The 7 Ways to Holiday Stress Proof Your Marriage
1,540 views · Published 25 October 2018 · 9:23 · Indexed 29 September 2026
Channel: Marriage Helper · 2018 · Education
https://marriagehelper.com/the-seven-ways-to-holiday-stress-proof-your-marriage/ (0:00) The Seven Ways to Holiday Stress Proof Your Marriage. Number one, get some sleep! (Because no one likes being around a Grinch.) No, but seriously, think about what you're like when you don't get any sleep. You are more emotional. You get angry easier. You eat way more food, which we'll get to in a bit. But, everything gets off kilter when you don't sleep. I could go on for an hour about how much sleep matters, but I'd rather you use that time to sleep. So, just trust me. Number one, get some sleep. (0:35) Number two, stay active. During the holidays, it's cold outside. There's so much stuff to do. It's dark all the time. So, there's all these excuses of why you don't want to stay active, why you'd rather stay in bed and cuddle on the couch by the fire and drink hot chocolate. But, it's not going to help you to be able to manage your stress during the holiday season. Yes, there's time to relax and spend with family and cuddle up by the fire with a good book and some hot chocolate. But, you also need to get this energy out of you. Stay active. Go for a walk. Join a gym. Go to some yoga classes. Do crossfit. I don't care what you do. But, do something to stay active. (1:23) Number three, eat right. I know what you're thinking. How am I supposed to eat right during the holidays when there's my mom's favorite cake, and my cousin's famous whatever-it-might-be-chocolate-covered-sausage-balls..I don’t know what it might be for you. But, here's what you need to know. If you just focus on eating your greens, eating your protein, getting a good salad, and getting some good vegetables in during the meal, then you can reward yourself with a dessert at the end. You don't have to eat a dessert every day. You don't have to eat the heavy casseroles every day. But, focus on getting good nutrients in. Focus on not eating when you're bored or just because it's there, but only when you're hungry. And, you'll find that you can actually get through the holidays without gaining some weight. I'm not asking you to start a new diet. I'm just saying be mindful of what you're eating. (2:24) Number four, think about what you're thinking about. Here's what that means. Especially during the holiday season, we're bombarded with messages from society, from Hollywood, from social media, saying that what we have isn't enough. We need to get the brand new TV, the brand new Apple product, the brand new whatever it might be. Or, we're seeing all of these pictures of our friends who are having these amazing holiday get togethers and how happy they are with their husbands and their wives, and we can feel like we are less than. Like, our marriages aren't good enough. Like our stuff isn't good enough. Like our kids are little punks, and they're not good enough. Deep breaths. Think about what you're thinking about. If you're constantly in that negative state of emotion, thinking about the negative, thinking about how what you have isn't enough, it's going to translate into how you act. As a man thinks in his heart, so he is, is the way that the saying goes. So, make sure that what you're thinking about is positive, is exciting, is happy. Yes, we have to deal with negative things too, but overall we can choose to be optimistic and to have a positive mindset. (3:42) Number five, give grace. I don't know about you, but I tend to judge myself by my intentions and others by their actions. Here's what I mean by that. I might fully intend to take the trash that's in front of the front door out to the trash can by the road on my way to work as I'm leaving for work in the morning. But, I get in a rush. I don't have time. I have to get out the door quickly, because I'm late for a meeting, and I'm able to give myself grace. Because I said, you know, I wanted to. I intended to. But, I just didn't get to. I'll do it later. But, if my husband were to do the same thing, if he were to run out the door because he was late, but he didn't do the trash, it's easier for me to look at that and say, “I can't believe he did that.” I'm judging him by his actions. But, I would've judged me by my intentions. What I want you to focus on is, when things like that happen, and it's not always gonna be the trash. Maybe it has to do with finances, or parenting, or kids, or a work party or whatever it might be. Try and see it from the other person's point of view. Be gracious. See that they might have been late to something, and don't just start accusing them for not doing something or whatever it might be. Be gracious in your response. Be gracious in your perception of the people around you. Choose to believe that they're good people and that they want to do good things. Read the accompanying article at http://www.marriagehelper.com/holiday-stress-erh
