How to Coach Your Clients Through the Holidays and Into the New Year
Written by Julia Stewart
The "Holiday Season" officially kicks off this week in the United States. Hanukkah starts this Wednesday and American Thanksgiving is on Thursday, followed by a variety of religious and spiritual holidays, including Bodhi Day, Muharram, the Winter Solstice, Christmas, and Kwansaa; and it's all tied up with a bow (or bottle of champagne) on New Year's Day.
By then, many of us are exhausted, broke, and carrying ten extra pounds. It seems virtually every culture finishes the year with holidays and in this extra-small multi-cultural world we live in, we're all celebrating a lot of extra holidays, too.
I think of my personal end-of-year holiday trio, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, as Gratitude Day, Generosity Day, and Create the Future Day. So I regard the holidays as:
- Give thanks for what's gone before (past)
- Plug into the spirit of generosity (present)
- Decide how to create the new year (future)
And that's how I celebrate.
But already my clients are bringing problems to their coaching sessions that are directly related to the holidays: how to deal with difficult relatives, or co-workers, how not to blow the budget - or the waistline, how to deal with the extra-busy schedule - or travel, how not to give in to temptations, etc. All coaches, whether life, business or executive coaches, hear about holiday issues - and we have our own, as well!
In my book, holiday "problems" are "good problems", a.k.a. luxury problems, first-world problems, the kind of problems you want to have.Not being able to feed your children is the kind of problem you don't want. Fortunately, most of us are worry-free in that area.
So first, congratulate your clients on their great problems. That helps put it all in perspective.
Then remind them that becoming their best selves means sacrificing good for great. And everyone benefits when we're at our best (a.k.a.: Grump-free, Sarcasm-free, Tantrum-free).
Transforming holiday problems into holiday blessings boils down to just two things:
- Choosing what really matters to you (a.k.a. your Values)
- Setting boundaries (that protect what matters from what doesn't)
Help your clients identify what matters, according to what they most value, and from there, boundary-setting is pretty easy.
Here are a few ideas my clients have come up with, so far:
- Do plan what you really do and don't want with key family members
- Do set a time limit for family get-togethers; they don't have to be marathons
- Do decorate only as much as you really want
- Do shorten or eliminate activities you do solely out of obligation
- Do schedule escape activities, so you have an excuse to leave parties you don't enjoy
- Don't serve alchohol if some guests can't handle it
- Do attend extra 12-step meetings, if they help
- Don't expect the whole family to get together, if they don't like each other
- Don't invite people who repeatedly behave badly - and skip the guilt, please
- Don't be afraid to stay home if you really enjoy it
- Do talk to your therapist, if you get depressed
- Do emphasize the aspects of holidays that are meaningful to you and respect others who focus on other aspects
- Do cut back on your gift list - or make a contribution to a worthy cause, in their names, if they'd value that
- If you really want to get into the holiday spirit, do volunteer some time, face-to-face, with others who are less fortunate
The holidays are a wonderful opportunity to truly appreciate life. Don't blow that opportunity by celebrating on auto-pilot. You get to choose your life and your holidays. Have fun!
Here's a gift from us to you: Thomas Leonard's 28 Principles of Attraction.