4 Tips to Clear Away Holiday-Related “Emotional Clutter”
Is the upcoming holiday season bogged down with a clutter of “shoulds” and “oughts” that detract from your enjoyment of the season?
Are you a newlywed trying to juggle the long-standing holiday traditions of multiple families?
Are you longing to create or adapt holiday traditions for your own family that your children will treasure as they grow older?
On the other hand, perhaps you are adjusting to the loss of a pivotal family member who provided the focus for important holiday traditions.
Often, our holiday traditions include some “emotional clutter” that add unnecessary stress to our lives and hamper our enjoyment of the holiday season.
I have found the following four “clutter-control” questions to be helpful guides for choosing which traditions to keep or adapt, and which ones to let go of completely.
- How meaningful is it for me? - How much of an impact does this tradition have on my life? Is it important to me? Can I let it go?
- Do I love it? – Is this something that brings me joy? Or is it something I simply tolerate? Or does it create added stress in my life?
- Do I want this? – Is this something I need or want as part of my life? How important is it to keep this “intact” or is there a way I can reduce the “clutter” effect?
- Does this need me? – If it is not important to me personally, is it important to someone I care about? Is there something else that I need to consider (or do) about or with this?
As you clear away the excess emotional clutter, you will find a gentle spaciousness that enables you to embrace the richness of those holiday traditions that provide the most meaning to your life and your relationships.
I’d love to hear about your experiences in clearing your holiday-related emotional clutter.
(image credit: The Clutter of Death by GrandWaz on Flickr, some rights reserved)
December 21st, 2008 at 7:53 am
Mary Elaine,
What a pleasure to receive your latest mailing – perfect timing, excellent reflections & challenges to ’stress well’.
I found your Holiday-Related “Emotional Clutter” essay very important.
Thanks so much for keeping in touch with all of us.
Merry Christmas and Happy Solstice.
Joseph
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