Joyful hurrahs!  That pretty much describes the holiday season.  Suddenly, at the end of November, there’s a quickening of pace and a lifting of spirits as we anticipate.  Over the next four or five weeks, we’ll be in high holiday gear.  Our holiday busyness, our ways of celebration are as various as the imagination allows.

There are so many possibilities, so many holiday delights that it’s easy to hit the overload button.  Instead of overload, choose yours and your family’s favorite ways to celebrate and stick to those. 

Holiday spirit takes hold through much of the world.  That means there are as many cultural ways of celebrating as there are religious ways.  Below you’ll find but a few of the countless ways people celebrate the holidays.  What are your favorites?

Let’s start with music. 
Do you carol through the neighborhood?
Do you sing in a choir, play in an orchestra?  Does your anticipation grow as you  rehearse?
Do you go to hear a choir or an orchestra?
Do you play carols on an instrument for your family? 
Do you play holiday music on your iPod or Nano or CD player?  Do you have some faves?

Then there is the food.
Are you a holiday baker?  Are you one who bakes and cooks and shares with others?
Do you throw a party and cook your heart out for it?
Rather than making and baking, perhaps you enjoy the tasty treats of the season.   Which?

There are gatherings.
Is it friends gathering?  It is travelling a distance to be together?

There is story telling – from the theatrical to at-home retellings.
There’s the Nutcracker and Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. 
Perhaps you prefer Amahl and the Night Visitors.
Are you a storyteller?  There are stories to be told, stories to pass down. 

There is gift-giving.
Do you love giving gifts to others?
Do you enjoy finding that perfect gift?
Is it the wrapping of your gifts?
Do you make your gifts?  Do you enjoy giving of yourself to others?
It could be you just plain like receiving gifts.
What about charities?  Whether it’s time, talent or money, it is a season to help others.

There are always elevated spirits.
Does your pace quicken?  Do you feel that holiday season joy?

Do you have a holiday season persona? 
Are you the one who “ho, ho, ho’s”?
Do you have favorite holiday clothes?  Maybe you like to wear red shoes or you’ve a  favorite pair of socks.  Even a jingle bell bracelet?

There are decorations everywhere.
Is it decorating your home?  What about your yard?
Do you decorate a tree?  What makes your decorating time most special?

Is it the countdown, the anticipation you most enjoy?
Do you enjoy an advent calendar?

Is it spiritual?  Or, is it the traditions handed down over the years?  What are they?

It’s a season to reach out to others wherever they may live.
Do you send cards, letters and photos?  Do you visit family and friends

Here’s the thing.  The holidays are no longer just Christmas for Christians, Hanukkah for Jews and Kwanzaa for those of African heritage.  It’s true; non-believers enjoy the holidays as well.  Plus, for some, the traditions have blended.  The important point is that you do what is right for you and yours.  Remember, though, to avoid the overload so you can savor your holiday season.

Happy holidays!  The season has begun.

The holidays are upon us.  If you’re like me, Thanksgiving is the signal for a breakneck pace, the rush to prepare.  The retailers have been reminding us for weeks that it’s time to start but for most of us, it takes Thanksgiving to get us into gear.

Yes, there are many among us who prepare all year long.  Their gifts are chosen, wrapped and awaiting a position beneath someone's tree.  Not me.  I have done nothing.

For those of us who haven’t begun, there’s still time to be sure our holidays will be memorable.  It does, however, take a little forethought and planning – over the next couple of days.  Before entering the shopping madness, take a moment to consider these.

First, what do you expect from your holidays?  Have you ever asked yourself that - what you expect from your holiday season?  It’s important to nail down expectations so there isn’t a sense of regret or unfulfilled promise at the end.  The holidays are so full of energy and hope but if we don’t know what we’re anticipating, it’s likely we’ll be let down.

Next, recall yours and your family’s favorite traditions.  Your favorites will lead the list of choices for this season.  Remember to consider whether there have been any changes in other, life changes may mean holiday choices will be different this year.

Don’t forget to cross off those traditions that no longer satisfy.  We evolve.  We change.  It’s not heresy to change your favorites.  This might be the year for a new tradition.  What will it be?

Look at the calendar.  Figure out your timing.  The school choir’s performance.  The tickets to The Nutcracker.  What are the things that are already commitments?  What about parties you want to give or you expect to attend? 

Tomorrow is the last day of November.  That leaves little time for a lot of celebrating.  Consider this, New Years’ Eve is a mere 31 days off!  Now’s the time to let your calendar help guide you.

Making choices.  We can’t do it all; there are just too many possibilities in the holiday season.  It’s time to decide what you will do in Holiday Season 2013 and what you will leave for seasons beyond.

What will make this holiday season memorable?  What can you do to be sure it’s a year you’ll happily remember?  Starting a new tradition can make it memorable.

Avoid end-of-season regrets.  Making plans – a traditions plan and a money plan – will help you prevent disappointment or regret.

Savor.  That’s right; don’t forget to enjoy the fruits of your planning.  Enjoy the moment.  Breathe in the scents.  Delight in the sounds, the flavors and your uplifted spirits,.  Appreciate all that you have, all that is a part of your 2013 holiday season.

