The Best Gift You Can Give Yourself For The Holidays

Writen by L. John Mason

Personal Survival: The Holidays are coming!

Are the holidays stressful for you? Do the people around you seem to "freak out" with Holidaze chaos? Would you like to be in control of your levels of stress before Christmas hits?

Ask yourself these questions: Does traveling to Holiday events create stress for you? Do people in your family (or at work) act a little crazy and even annoying during this season? Do you enjoy over eating (or drinking) with people you have avoided all year long at these seasonal celebrations? Does the season get "expensive" for you? Are your expectations of joy and happiness ever miss their mark?

Consider the best gift that you can give yourself is time for stress management. Time, What time? Well a program of regular stress management will actually save you time! Your time savings will come from:

A.) Requiring less sleep (and the sleep you do get will be deeper and more restful)

B.) You will be able to concentrate better and so make fewer mistakes (that require time to repair)

C.) You will be able to communicate more effectively and so get more done in less time

D.) You will feel better and have more energy

E.) You will be better able to control your appetite and your response to your family's craziness (or cope better with your expectations of happiness that may not be met)

F.) You not have to medicate yourself with alcohol or drugs to survive your Xmas anxiety

This gift of self-care will actually be the best gift that you can give your friends and family. They will have one less crazed person running through their lives. Better still, you will be the best role-model for your family and friends. (They need a "healthy" role model.)

Self-care would include a regular program of exercise, sensible diet (moderation,) and daily relaxation. The best relaxation for self-care "newbies" is to listen to a guided relaxation (on CD) that will help you concentrate on relaxation for 15-20 minutes. With a little practice this will feel great, help you to rest/sleep better, and save you time/energy.

Don't wait for New Years to make the resolution to practice self-care. You will need it to survive the Holidaze!

Remember you can not control the way other people behave or respond during the holidays, but you can control the way that you respond.

Please take good care of yourself. Enjoy the Holidays.

L. John Mason, Ph.D. is the author of the best selling "Guide to Stress Reduction." Since 1977, he has offered Executive Coaching and Training.

Consider a gift for yourself of stress management! Visit http://www.dstress.com/classInter.htm for information. or

Please visit the Stress Education Center's website at http://www.dstress.com for articles, free ezine signup, and learn about the new telecourses that are available. If you would like information or a targeted proposal for training or coaching, please contact us at (707) 795-2228.

If you are looking to promote your training or coaching career, please investigate the Professional Stress Management Training and Certification Program for a secondary source of income or as career path.

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