Oh No, The Holiday Season Is Here Again!
How can it be? It’s Thanksgiving today and that means Christmas and New Year’s are just a month away! Time flies whether you’re having fun or not.
What’s your survival strategy this year? Do you need one or are you fine about the holidays? Not everyone feels bothered by the festivities. But if you do, here are some ideas to keep you feeling good and get you through to start a new year.
- Talk to friends and family and make plans early. Having something to look forward to can be the key to getting through the season.
- Consider an all girl’s New Year celebration. Take a trip – even if it’s just to a nearby city or spa and see something new. A change of pace can be really fun, stimulating and memorable. Or tone it down and plan a brunch at a nice restaurant.
- Find ways to help others. When you give your time and focus on those who are less fortunate, you feel better about your own circumstances.
Maybe plans aren’t a big issue for you. Perhaps you are more troubled by the endless, well-meaning questions from family members like, “When you are you going to get married?” or “Have you met any men lately?” These dreaded conversations can be worse than the lack of a man to kiss at midnight on December 31st.
My suggestion is to come up with your answers now so you are not at a loss for a response. Being prepared can make all the difference when dealing with the pressure you feel from family expectations. Not sure what to say? No problem, I’ll give you a few suggestions.
- “Thanks for your concern” then change the subject.
- “Just haven’t found the right guy yet”
- “My life is so full, I haven’t been focusing on the man hunt”
- “I’m not concerned at all, but thanks for asking”
- “I’m having a secret romance with George Clooney so I can’t discuss it”
Other tricks for dealing with that annoying family member include:
- Take a moment, smile and leave the room
- Change the subject
- Say that subject is off limits this year
- Go help in the kitchen
- Walk away and engage with other family members you do enjoy
- See what the kids are up to
This year, make a plan to take care of number one. And if you don’t know who that is – IT’S YOU! Find ways to enjoy the season and leverage the bounty of good spirit. Make it your goal to have the best holiday season on record, even if that means you relax and enjoy rather than participating in the crazed rat race that normally defines your holidays.
Lastly, be sure to count your blessing this Thanksgiving. No matter what is going on in your life, you have things to be grateful for when you take a moment to think about it.
Photo Credit: Rip the Skull’s
Single for too long, Ronnie wanted to find love. She put her skills from personal development and her spiritual path to work, dating 30 men in 15 months to meet her adorable husband Paul. Discovering the keys to manifesting and midlife dating, she founded It’s Never Too Late to help smart, successful women find love or live an empowered and magical life. Ronnie Ann Ryan, MBA, CCC, is a Certified Coach who has helped 1,000s of midlife women with her Love & Magical Life Coach services. She’s the host of the Breathe Love & Magic podcast and has been featured on NBC, ABC, & Fox News, NPR, BBC, eHarmony, MSN.com, and Connecticut Magazine among others. Also, Ronnie is the author of 6 books which are available on Amazon.
Hi Ronnie,
The holidays are here and I feel so left out because I’m single and it seems as thought everybody I know is either married, engaged, or in a relationship. I’m already 42 and I have never been married. When I was growing up I always had that uneasy worry that I would always be single and I would tell my dad about this uneasy worry and he would tell me, “your time will come”. He would tell me this phrase a lot and when he told me this I would feel reassured and I would think there was no need for me to worry. However, when I got into the dating pool, I learned fast that dating was so complicated and frustrating. I ended up going out on dates where the guys would turn sour on me on the first date, be rude to me, or turn on me and be cold to me. It has happened so many times to me and now I get to tell my dad that I was right all along having that uneasy worry that I will always be single and that he was not in the right for telling my, “your time will come”. Everyday I go out in the public, for example to a store or the mall etc., I always see someone I know and they are with someone or I hear about someone I know who has gotten engaged or married. So why is dating to frustrating and complicated for someone like me? I proved my dad wrong because I am still single today.
Nice tips. It’s good to cheer up yourself and be sure in future success in finding a date and probably love for life. Good mood is always precious for attracting a date as crying over being single does not help at all and even makes things worse. Good mood and self confidence is the best way to get yourself prepared to meet a date.
Yes, focus on you and all the great things in your life! Spend time and attention on friends and family.
I wrote a blog post about this recently, too: http://singleagainonlinediary.blogspot.com/2010/10/6-things-to-keep-your-sprits-up-when.html
During the holidays there are all kinds of volunteer opportunities and ways to brighten up someone else’s day. And when you do, you find your day brighter, too.