Marcus Clifford asks you to revel in the delight of your emotions. For the sake of your own wellbeing, make it a Merry Absurdness!
Christmas in the Print Industry: The first Christmas adverts have appeared, and I felt it opportune to pen a few words. Take a leaf from Larry Lamb in Gavin and Stacey with his engaged distancing. My homework for you is to watch him in a few repeats and learn how he seems to ride situations.
Christmas is ideally the season of joy, togetherness, and goodwill. Part of the answer is we can create our own meaning that works for us. Yet, for many, it brings a whirlwind of stress, heightened emotions, and family dynamics that can feel like anything but merry. The pressure to create the “perfect” holiday can lead to tension, with unresolved family issues bubbling to the surface over many gatherings.
At its core, Christmas presents a fascinating existential paradox. It is a time filled with traditions, yet we often feel trapped in the absurdity of those very routines. The forced cheer, the commercialism, and the sometimes-dreaded family gatherings can make the whole season seem like a play in which we’re obliged to participate. Not something you wanted.
Christmas in the Print Industry: So, how do we navigate these challenges without losing ourselves, and maybe, even come out better for it?
After some 35 years, I might have the Christmas I want this year. Well, maybe? Like all of us, I have tried many things to manage my emotions, disappointments, conflicts, expectations and wishes for the Christmas period, also exacerbated by managing others’ requirements and needs above mine. Especially for me after going through 4 years of divorce proceedings and managing different families’ needs. It’s all finalised now, hence I can do what I want! Since studying Positive Psychology and becoming my own self-therapist, I have crystallised thoughts and actions that may help you.
Regulating our emotions is a challenge as they are automatically generated by our senses, triggering the brain’s amygdala and limbic systems. Our mood is a longer-term feeling state. Emotions and then moods can be rampant during Christmas. Firstly, don’t beat yourself up when you feel such emotions as guilt, resentment, or disappointment; accept them, but don’t suppress or ignore them. Emotional processing is the steps we take from the onset of an emotion sensation through its perception, conception and enactment in real life. Each step involves a data transformation, refining what goes forward.
‘For there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so’. Hamlet, Shakespeare
Acceptance simply means being aware of your emotions and accepting them for what they are right now, knowing they won’t last. Accept some life situations are just absurd, nonsensical, and you are in a comedic sitcom!
Give yourself a space between thought and action. Try this effective exercise, Square breathing, 4×4 powerful breathing exercises can help you to quickly change your body’s energy, reduce stress, and calm your mind. https://www.verywellhealth.com/box-breathing-8423967
Swap Perception for Perspective
Our perceptions might be wrong and can be the brain’s default automatic response to a situation or perceived situation; by stepping back and re-framing your thoughts, you have the power to change this. Perspective: being an observer can take away the gnarly emotions. Negative emotions narrow our focus and creativity, it’s a result of things happening in our brains and part of our default survival mechanism when we need to focus. Fostering Positive emotions, however, opens us up thinking creatively, and we gain a wider perspective that helps and liberates us.
- Christmas tests our resilience in ways that can be both obvious and subtle. Whether it’s managing financial stress, navigating strained relationships, or simply dealing with the overwhelming logistics of the season, the pressure can feel immense. However, adversity offers a unique opportunity for growth, a core idea in positive psychology. Building resilience doesn’t mean suppressing emotions or “powering through” without feeling the stress. Rather, it’s about acknowledging the struggles and using them as a foundation to grow stronger. It’s about recognising that the discomfort we feel during the holidays can teach us valuable lessons about our needs, boundaries, and desires. If your Christmas feels overwhelming, take it as a sign to practice self-compassion and set limits. You don’t have to attend every party, buy extravagant gifts, or engage in every family conversation. Saying no is a way to protect your energy and sanity.
- Perspective opens us up, and to help instigate this, try to refocus on gratitude and cultivate an appreciation for the moments of connection, the absurd and bizarre.
- Be kind to yourself, be compassionate to yourself. Maybe it’s time to speak out, set a boundary and let others know your feelings have validity.
- Be the person you want to be by not falling prey to the old default you. Be the person you want to be; now is a good time to start!
In the end, Christmas is what we make it, what we decide our emotions will be. When all is stripped away, we are still left with the chance to connect—to others, to ourselves, and to the humour of the human condition itself!
In existential terms, embracing absurdity is about acknowledging that life doesn’t always make sense, but we can still find joy in the nonsensical, maybe we can let ourselves enjoy the imperfection.
Marcus Clifford is a business coach and consultant who can help you transform your business and review the psychology behind it for lasting impact. Someone you can have interesting and impactful discussion with. 0774 381 8806 Marcus @printboosterologist.solutions
Dealing with Change also by Marcus Clifford
