How to Manage Your Emotions

It’s the holiday season and, among the hustle and bustle are a few extra opportunities to get your feathers ruffled.  Stress levels during “the most wonderful time of the year” tend to be at all-time high.  As you prepare for many family gatherings, prepare food, wrangle the kids for family photos, and keep the cat off of the tree, here’s a tip on keeping your cool amidst the crazy.

You can best manage your emotions by first managing your expectations.

Kids often expect everyone to be nice to them.  Parents expect that school will be void of conflicts.  If you have ever gone grocery shopping on a Saturday and been frustrated with the long lines, you can easily see my point.  Often we set ourselves up to be upset by holding unrealistic expectations.  

This holiday season, give yourself and your kids some leeway.  Expect that things won’t go exactly as planned.  If they do, you’ll consider it a bonus rather than finding yourself frustrated.  By adjusting your expectations you will have pre-planned your attitude and be able to handle stress much more easily.  At the end of the day, it can help us be more loving to the people around us, no matter the situation.