3 Ways To Lift Your Spirit This Season

It’s December, and one of the most hectic times of year for many people. Businesses are booming in sales, students are wrapping up in school, and overall everyone is just trying to make it into the next year in one piece. For many, there is beauty in this chaos. This is a time to make lasting memories with loved ones and reflect on the events of a demanding year. However, the holidays are not a season of joy and warmth for everybody. For those who have lost loved ones, suffered from unforeseen circumstances, or just simply are not content with the year they’ve had, this time of year can be an insufferable and painful reminder of the things that they are missing. Instead of enjoying every moment of the holiday season, they might be counting down the days until it is over. If you or one of your loved ones fall into this category, instead of isolating yourself, I have brainstormed three different ways that will hopefully bring some light into your life this season.

Challenge Yourself to a Holiday 5K

What better way to make yourself feel better than to use literal science to make yourself feel better? This holiday season, consider signing up for a 5K in your area. If you love to exercise, or maybe didn’t get in the gym as much as you had hoped to this year, a 5K is an excellent way to present yourself with a stimulating but rewarding challenge. Depending on the location, this could be the perfect opportunity to see some amazing views and get your heart pumping. No matter what the performance outcome is, the endorphins that will be released during this activity will certainly leave you feeling better than you did before, despite being a lot more fatigued! A bonus of doing this is the cute little shirts and trinkets that are given once you cross the finish line and finish the race!

Go See Christmas Lights

They’re going to be everywhere you look anyway, so why not make the most of it? Even if Christmas isn’t your holiday, that doesn’t mean that you can enjoy some of the beautiful displays around you! The Botanical Garden in Atlanta has one of the most notorious lights in the state of Georgia around this time of year. Grab your favorite person, carve out some time, and go look at the elegant masterpiece of lights! It’s a great way to get out of the house, and an even better way to save yourself the trouble of cleaning up that accompanies the task of putting up lights of your own.

Nostalgic Holiday Night

This option is by far my favorite and one I think of dearly. As adults, it can be easy to find ourselves reminiscing about the way the holidays used to be and feel when we were younger, or when circumstances were different. So, for this idea, try doing something that you enjoyed in the past. Whether that be watching Christmas movies in pajamas, decorating cookies, or waking up early to open gifts. Whatever it may be, this is an attempt to connect the past with the present and reignite old feelings of comfort.

This time of year can be a tricky one to navigate. Hopefully, these ideas make it even the tiniest bit more bearable.