It’s very natural to think about gratitude at this time of year.  Or is it?  It’s so easy to just give gratitude a nod and move on.

It’s a funny thing, gratitude.  What is it really?  We can take a quick glance at our lives and say, yes, I’m grateful for my family, for my friends, for my home.  Those are the quick and easy things for which we are grateful.

Why not take a different path this year?  Challenge yourself and take it a step further.  Skip the obvious and go a bit deeper.  Consider, for example, those things that make you, you.  Is it your sense of humor?  Your determination?  Your great cooking?  Your thoughtfulness?  Be grateful for all that you are.

What about your family and friends?  What is it about each person you love that makes them so very special for you?  Their smile?  Their spirit?  Their love for football?  Their crazy stories?  Are they great Words with Friends friends?  Remember to appreciate what your loved ones do that brings you joy.  How do they change your life?

Even when we’re confronted with seeming catastrophe, we can be grateful – if we’re willing.

Happiness experts tell that gratitude is one of the most powerful ways to grow happiness.  Over time, gratitude changes people’s happiness – and it doesn’t take all that much time to make that happen.  It’s not the only tool, but it is one that works for many.

In future blogs we’ll look more closely at ways to grow your happiness with gratitude.  For now, appreciate all that you are and be grateful.  Perhaps it’s not the tryptophan in the turkey that is making us feel so contented; perhaps it’s that we’ve taken the time to count blessings.

Do you ever wonder where your happiness comes from?  Have you wondered if you could be happier?  Many among us wonder whether theirs is the right amount of happiness.  Some see happy-go-lucky others and wonder why they don’t feel the same way.  The question then, how do we know if we are as happy as we should be or could be?

Well, there are now answers to these questions.  As it happens, happiness has become a hot research topic amongst social scientists and their results are surprising.  They’ve found the sources of personal happiness.  In particular, social scientist and Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky, who’s studied happiness for a couple decades, tells us that the basis of our happiness is three-fold.

Genetics.  That’s right, if you want to place the blame on your great-great-grandfather, well, there is some merit to your desire.  50% of our happiness comes from genetics, that stuff that’s passed down in each of our families.  While genetics is fixed and unchanging, awareness can help you with your choices and decisions.  

Circumstance.  I’m betting that many among us will point to circumstance as the main source of our happiness.  Not true.  A mere 10% of our happiness is the result of circumstance.  Yes, you say, but if only you’d win the lottery, your wealth would make you so much happier.  Not true.  Over time, we return to our personal happiness set-point.  Whether it’s circumstantial highs or circumstantial lows, we naturally return to the level of happiness we knew before the circumstantial change.

Okay, so we can point to our ancestors but not to the happenstance of life.  What else is there?  We now know that our everyday happiness is up to us as individuals. 

Intentional Activity.  Our attitude, our activities, everything we choose to include in our lives or leave out of our lives – these are the things that play most heavily on our level of happiness.  All those daily activity choices we make represent 40% of our happiness.  That puts us in charge of our happiness.  

That we are in charge of 40% of our happiness changes everything.  We can make choices that will help to grow our happiness or thwart our happiness.  That’s why we are each in the driver’s seat of our personal happiness

In future driver's seat blogs, we'll look at the things we can do to grow our personal happiness..

We are grateful to Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky for her ground breaking research and her writings: The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want by Sonja Lyubomirsky.  2008.  Penguin Books.

We say it all the time, “I’ll sleep on it and get back to you with an answer.”  Often, it works.  Some of our greatest ideas, our most creative work can happen while we are sleeping.  It's even a time for problem-solving.

Does that happen for you?  Are your inspirations the result of a good night’s rest?  For me, the answer is often a resounding yes.  I ‘m sometimes amazed at the great ideas awaiting me when I waken.   I’ve even “slept” on some of my biggest decisions and the outcome was terrific.

The challenge in a sleep-deprived nation, how do we actually make “sleep on it” work?  If we go to bed worried or anxious, the odds of wakening with a brilliant solution or a terrific idea are reduced.  For the sleep-deprived, “sleeping on it” may even grow their sleeplessness. 

Naturally, good ‘sleep hygiene’ rules apply: no caffeine before bed, only use your bed for sleeping, go to bed at the same time every night and follow bedtime rituals consistently.  

Going to bed rituals are especially important.  If you like to read yourself to sleep, be sure it’s a book that enables sleep.  If it’s a book that energizes your brain, you’re less likely to fall asleep.  Worse, if your brain is “hooked” on your book, it’s not likely you’ll come up with an inventive solution. 

Instead of an exciting book, choose one that is calming.  Or, when you want to waken with a great idea, skip reading altogether.  Instead, as you lay down to bed, begin thinking about the subject you are “sleeping on”.  What ideas do you have so far?  What are your expectations for the solution?  Can you think beyond the expected?  Fall asleep with your mind on your subject.

Or, fall asleep remembering the good things that happened during the day.  That primes your mind, readies for it for good rest which is the ideal time for great ideas.

For your best “sleep on it” results, plan your nighttime rituals and give it some practice.  You may well surprise yourself with your innovative outcomes.

