By Lisa Cypers Kamen.
You are feeling stressed and it seems like you don’t have enough time to get everything done during this holiday season. You still have presents to get and you wonder if you will have enough money to buy all the presents for your family and friends.
Before the stress overwhelms you, stop for a minute and take a deep breath. It’s time to focus on what’s important during this time of year. It isn’t the things we have that matters the most, it is the people we have in our lives. Take the time during this holiday season to spend time with your family and friends and show appreciation to those people who matter in your life.
Another way to take the focus off of things and put it toward the people in our lives is to not focus on physical gifts that we exchange but on the quality time we spend with one another by playing games or singing songs. You will have fun and at the same time you will be saving money. You could spend time as a family baking your favorite cookies and sharing stories of past holidays while doing so, too.
Remember too that you can do something as simple as sharing a smile with someone – you might try doing that with the cashier at the department store when you are in a long line buying a present this holiday season. Smiles cost nothing and can brighten someone else’s day!
Lisa Cypers Kamen is a filmmaker, positive psychology coach, author, host of Harvesting Happiness Talk Radio, professor and lecturer specializing in the field of sustainable happiness. She is widely recognized as an expert on the subject. Lisa’s acclaimed documentary film co-produced with her now fifteen year-old daughter, Kayla, “H-Factor…Where is your heart?” explores how people in varied circumstances find, generate and share happiness. In addition to her film on happiness, Lisa has also published a number of articles and books entitled, Got Happiness Now?, Are We Happy Yet?, Leadership: Helping Others to Succeed and Reintegration Strategies, about combat trauma and using positive psychology principles to create wellness in a post-war new normal. Lisa’s written work is featured on blogs for the Huffington Post, PositivelyPositive.com and InspireMeToday.com and she is a TEDx community event speaker. In addition, she is the Happiness Expert for the Florida Department of Citrus/ Florida Orange Juice in its Take on the Day campaign.
Harvesting Happiness for Heroes™ is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that delivers stigma-free integrated combat trauma recovery services to warriors and their loved ones. Modalities include scientifically proven strengths based Positive Psychology coaching and interdisciplinary tools such as film, yoga, meditation, art and creative writing designed to mindfully empower the client to achieve increased self-mastery, self-esteem and reclaim her/his life. HH4Heroes focuses on the balance of mind, body and emotion resulting in greater overall wellbeing and the transformation of Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) into Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG). HH4Heroes offers retreat workshops, one-on-one coaching, Battle Buddy programs, as well as our new R.E.B.O.O.T Online virtual community coaching classrooms designed to reach underserved areas. In addition, HH4Heroes deploys Return to Duty™ civilian and corporate training to help welcome a warrior home and into the community and workplace.
Lisa is committed to teaching Happiness is an inside job™ and helping others end their needless suffering through intentionally cultivating greater joy.
Thank you Lisa its beautiful and coming at as at the right time. Have a wonderful Christmas and happy New year and my blessings.