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\u201cLet It Go\u201d is more than a Frozen<\/i> anthem for the pre-school set. It\u2019s also a hard-core success strategy for giving yourself \u2014 and those around you \u2014 a truly happy holiday, from Thanksgiving preparations through New Year\u2019s Day (and the rest of the year).\u00a0I saw the power of a few of these little actions in the research for The Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages<\/a><\/i>, and The Kindness Challenge<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0but it applies to all sorts of situations. Especially during the Christmas and New Year season, you\u2019ll be shocked<\/i> at the difference if you say and do these four things. Click below to start reading.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be done my way.\u201d<\/b> I know I lose many of us right off the bat with that one! At every family gathering, we want things to be so special. So we have a vision in our heads for the way we want the lights to be hung, the office party to work, the food to be cooked. But sometimes that means we push ourselves and those around us to do things in a certain way\u2026 and at some point it becomes work and frustration.\u00a0Which means it ceases to be special. In those cases, let go of your notions of \u201cright,\u201d back off your vision, and reap the benefits in more fun for everyone.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2. \u201cI\u2019m going to let myself sit down and enjoy this.\u201d<\/b> Yes, there\u2019s work to be done. And very often, you can do it later. Don\u2019t miss your niece excitedly sharing a long story about the play she\u2019s in at her school, or miss a simple coffee with friends, just because you have ten things on your to-do list for the New Year\u2019s party. Tell yourself that you don\u2019t always have to be the responsible grown-up at every moment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3. \u201cLet\u2019s simplify.\u201d<\/b> Let go of the fourteen things you could be doing, and enjoy the five that you do.<\/i> On days off of work and school, give yourself permission to just \u201clie around\u201d and read a book or watch a movie without feeling like you have to be \u201cdoing something.\u201d \u00a0Unless you and<\/i> everyone around you enjoys a constant whirlwind (which, to be fair, some people do!) do not overschedule.\u00a0You may have a Christmas Eve tradition of Christmas caroling and <\/i>a visit to the neighborhood party and <\/i>driving around and seeing the lights\u2026 but maybe this year you do one of those each day, instead of three per day.\u00a0Maybe you say \u201cThis year, the Christmas tree is going to have just lights and tinsel instead of all the ornaments.\u201d \u00a0Maybe you turn the family Christmas update letter into a January update. When you start to say, \u201cBut\u2026but\u2026!\u201d tell yourself, \u201cLet it go.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4. \u201cI\u2019m not going to let that get to me.\u201d <\/b>\u00a0For many folks, the holidays mean extended time with family members who push all their buttons. \u00a0And having those buttons pushed is one of the quickest ways to get stressed and not <\/i>enjoy the holiday!\u00a0Solution?\u00a0Decide in advance that no matter what Uncle Joe says about your cooking or what your step-mom says about politics, that you are going to smile, shrug it off, and not let it bug you. There are many ways to do this (for example, \u201cSally, I think we\u2019re just going to have to disagree\u201d) but the bottom line with all of them is that you\u2019re refusing to give someone else control over your peace of mind.\u00a0As one of my friends puts it, \u201cI\u2019m not going to let him bust my peace.\u201d<\/p>\n Peace.\u00a0Joy. Family. Friends. Don\u2019t miss what matters most because of holding on to those things that are less important. Let it go.\u00a0And you\u2019ll enjoy this season so much more!<\/p>\n Helping people thrive in life and relationships is Shaunti Feldhahn\u2019s driving passion, supported by her research projects and writing. After starting out with a Harvard graduate degree and experience on Wall Street, her life took an unexpected shift into relationship research. She now is a popular speaker around the world and the author of best-selling books about men, women, and relationships. (Including For Women Only<\/em><\/a>, For Men Only<\/em><\/a>, and the groundbreaking The Good News About Marriage<\/em><\/a>)<\/p>\n Her newest book, The Kindness Challenge<\/a><\/em>, demonstrates that kindness is the answer to almost every life problem, and is sparking a much-needed movement of kindness across the country. Visit www.shaunti.com<\/a> for more.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cLet It Go\u201d is a hard-core success strategy for giving yourself \u2014 and those around you \u2014 a truly happy holiday, from Thanksgiving through New Years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1684,"featured_media":6924,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5494,5473],"tags":[23,52,5495,20,36],"class_list":["post-4126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-other","tag-communication","tag-conflict","tag-family","tag-holidays","tag-kindness"],"yoast_head":"\n
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