How We Can Find Happiness in the Holidays

Today I’m sharing a guest post from my friend Kristin Deiss, a Master Reiki practitioner and founder of Deiss Energy Work. I interviewed Kristin last year about Reiki and what it can bring to your life. Now she’s back to discuss how we can find happiness in the holidays. Does that sound crazy? I mean, it’s the most wonderful time of the year…right? But stress is stress, even when it’s good stress. Hosting visitors, traveling, cooking (and cleaning!), choosing gifts, budgeting – it can all start to wear you down by the time the end of the year comes around. Thanks, Kristin, for sharing these tips!

Holidays for many mean great food, great company, and great fun.  While enjoyable, they can also be extremely stressful.  Whether you’re hosting a gathering, budgeting for gifts, cooking a huge meal, or just scheduling some down time into your normally hectic life, the holidays can make us want to pull our hair out.  In the midst of time we are supposed to be enjoying, we face many battles with our sanity, often times creating situations and circumstances that are much less than enjoyable.  So, how do you get through the holidays with a smile and actually experience enjoyment?

For me personally, the stress comes when I am worrying about others.  Is my family having a good time visiting me?  Will my guests like my cooking?  Will my boyfriend like his gift?  These types of questions plague me during the holidays, turning the positives of this time of year into one big heavy negative.  Rather than worrying about others, I have learned that we need to simply enjoy others’ company.  We should feel gratitude that these loved ones are in our lives and simply extend our love to them, without the added anxiety of how that love will be received.  Chances are that if you love them in the first place, they’ll be happy just to share their time with you, share a meal with you, or exchange a gift with you, no matter the outcome of those shares and exchanges.

Rather than using our precious energy to worry or be anxious about those we love, we should be more focused on conserving that energy for ourselves and our sanity.   Because we traditionally spend a lot of time around others during the holiday season, taking time for yourself is super important.  Without reserving some energy for ourselves, the days can get quite difficult to get through.  Not only will you become physically and mentally exhausted, but depleting your energy by consistently giving it to others will eventually take its toll emotionally, turning you into a crabby Scrooge this holiday season.

Even five minutes to yourself can make a big difference.  If you’re thinking, “I don’t even have five minutes,” consider the following.  When you shower, rather than thinking about the plan for the day, just focus on your breath.  When driving, really focus on the road, on the wheel in your hands, on your foot on the pedal.  Training your brain to stay present, even in minor moments such as these, can help us conserve our energy and our sanity.

Just as we share our time over the holidays with our loved ones, don’t forget to share your time with yourself as well.  Give yourself a gift this year.  It can be as small as a 5 minute meditation in the shower, or something more luxurious such as a day at the spa.  Whatever gift you give yourself, love it and love yourself in return.  You are just as important as those you love, and by understanding that we need our energy just as much as our loved ones need it, we can all have a much happier and healthier holiday season.

About Kristin:

My name is Kristin Deiss, founder of Deiss Energy Work. I am an active energy work practitioner currently living and practicing in Los Angeles, CA. I am a Reiki Master and hold an advanced certification in Integrated Energy Therapy. In addition, I am also a certified yoga teacher and professional dancer. Alongside my traditional academic education (having earned a B.A. in History, an M.A. in History, and an M.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography), Reiki and Integrated Energy Therapy have both been part of my education from a young age. Coming from a family of energy work practitioners, energy work has always been a part of my lifestyle, and I want to share that knowledge and work with others as I have personally seen and felt the effects.

You can connect with Kristin on her Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.