The sky is an incredible blue today, did you notice?  The leaves are gold and red, did you see?  Soon it will be winter and the hyper intensity of the holidays.  Right now, however, at this very moment on this very day, it is fall and it is gorgeous. 

Our lives can be so intense, so list and to-do-driven, so scheduled that it’s easy to overlook the beauty that surrounds us each and every day. 

We live in amongst astonishing beauty.  Yes, there’s a lot of cement.  Yes, strip malls are not designed to enhance the beauty.  Still, there are trees and flowers and our gorgeous blue sky.  In the midst of our hectic day, it’s calming to focus and really look at our surrounds.  It’s both calming and energizing.

When there is a catastrophe . . . when the wind destroys, the waters flood, the fires burn . . . when there is a natural disaster, we come together. 

When an evildoer offends, when a transgressor’s acts devastate, we come together.

Some of us are first responders, those who aid victims or douse flames, remove debris or recover the salvageable.   First responders are on the scene immediately.

Others of us work behind-the-scene whether by hugging, holding or feeding, whether by cleaning, restoring or rebuilding.  Some send letters of love and care. 

We are forever changed yet we are united in our humanity.  We stand together. 

Some among us donate material goods or provide expertise to help the injured get back on their feet.

Still others help to underwrite the costs.  From lemonade stands to on-campus drives to individuals reaching deeply into their pockets to companies making a statement of their belief in community.  Each stands united with victims of calamity. 

It’s an investment of spirit.  Whether it’s time and talent or financial and material gifts, in the time of disaster, we are there for each other.  We stand united.

Today I’m blowing the whistle on me and my number.  It’s a number I’ve carried in my mind for a couple decades.  My number represents the ideal weight I wish for. That’s right, while I’ve wished it would happen, I haven’t made it happen.

Do you have a number in mind – the number that represents an ideal for your life, your nirvana?  Some of us carry our “perfect weight” in our head.  We imagine ourselves as our lighter, leaner selves.

Others of us have a salary or bonus number in mind.  They know exactly what they’ll do the very moment they hit their mark.  Once they’ve achieved that number, they think, life will be incredible.  That’s when they’ll really start living.

My number stopped me from feeling good about myself.  It made me put off buying some great outfits because in my mind that lighter weight is right around the corner. 

If you are someone who sets a goal and gets it done, then it is terrific to carry a goal in your head.  For those of us, however, who’ve set a goal but have taken no action, it may be time to stop and reassess.  That bliss we felt about setting our goal may have gotten in the way of actually making our goal happen. 

There is a fine line between working towards a goal and putting life on-hold til you “get there”.  If you’re one of the people whose life is on hold til you get to your number, think about what will really happen when you get to your number?  How will your life be different?  Will it really?

Some of us commit so fully to our “number” that we fail to enjoy our days.  Somehow we put parts of our life on hold.  That’s how we miss out on whole days of living.

Life won’t really change on the day you reach your goal.  Yes, you’ll probably be healthier or wealthier but you’ll remain the same person.  Instead of holding out for an ar arbitrary number, I choose to live today fully.  How about you?

I wakened one morning last week, turned on the radio and sleepily nodded as they announced the birthdays of three really famous people.  Each was celebrating a big birthday that very day. 

“Wow, that’s old,” I thought, “I didn’t remember they were that old.”  That’s when my sleepy morning reverie was lost to a horrifying thought.  “That’s how old I’m going to be on my very next birthday!”

Chronology is a crazy thing.  In our head, we feel young; we feel as if we’re as cool and up on all that is current.  But that’s in our heads, our brains, our minds.  We look out at our world from inside our minds.  Our mindset tells us what we see.  Do we remember to remind our mental vision that we put on a couple of years?  No.  That’s okay, a lively mental spirit helps keep us young.

Whether your next birthday is 30 or 40 or 50 or 60 or another number, whatever the number, we’re as young as our mind and body allows.  A vibrant outlook allows us to live our days fully.

It’s the final day of the Olympics.  Over these days of competition, we’ve watched exceptional athletes performing at their peak. 

Repeatedly, commentators have told the stories of the athletes.  It’s never a surprise to learn of long and arduous physical training but the story never stops there.  Many commentators go on to tell about another side to training – the athlete’s ability to visualize, to see themselves performing every nanosecond of a winning performance. 

Alongside the physical training, each athlete plays out every moment of a performance in his or her mind’s eye – over and over and over again.  They anticipate every possible challenge to an exceptional performance and then they see in their mind exactly how they will respond to that challenge.    

Olympians do not visualize the gold medal.  They might dream about it but dreaming doesn’t get them to the win.  Instead, athletes visualize every step of the performance that they see as their best.  They see themselves performing at a winning level and they practice their performance at a winning level.  That is what gets them to the gold.

When you visualize a goal in your future, are you visualizing only the outcome or do you see yourself taking the steps necessary to make your goal happen?  Those who reach their goals, see themselves taking all the steps that will get them to their gold.  In your mind’s eye, can you see yourself “in performance”, taking the actions that will lead you to your goal?