What are you focusing on this holiday season?

If ever there was a time for perfectionism, over-indulgence and stress, it’s the holidays.

What if this year it could feel different? What if there could be more joy?

Joy can feel like a pretty big ask! Finding joy can feel like a task laden with heavy expectations, but really, that’s just a thought. Reality check - joy is just a simple three letter word. You can make it what you like. You can choose, and be intentional, about where you plan to find joy. 

Whether you look forward to, or dread the holiday season, we can easily lose sight of the good. What if you spent 5 min each morning thinking about what the day involved, and focused on one particular moment you planned to appreciate ahead of time? An exercise like this is both a mindfulness exercise in the moment, when you slow down to think about it, and setting yourself up for being present later in the day. 

Do you remember the last time you learned a new word? Or a new concept? Did it start to show up everywhere you looked? This is like that.  Guess what happens when you plan to watch for a kid’s eyes lighting up, or a stranger showing kindness, or an adult in your life transforming into a little kid again? You savour that moment, it’s like the world comes into sharp focus for a moment, and that pause allows you to really take it in. These kinds of pauses can really fill up your cup. And these moments are everywhere once you start to look for them. 

This year give yourself this little gift of being able to appreciate all the hard work that you have put into making things special for those around you, take a moment and really savour it!