Have Yourself A Mindful Little Christmas

Hey everyone,

As we are already in the holiday season, I wanted to talk about a crucial topic concerning many of us.

Disclaimer: coming from a Christian culture, my article will mainly focus on Christmas, however, I wanted to be inclusive with other traditional holidays that are celebrated this time of the year. I hope I achieved that.

Fun fact: I created the thumbnail for this post by using OpenAI's beta app - it's super fun and I recommend you give it a try. I will put the link at the end of the post, among some other images I generated with AI around today's topic.

Sit back and enjoy the ride on how to be more mindful this holiday season. It will take around 5.5 minutes to read it.

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Imagine the scenario.

It's December, and the holiday season arrived with all the Jingle Bells, Santa Claus, gift boxes, and Frank Sinatra songs everywhere.

It's the time of the year many people have been waiting for. You already imagine sitting with the family at the dinner table next to the Christmas tree.

Everyone is delightful; the kids jump up and down out of joy while the adults share a peal of laughter. The holiday spirit brings tranquility and love.

Sounds wonderful, right?

Now imagine another scenario.

It's December, the end of the year, and the holidays are just around the block.

Instead of the childlike excitement, you feel stress and anxiety.

Workwise, last-minute requests are coming in from all your clients as they realize they must spend those last dollars in the last weeks of the year before the new year comes.

In the meantime, you also have to close the year and support your finance people with all the materials they need for the accounts - while they are even more stressed than you are.

Oh, and you are invited to all the holiday-related events. Company parties, client drinks, Christmas parties with friends, etc.

And as you go home at the end of a lovely December workday, trying to release all the tension from work, you realize that you need to buy those shitloads of gifts for the big family.

But you don't even know what the hell you should buy for your mom, dad, brother, sister, and dog.

However, you need to buy something.

Because Christmas is all about giving something with love. And that something must be one of those nick-nacks you saw in the ad when scrolling Instagram.

Otherwise, you suck.

Then the last days before Christmas arrive, and you can finally enjoy your days off from work. But you realize: you still need to buy most of the gifts and didn't prepare for any of the cooking you wanted to do.

So instead of finally enjoying your well-deserved days off, you are rushing to the nearest mall full of people. Thousands of people are running up and down in every shop to buy that new AI-powered smart unicorn baby that the kids saw on TikTok.

And you are no different at all.

You spend the whole day in the shops, rushing to other parts of the city as well, listening to the joyful and cute Christmas songs in every shop while almost doing a wrestling match with some other frustrated people.

And that's how we land on Christmas Eve.

We gather around with our loved ones - if fortunate enough to have them around - and can finally take a deep breath and enjoy the positive emotions that fill us.

But many of us feel something else as well. Burnout, exhaustion, and never-ending anxiety.

Two years ago, I was in this situation that eventually led to my mental breakdown.

Massive stress at work, dealing with my MBA exams - all until the last days before Christmas. A last-minute rush to figure out the Christmas gifts and buy all the groceries for the dishes I wanted to make.

After the Christmas days, I just wanted to spend some time alone, clear my mind from the stress, review the year behind me and mentally prepare for the new year.

However, I couldn't truly exploit the downtime I needed due to the rush, stress, and anxiety I brought from the weeks before Christmas.

And so, in the first days of January, the mental breakdown kicked in the door. The rest is an entirely different story for another article.

Yet, I learned an important lesson from this experience: as much as it is in my power and control, I must avoid the massive rush, stress, and anxiety during the holiday season for my own piece of mind.

Perhaps - and hopefully - you have never experienced this mental breakdown. However, I am sure many of you experience this rush and stress yearly around the holiday season.

The sad truth is that this is not the holiday's fault. No matter which holiday you celebrate in December - Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa - we tend to forget about the true meaning of the holiday.

We live in a consumerist world with great benefits and values, but it also poisons these holidays.

Buy more, spend more, take more consumer loans - because that's the Christmas spirit, and that's how you can express love to the people around you.

And that is false.

Consumerism steals the true holiday spirit, creates false expectations, and deteriorates our mental state.

