Three Sneaky Ways Happiness Eludes Us at the Holidays

Year after year the holidays seem to creep up on me. The season starts with a flurry of anticipation. Stores start their marketing earlier and earlier, decorations illuminate the streets, catalogs pile up in the mailbox, and we begin to plan. Or not.

Whether you go to great lengths to strategize the season or choose to hibernate under the covers for two months, there is usually one common expectation this time of year. Happiness. We look for it in all sorts of ways. Food, relationships, gifts, vacations, movies, bonuses. But if you are anything like me, you often end up feeling disappointed.

One thing true about my own history with the holidays, is that despite moments of joy, they inevitably end the same way. With a sense of let down.

Sound familiar?

This year I decided to figure out why. I reflected on how I usually spend the months between November and December, and then planned how I could intentionally feel happier this year. It became obvious what stood between me and a true sense of joy was one thing. Me.

I needed to get out of my own way.

We create so much unnecessary suffering for ourselves this time of year. And there are three sneaky ways we do it.

1. Perfectionist Mindset