Don't Let the Holiday's STEAL your Joy!

The holidays are a special time to be together with our family and friends. They can also be a time of introspection....a time to reflect on what is most important to us in our life.

Oh – who am I kidding.

For some people, the holidays become rushed....filled with too many social events and not enough time to rest and rejuvenate. We feel out of balance. By taking a little time to ourselves, we can enjoy the holidays even more.

Don't let stress steal the joy from the season. You will greatly appreciate the health benefits when life returns to normal.

The holiday season should be a happy time, but are you just too tired to smile?

• Waiting in long, slow lines everywhere.
• Cooking all day and all night long for that big feast.
• Cleaning, decorating, gift-wrapping, traveling, socializing--just thinking about all that work makes you want a holiday from the holiday.
• Add to that the daily pressures of your job and your family and the financial and mental strain from trying to find money to buy gifts for everyone and pay the mortgage, the car note and the utility bills, and you got a major bout of seasonal burnout.

Stressing out during the hectic holidays wears down your immune system and leaves you open to colds, flu, headaches, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart attacks and a host of other health problems. Not to mention that stress can aggravate existing health conditions and ruin what could be a joyous time for your and your loved ones.

Save time, money and your sanity this holiday season by trying these stress-busting strategies:

* AVOID THE SUPERHERO SYNDROME. Wonder Woman and Superman were only Comic Book characters. It's time to hang up the cape!

* DON'T PROCRASTINATE. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong if you wait until the last minute.

* BEAT THE CROWDS. Shop during off-hours so that you won't have to battle stressful holiday crowds and stressful holiday traffic.

* Traveling? CHECK IN EARLY. - check the Web first for flight status-get prepared with a back-up plan.

* RELAX. Spending just 15 minutes alone each day can give you the rejuvenation you need to handle daily stress

* Laugh often - it's the best medicine on the market

* Rest - get a solid night's sleep, you will be richly rewarded after the Holiday's

* Spread Holiday Cheer- give it away for free, a smile goes a mile

We know that when we take the focus off ourselves, our situation our pressures and task lists, and focus our energy toward something that will bring goodness to others, our own self efficacy increases, our own self-worth and hope enlarges and we expand our awareness from self to others. That is truly what the holiday’s are about any way right?

Acronym to remember! S.T.E.A.L

Start Today, Eager to Allow Laughter to infect each day this Holiday season.

Coaching Exercise

What will you do this season to reward yourself?

How will you build relaxation into your holidays?

How will you plan to share the holiday cheer with others this season?

What do you notice about yourself and any lingering Super Hero syndrome you may have?

How do you feel about asking for help this season of Joy and Happiness? What do you want to change about that?

Will you write out your plan for the season, make it plain, so that you avoid procrastination and stress to infiltrate your holiday's?