Since this newsletter aims to help you become more mindful and mentally free, here are some bits of advice on how to live life more intentionally, even during the holiday season.

Have A Less Materialistic Holiday

Instead of having the urge to buy something, consider alternative ways of giving gifts, such as making something yourself or giving an experience.

Often our loved ones don't have a strong desire for another piece of material, which could be less creative or thoughtful than an experience or a DIY gift.

While your busy life might not allow you to allocate a lot of time to do your own crafts, imagine the time you would spend roaming around the shops for gifts and how you could dedicate that time to making something yourself.

However, don't feel pressured to buy or make physical presents - gifting an experience can also be a genuinely thoughtful present, enabling you to create meaningful memories together.

Also, prioritize spending time with loved ones to express your love and for long-lasting memories. This can be as simple as having a home-cooked meal, going for a walk, or playing a game together.

Your loved ones will certainly appreciate the gesture.

Don't Over-Commit To Keep Your Piece of Mind

It's okay to say no to events or activities you don't have the time or energy for.

We tend to feel the pressure and the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) effect in these weeks even more.

Despite the urge, you must take a step back and consider how all those commitments affect your mental state and what activities are worth your time and energy.

Take care of yourself and prioritize self-care. The holiday season can be stressful, so make sure to take time for yourself and do things that bring you joy and relaxation.

Create A Mindful Holiday

Referring to the point on less materialism, it helps to practice gratitude and focus on the things you already have rather than getting caught up in the desire for material possessions. Take time to appreciate the small things in life and be thankful for what you have.

Take time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas or any other holiday you celebrate. Focus on what is truly important - regardless of your spiritual or religious beliefs.

Instead of getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, try to slow down and savor each moment.

Practice mindfulness throughout these busy weeks and during the holiday downtime. This can help you stay present in the moment and focus on what is happening right now.

To avoid the pressure of consumerism, take a break from the constant stream of holiday advertisements and commercialism. Disconnect from social media and the news for a few days to improve your mental well-being.

There is no perfect Christmas, no matter how much we desire it. Set realistic expectations about the upcoming holidays and accept that things could go differently than you imagine.

Remember what Stoicism teaches us: we only have control over ourselves within a given situation.

Applying all these things in practice can be challenging; I get that. It is the same learning curve for me as well.

But let's make this journey for a more mindful holiday season together. Doing so can also positively impact the well-being of all the great people around us.

While various holidays celebrated in December differ in many ways, the one common aspect I see in them is celebrating life, love, and people.

Celebrating life, love, and people. Something worth being mindful of.

Máté - The Mindful Guerilla

💡 My Weekly Recommendations 💡

Stuff I Recommend You This Week

• I have been playing around with OpenAI's recently released AI functionalities, including the image generation that I also used for the thumbnail of this post. Check out the app and create your own creative images.

• Watch this heartwarming Christmas ad by John Lewis that raises awareness of children in care.

• Again, I have to share another Yes Theory video - this time they went to Somaliland, a country that officially doesn't exist. Their video brings you the story of that beautiful culture and the brave Somalilander people.

• Ryan Holiday has a great short video on 6 simple stoic lessons to feel more peace. Watch his video and try to apply those lessons in your life. I'm doing the same!

• If you want to get smarter every day in various fields of interest, sign up to Refind and let the algorithm send you 5 valuable links every day, curated from 10k+ sources.

Newsletters I Read Every Week

• Young Money - Jack writes inspirational & insightful posts on finance, career, and life. I learned a lot from his work, which was also a great motivation for me to start my own newsletter. 10/10 recommended!

• International Intrigue - A valuable newsletter on diplomacy & geopolitics delivered every weekday. Rather read this than all those shitty clickbait articles on mainstream media.

• Exec Sum - A daily newsletter on the major stories from the financial world. It's fun, entertaining, and informative. Better than those finance outlets with shitloads of ads.

• Snail Mail by Slow Growth - a weekly newsletter delivered every Monday by Matt D'Avella's team with great motivational content on productivity. It's not the usual productivity bullshit that you find everywhere else.

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