How To Keep The THANKS In Thanksgiving

So it happens to all of us.

Halloween goes by and you realize it, BAM… Here comes the holiday season, and it’s a whirlwind until January 1st!

Now, in addition to our normal work and chores, you anticipate the holiday season and all the things that need to get done.

Now, the holiday season can be wonderful, but for many, the holiday season can be overwhelming at times.

You can feel your levels of stress and anxiety rising just thinking about the holidays and all the things that need to get done.

Maybe you’re having Thanksgiving dinner and everybody’s coming over to your house, or you’re making side dishes or dinner to bring to your family or friends. And then there’s buying gifts for everyone and decorating for the holiday season.

The amount of things that need to be done can seem never ending at times.

And for many, the holiday season can kick off a cycle of negative emotions.

So with all the things that are going on with the holidays, …

…how do you keep the thanks in Thanksgiving and for the rest of the holidays?

Your ability to keep the thanks and Thanksgiving, and for the rest of the season, has to do with where your focus is.

So where’s your focus?

Do you focus on what you have to do or do you focus on what you get to do?

You see, there’s a tendency in the holiday season to focus on all the things that you have to do. There’s a never ending list of what you need to do in “not enough time.”

And to say the least, it can be overwhelming.

So if you’re like most people, you probably have a 9 to 5 job …and then some, and there just doesn’t seem to be enough time to get all the extra stuff done that comes along with the holidays, right?

And there could be a tendency to get caught in a negative mindset loop where you focus on all the things that you HAVE to do.

We sometimes forget what Thanksgiving and the holidays are all about. We are reminded on Thanksgiving to celebrate the blessings of the past year and what we should be thankful for.

But it’s easy to get caught up in the craziness of the holiday season.

So I want you to shift your focus from what you HAVE to do to what you GET to do.

It’s a subtle shift in your mindset, but a very important shift.

Lila Gifty Akita said, …

“It’s better to focus on the beautiful things in life rather than the negative.”

Instead of,

“I have to prepare for the holidays”,… you GET to prepare for the holidays.

I get to buy presents for my loved ones. Now, if finances are a stress and anxiety for you, then be creative about how you can make gifts for your loved ones. Remember, they love you so they understand whatever gifts that you give them are coming from a place of love.

So remember, you get to see or remember your relatives on the holidays. So if your relatives are a point of stress or anxiety for you, try to shift your focus to the positive aspects of your relatives and the positive memories of your loved ones to bring you strength.

Remember, stress does not come from the holidays. Stress comes from your thoughts about it. And guess what? You can control your thoughts and you can control your focus.

So try to shift your focus from the things that you HAVE to do to the things that you GET to do over the holiday season.

So here’s my next point.

Do you focus on what you don’t want and don’t have? Or do you focus on what you do want and you do have?

Jeff Dixon said, …

“Sometimes we focus so much on what we don’t have that we fail to see, use, or appreciate what we do have.”

So I can tell you, being a physical therapist, I get to talk to people all day long. It’s one of the best parts of my job in my profession.

You’d be surprised that starting in October, people start to tell me about all the things that they don’t want.

“Well, I don’t want the holiday season to come”, or “I don’t have enough time for all the things I have to do”, and “I don’t want to travel, I don’t want this, I don’t want that.”

It’s an easy trap to fall into.

So I can tell you, you’re much more likely to have a happy holiday season if you focus on what you want rather than what you don’t want.

How do you want your holiday season to go?

You’ll see that if you start to change your mindset, your view of your Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season will completely change, and this will be how you’ll keep the THANKS in Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season.

So, in addition to changing what you focus on, one of the best ways to keep the thanks in Thanksgiving is, to simply…

…Be More Thankful.

It’s to have the Attitude of Gratitude,

Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks for what we have. It’s not focusing on what we don’t have.

Oprah Winfrey said, …

“Be thankful for what you have, and you’ll end up having more. But if you concentrate on what you don’t have, then you’ll never, ever have enough.”

Be grateful not only for what you have, but be grateful for who you love, who loves you, and for all the people around you. …And for all the little things in life.

• Say thank you to somebody who holds the door open for you.
• Hold the door open for another stranger.
• Appreciate the server at the restaurant.
• Say, please, and thank you to everyone, including your family.

That’s to remind you that it starts at home and what you do at home with your family will overflow with what you do into the world.

So as I say, have the attitude of gratitude. Appreciate all the things you have, and appreciate the little things in life, and I know this will help you keep the thanks and Thanksgiving and for the rest of the holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Be Positive, Be Motivated, Be Focused and Be Well,

When you sign up to receive his blog updates via email.