Three Simple Steps to Find Some Calm This Christmas

Well… We all know what a “wonderful” year we’ve been through. Full of fear, stress, worry about getting sick, losses of every kind, isolation, and loved ones stuck in other countries and cities. 2020 hasn’t been an easy year for anyone in this world, but here we are, with the end in sight.

We know. It isn’t easy at all to stay calm and get ready for Christmas during a pandemic, but a few small habits, boiled down to three simple steps, will help you find at least a little peace and enjoy the holidays the way you deserve.

Step one: Limit your exposure to the news

As a former journalist, I know all too well where too much news can lead, especially since, following the principle that “bad news travels faster and grabs (because it scares) more people, so ratings go up,” at least 80% of news stories tend to be negative. And as if the negativity and doom on the news weren’t enough, they’re also wildly exaggerated. For the worse, of course. So a perfectly normal December snowfall becomes “the white fury” or “the apocalypse” on the news, taking on catastrophic proportions.

All that negativity, the disaster after disaster on the news, can’t help but leave its mark on someone who’s already feeling anxious.

We can’t control what the media feeds us, but we do have control over how much time we spend consuming bad news, and over our devices. So, to feel calmer at Christmas, on New Year’s Eve, during the holidays and any other time, limit your exposure to the news and social media as much as you can. Because we all know how much bad information from unverified sources goes around on Facebook.

How? Very simple: don’t stay glued to your phone reading the news nonstop. Instead, set aside two moments a day, morning and evening, an hour each, to catch up on what’s happening and do your worrying, then get on with your life, ignoring that little voice telling you to pick up your phone to see “what’s new” or what your friends have shared on Facebook.

Step two: Be gentle with yourself and others, and accept what you can’t control

No, this year, right now, in these times and for as long as the pandemic lasts, nobody is acting normal. Not even you. And maybe some of your reactions, which seem perfectly reasonable to you, leave others speechless.

In 2020, stress and anxiety levels shot up to infinity, so now is the best time to be kind to yourself, to criticize yourself less and to understand that it’s perfectly normal not to feel normal, to feel at the end of your rope, to be on edge, desperate, down. Once you accept that it’s no wonder you feel this way, and understand that this won’t last forever, even if it seems like it, and that everyone reacts to stress and despair in their own way, you’ll find more peace.

We can’t control what happens around us, but we have absolute control over how we react to the world. So take a breath, enjoy every good moment in your day, stop getting upset about what other people do, and you’ll be fine.

Step three: Make time for breaks and breathers

Somehow connected to the first two steps, step three is about your power to say STOP. Say stop to the world spinning madly around you, to the fear and panic inside you, pause for a few minutes from everything you’re doing, and enjoy. A warm, soothing tea, a hot chocolate, a glass of wine and all the tiny things that bring you a drop of joy.

Buy yourself something beautiful, made with heart, support a local business, bring back hope with a kind word to someone who’s struggling, help someone who really needs it, lend a hand, be gentle, stay calm and smile.

Hard times forge character. Stop when you can’t go on, take a break, then keep going. Along the way, you’ll find all the strength and inspiration you need. I promise 🙂