Lottttttts of people are telling me they’re feeling stressed right about now. There are presents to buy and wrap, parties to plan, food to make, packing and traveling to do…it’s a lot to deal with, and I can aboslutley see where the stress is coming from. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel some of it myself. 

But there’s this one thing we can do to make this time of year seem a little less crazy and a lot more fun and easy…

We can choose to GET GRATEFUL.

Instead of focusing on the stress and all the “to-dos” we can start getting super grateful for everything we have going on, for all the things we have on your list to accomplish and for alllll the stuff that comes along with this season.

Being in a state of gratitude magnifies positive emotions, helps us celebrate the present, makes us happier, can make us healthier, gives us more optimistic outlook, can help improve sleep, can increase our energy levels, helps us relax and generally just makes us feel good. Why? Because we’re focusing on the positives and aren’t all consumed by the to-do lists, buying the presents and wrapping the presents and baking the cookies, etc. Instead, we can choose to look at those things not as stress-inducing and just another thing we have to do, we can look at them as things we get to do and things that bring us joy.

Feeling stress about buying gifts can turn into feeling grateful that we’re in a position where we are able to buy people gifts for people we love to show our appreciation for them.

If you don’t want to wrap gifts, there are people out there who can do it for us and they’re at most malls and major stores this time of year. We can outsource that task and choose to be grateful for those people who are wrapping gifts as a job this holiday season because that means we don’t have to do it.

If you’ve got some baking to do, make it a fun thing! Grab a glass of wine, turn on some of your favorite music and look at it as time for you to have some fun. Or, if you have kids, include them. Sure, it might be a little messier and take longer, but you’re making memories.

Gratitude doesn’t mean flittering around through life always on Cloud Nine and feeling all the positive feelings and none of the negatives, but it does mean being able to hand the stressful times a lot easier.

Gratitude means being thankful, counting our blessings and being aware of just how much we’re given on a daily basis. Living life this way helps shift our focus from focusing on what we’re lacking to the abundance we already have and might be missing!

While gratitude certainly isn’t a cure-all and won’t take all our worries away, a gratitude practice has been show to make people happier, more resilient, healthier and less stressed.

Sounds pretty amazing to me. Gratitude FTW!

What’s one thing you’re grateful for?

I’m super grateful for the 25+ women who have joined my *free* challenge, 12 Days of Fit-mas. These ladies have committed to keeping their healthy habits in tact this holiday season and if you haven’t joined yet, now is the time! Click HERE for more info and to grab your spot!