Anyone is welcome to participate as long as they follow one important rule: the post must pertain to winter or the holiday season. Prepare to read an awesome variety of seasonal postings over the month of December.
Kola has also been a Featured Indiana Blogger here before. She’s the owner of Beta Motivation, or “down to earth motivation for the next Steve Jobs.” In other words: Kola hopes to inspire others to dream big!
Her advice is practical. In fact, you could say that at times….it is downright invaluable! Let Kola take it away now, and you’ll soon see why.
A Very Hoosier Holiday: 6 (Mostly) Polite Strategies for Surviving the Holidays with Family
You probably have somebody like me (or worse) in your family.
I see my parents and siblings only once a year at Christmas. Yet, whenever we get together, I absolutely refuse to talk to anybody for the first hour or so after waking up each day. In fact, I take offense when they try to talk to me during this arbitrary personal hour of silence. This is the behavior my family puts up with on a daily basis throughout the holiday period (bless their hearts).
I’m sure you’re going to be putting up with a lot of stuff from your family during the holidays as well.
Maybe it’s the uncle that ends every rude remark with “just kidding”. Or the aunt that insists on gifting fruit cake and inquiring about when you’ll finally get married. Or maybe it’s the cousin that seems incapable of talking about anything other than himself and his perfect career.
Whatever the case may be, I have six strategies for you:
1. Examine
Use the offending family member’s behavior as a frequent reminder to examine and appreciate the great traits of other members of the family.
2. Smile
Choose to be amused by the very behaviors that would normally get under your skin. This one takes some effort initially, but it is way more fun than developing high blood pressure. You can even find meaningful little treasures that’ll put a smile on your face here.
3. Cheer
On some days, you’ll have to comfort yourself. Eat lots of chocolate or drown your frustration in eggnog. Whatever makes you happy. Just never let anyone steal your joy—not even family.
4. Appreciate
Appreciate the fact that the holiday season won’t last forever. Come January (or sooner), everyone will disperse and life will go back to normal. That’s good news right?
5. Practice
Practice the habit of meditation. Or, preferably, learn how to suddenly become deeply engrossed in reading a book whenever the offending party is nearby.
6. Exhale
Take deep breaths and yield to the craziness. Accept it. Stop hoping that your family will suddenly see the light and get along. Simply accept the fact that everybody has a little bit of the crazy gene. Your family members are no exception. Click here for little treasures for daily inspiration.
Pause for a minute.
Did you notice that the first letter of each of these 6 strategies spell the word, ESCAPE? If you did, go ahead and pat yourself on the back. You have the keen sense of observation required to know exactly what to do if all else fails.
About Kola
Kola Olaosebikan writes, speaks, and even sings embarrassingly on YouTube sometimes. Doing (almost) anything to make sure that you get the inspiration you need to improve the world in your own big (or little) way. Go to Beta Motivation to see for yourself and find meaningful little treasures for daily inspiration.
Find pictures in Indiana on my Flickr photostream or on the new little Indiana Tumblr blog.
Just don’t forget to tell ‘em that little Indiana sent you!
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