Last night, during our monthly Moms Empowered session, we had the wonderful Che Marville remind us to laugh more because laugher she said helps relieve stress.

She had us laugh with her, which initially felt weird, and then we all burst out laughing. I looked around and saw that everyone was genuinely laughing. It felt good, really good. It felt liberating to laugh aloud and do so with a fantastic group of women.

Stressful times like the holidays can bring up a lot of uncomfortable emotions. But surrounding yourself with the right group of people can help make holiday blues so much easier to manage. So go ahead, join us, let’s have a good laugh together!

Here are some ways to think and behave more positively so that you can quickly bring laughter to your holiday.

1. Laugh – Yes, Laugh! Instead of stressing over things out of your control, why don’t you laugh? A good deep laughter can help your body relax and focus on things you can impact.
2. Take Stock Of The Little Things You Achieved – Track your achievements, no matter how small. Bringing our awareness back into our successes, no matter how small, allows us to pursue the big goals. There is a lasting peace that comes when we let ourselves sock in our wins.
3. Identify Areas of Growth – One issue that draws us back is not having clarity of our growth needs. We tend to use generalizing statements when describing what we want. Try to be precise when thinking or saying your growth need from today. It is essential you state your growth wish to take actions that support your goal.
4. Take Care of Yourself – often, we forget to care for ourselves. We get so bogged down with what we need to do that we forget taking care of ourselves is a number one priority. So, add “YOU” to the list, and make a habit of taking care of yourself.
5. Be Open to Humour – Life is full of humour. Often, we look at every experience life throws our way with the lens of seriousness. What if we can see the humour in being let go from a job, we didn’t like in the first place? I remember working for a boss that was one of the worst leaders anyone can have. This boss was only vested in having themselves promoted. There was no plan for the rest of the team to grow. However, when life helped move me forward, I missed the humour in that experience. I had the skills, and I was damn good at my job so, isn’t it funny that someone missed the value I added to the team? Others should not determine our values – Have belief in yourself. Knowing your worth is how you see the humour life throws your way!
6. Keep fit – Staying active can also help you maintain a healthy self. Many of us focus on losing weight versus keeping fit. Apart from the obvious health benefits, there are social benefits to keeping healthy outside clothes and how they fit. Your brain reaps the rewards of keeping fit and having a healthy lifestyle. Your memory, mood and cognitive ability all improve, and it helps improve your overall outlook on life and life challenges. Positive self-enhancing humour is possibly one of the best things you can do for your mental health. So, learn to relax and have a humorous view of life in general.
7. Practice Positive Self-Talk – Recently, I started self-affirmations. I did not bargain how difficult it would be for me to say: I am outstanding! The biggest surprise for me is the emotions that come with complimenting myself. Yet, there is a delight that I experience from acknowledging myself. Practice it. Self-praise isn’t boastful. We must learn to incorporate a self-motivation approach in our daily living. It helps us raise when we fall.

Evangeline Chima is our Founder and Executive Director. Follow Evangeline – https://www.linkedin.com/in/evangeline-chima-99682121/