This was going to be a very large fire for those gathered. But as the conference started, the rains came. Rain came pouring down for two to three days, soaking everything including the bonfire wood.

When the final night came, the rains had ceased and everyone was expecting a grand fire. As you would expect, the wood was damp and the day's sunshine had not fully dried it. So paper, brush and lots of matches were consumed trying to get this bonfire started.

Then out of the corner of Steve's eye, he sees someone coming with a large fuel can; gasoline one would expect, letting the liquid fly towards the pile. It was estimated at probably two or more gallons of the highly flammable stuff. To no one's surprise, there were a few small embers from the failed lighting attempts still glowing within the pile.

Now if you have never seen what happens with gasoline; the fumes are flammable and all it takes is a small spark or ember to ignite it completely. An instant solar flare occurred which lit up the entire coastline. So bright that ships thought it was a light beacon. So intense that...well, you get the picture.

What one can draw from this story is all it took was one small flame.

One small spark or ember can change everything. Something so small and singular in purpose we somehow forget that it exists. But it does exist. It exists in each of us, deep inside where we have forgotten it.

That one small flame glows, just waiting for you to throw something on it. To let it ignite your life and explode into something great. Oh yes, it does exist and all it takes is that one small flame.

A small touch or a small amount of movement to change your life.

Stay inspired my friends!