So in the name of such endeavours: Put your feet up, grab a bevy, give yourself a couple of minutes and I’ll share with you how to have a more authentic “holiday season’:

Whether we are saying a politically correct “Happy Holidays ” or a supposedly less correct “Merry Christmas “ (Small side bar: From my point of view, the whole PC thing has turned the holidays and many other things into a ‘christMESS’).

In the words of psychologist and comedian David Grainer,

“The holidays; a time when dysfunctional families obligationally get together to piss each other off.”

Of course, that’s not necessarily true for everyone, but it sure is for many.

Okay, back on track: Why do we get together at this time of year? 

Christmas can be so many things to so many people; for some it’s wonderful and for others.. not so much.  To me, there’s not much that is more heartwarming than watching the excitement on a small child’s face on Christmas morning. It’s almost as if excitement is literally leaking out of every pore. It’s a sight that infects and lifts even the saddest soul.

But let’s face it, outside of that, there can be meeting with people who very often you wouldn’t spend time with under any other circumstances. And then the buying of Christmas gifts has become about competitive, obligational consumerism. And even though we may be becoming more conscious and we promise ourselves we won’t swallow the consumer pill… year after year – we do .

If I sound a bit pessimistic about this time of year, it’s because I think we all need to examine the unconscious rituals we subscribe to and why. Take for instance Shopping: For most people, the competitive, obligational consumerism that has been rammed down our throats all too often chokes the goodwill out of heart felt gift giving. In turn robing us of the true joy of giving.

Here’s the scary part: Think about it…This year, how many gifts did you/will you, give out of obligation?

I know it’s a tough question, but it is worth thinking about. Here’s a clue into knowing the difference between an obligational gift verses one that came from the heart:

If you had a magic wand that would instantly remove the guilt from yourself or judgment from others, how many of the gifts you gave this past Christmas would you actually have chosen NOT to give?

It comes down to this: The only way to treat this disease is step into a level of Quantum Mind Mastery by asking yourself powerful self penatrating question: Why have I made what other people think of me so important?

WWTT is an acronym for ‘What Will They Think?’

Here’s what you will want to know: Most of the time, most people don’t think!

The answer – I think you will agree – are those who stand up for what they believe in. Those who own their trust, and are willing to face rejection rather than be inauthentic. People like Martin Luther King, Gandhi, even the Dixie Chicks.

So, stop for a moment and think about what this means…

The only way to be genuinely liked – or, for that matter loved, is to stand in your truth.
Here’s one of my quotes on the subject:

Those who are committed to being liked by everyone will never know genuine love from anyone.”

In the next post I’ll talk about New years resolutions and goal setting.

Have a wonderful guilt free holiday season, Dov…