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Don't let seasonal madness overcome you. Create truly meaningful memories for you and your family this holiday season.

IDENTIFY WHAT YOU WANT

Most people don't get what they want because they don't know what they want. Identify what you truly want this holiday season. Be specific. Don't just wish for quality time with your family; wish for ice skating at the park with your husband, reading stories with your children by the fire, or singing Christmas Carols at a nursing home.

Once you've identified what you want, not what TV commercials, friends, and others think you should want, visualize it. Create in your mind the perfect holiday season. Imagine hugging your children Christmas morning, getting along with your brother-in-law at Thanksgiving dinner, opening your zero dollar credit card bill on New Year's Day, or rendering service to the needy on Christmas Eve. Let your imagination go.

SET GOALS AND START PLANNING

Now that you've created the perfect holiday season in your mind, start planning. Prioritize your schedule. Make sure activities that will bring you the most joy are given top priority. Give yourself enough time to finish the not so pleasant necessities. If you're forced to choose between two activities, choose the one that will help you achieve your goal of a perfect holiday.

Include others. Your perfect holiday may be substantially different than that of your spouse, your children, or your parents. Communicate with them. Plan with them. Compromise.
Make the process part of your perfect holiday. No one wants to spend the holidays alone, even if it is perfect.

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS THE PERFECT HOLIDAY

You've thought about the perfect holiday season. You've set goals for the perfect holiday season. You've planned the perfect holiday season. What could possibly go wrong?

Things happen around the holidays. Be flexible. As long as you're focused on what truly makes the season great and mentally prepared for setbacks, unforeseen occurrences will not wreck your winter wonderland. It's ok to strive for and plan the perfect holiday, but keep your expectations in check.

FOCUS INWARD THEN OUTWARD

Don't lose touch with the significance of the holiday season. It is an opportunity to give thanks, to express your godliness. Take a time out from seasonal madness and explore your spiritual side. Meditation and prayer ease the mind and relaxes the body; religious sermons enlighten the soul; literature focusing on love and peace abound.

Take a break from yourself and focus on others. Visit a widow. Help the financially struggling. Sing at a nursing home. Read to a sick child. Feed the homeless. I have yet to meet a single human being who has not felt good after rendering loving service. No matter how stressful the season becomes, you are one batch of cookies, one holiday greeting, or one donated toy away from making the season perfect.

Learn more about this author, Trent Lorcher.
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