How to have a Merry Christmas




           





After spending the first few months of the school year teaching elementary students positive psychology I decided to assess their learning by having them apply the theory of flourishing to the Christmas break.

Here is a compilation of the tips given by kids at Nicholas Sheran and General Stewart elementaries.

1) Eat mindfully - There is very little more exciting to me around Christmas time than planning out the holiday meals. Fish and pasta on Christmas Eve, Roast dinner on Christmas day, boxing day crepes, it's like overeating is a time honoured Christmas tradition. But why would I dishonour the most delicious meals of the year by eating it so mindlessly and rushed? Eating mindfully is about truly experiencing your food with all of your senses. Letting its deliciousness spark the reward centre of your brain and give you ultimate pleasure. Eating slowly and with intention will help you to not just enjoy your meal more than ever but to embed its sentimental significance into your memory, allowing you to enjoy it over and over again. Eating mindfully also leads to eating less and not hurting after a meal so that's a bonus as well.                            

2) Meditate - It's pretty special when you and 25 six-year olds and enjoy five minutes of silence. The kids recommend to spend at least 5 minutes everyday over the break meditating. Suggestions include meditating in front of the Christmas tree or watching the snow fall out your window as you track individual snowflakes with your gaze. The holidays can be hectic and stressful. Make time to sit in silence and truly enjoy it. There are plenty of guided meditations on youtube that can help you get the most out of it. Listen to Andrea Bocelli's version of Silent Night or Celine Dion's Ave Maria or Ray Charles' Spirit of Christmas and spend the entire song with your eyes closed, shoulders and jaw relaxed, breathing deeply, and just exist for a few minutes.

3) Serve others - Now this one is pretty easy over the holidays. The theory here that the kids recommend is that you will feel merrier by forgetting about yourself and focusing on someone else's well-being. Shoveling a neighbours driveway is always appreciated. One of my kids has a tradition with his family where they go to a senior's home to visit people who may not get many visitors this time of year. Money makes your the happiest when you spend it one someone else. That being said, keep the gift giving to a meaningful minimum. If you feel obligated or pressured to give someone a gift you will get no enjoyment out of it. In our family we have negotiated an exchange in which we only need to buy one gift. Maybe one of the reasons that kids love Christmas more than us is that they haven't been ruined by the pressure of expectations.
 

4) Be grateful - The degree to which your possessions give you enjoyment is directly related to your level of gratitude for that item. Reflect on what you have. Your health, your family, your comforts, and your potential. Take a moment to soak in the thought, effort, and sacrifice that went in to every gift you received, every decoration, every carol, every bite of food. You can't have a merry christmas and an ungrateful christmas at the same time. Feel gratitude then express it.

5) Exercise - Get out and move. Shovel snow. Have a snowball fight. Pull someone on a sled. If it's too cold then do some Yoga videos on YouTube. You have time. Get moving.

6) Start a project - Flow is the sensation of being so engaged in an activity that time flies. This is a perfect time to start or restart a meaningful project. Maybe you can start that blog or work on your scrapbook. Maybe there is a new skill you want to acquire. Whatever it is make significant time to do it. Even if it doesn't turn out great, the benefit is more in the process than the product. Just get to work and see how invigoration it is.


There might be more to it than that but this is what we came up with. I hope your Christmas holidays include plenty of flourishing.

Merry Christmas.

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