Gratitude for Holiday Stress

Today I’m sharing a video from a visit to my friends at Virginia this Morning on WTVR CBS-6 back in December 2017. This conversation took place the same month that my article on Scrooge was published on HuffPost, so you’ll notice that it’s referenced and the topics are similar, though one never knows where the questions will go! Watch the full conversation with Cheryl Miller here.

For a deeper dive, please read the full article that I reposted on this blog recently.

A few thoughts from this particular video:

• I reflect on the ways that our own inner Scrooge may surface, perhaps in unexpected ways. Sometimes aiming for a perfect feast for our family might not be perceived as a generous gift for others, but instead is a self-serving opportunity. Consider your motivations and how you communicate about the experiences you’re sharing.

• We can rewire our brains!

• Our aim can be to change our focus away from the “more more more” greed of the holiday season, while also practicing appreciation and building relationships.

• Gratitude is a practice. Our brains learn through repetition -even at the cellular level! We must repeat activities regularly to change the wiring in our brain and how we think and behave.

• A few strategies to build gratitude as a protective measure against greed may be to create a daily gratitude practice through meditative reflection, journaling, explicit sharing with family, or adding items or thoughts to a jar.

Mindfully practicing gratitude can help to control the insatiable greed that is part of our human nature. Enjoy the holiday season!

Dr. Franssen is available to talk about these and other topics! Schedule a free consultation at www.FranssenStrategies.com.