Taming Your Inner-Scrooge

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Shopping (Photo credit: K!T)

I don’t know about you, but for me the holidays are always jammed packed with too much work, parties, shopping, travel, and other random commitments. Basically I often feel like there is too much to do and too little time to do it. Frequently these circumstances which are common for many people over the holidays, tend to bring out the inner-Scrooge in me. Channeling Scrooge is not something I enjoy or am proud of. So I’ve come up with a few simple de-Scrooging tips that help me find my happy place so I can spend more time focusing my energies on what the holidays are really about; love, giving and being grateful.

Awareness – Knowing you are feeling stress or anxiety is key. By tuning into your body and emotions you can gauge how stressed you are in any given moment. Are you clenching your jaw? Are your shoulders tense? Do you find yourself holding your breath or breathing shallow? Are you yelling at traffic or losing your patience? Sometimes the simple awareness around how your stress is manifesting in the current moment is enough to overcome it.
Breathe – preferably deeply. It releases lots of delicious feel good chemicals I’m not legally allowed to advise on because I’m not a licensed medical professional. If you need more info, Google it. In fact when you google deep breathing benefits there are 2,650,000 search results. Pretty cool, right?
Nature – Feeling depleted and spent? Go outside! Living breathing nature is full of endless revitalizing energies just waiting to fill you up. Just stepping outside is one of the simplest and effective ways to recharge and relax. With the days short and cold, we often shut ourselves inside during the winter months so it’s extra important to take even 5 minutes to step outside once in a while. If you put on your ambitious pants today, you could even go for a run or walk around the neighborhood and generate some feel-good endorphins. However I must preface, this is different from walking to your car while running an errand or picking up the kids from school. This is an intentional act to go outside and be present to the sounds, smells and sights around you. Take it in. Bask in it. Be present. It may amaze you.

Many blessings and Happy Holidays!