The Holidays and Rational Detachment

I can’t believe that 2013 is winding down and we’re into the holiday season already. Where did the time go? This is one of my favorite times of year—spending time with family and friends, the food, the presents, and listening to “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” for the 32,000^th time! This year will be extra special as we’ll be welcoming home our daughter who just finished her first semester of college.

Walking around a crowded mall isn’t a big deal to me (good luck finding a parking spot first), but it may create anxiety in others. That’s why I appreciate what I’ve learned in my Nonviolent Crisis Intervention^® training. It’s not only helpful to remember and utilize the techniques in our workplaces, but we can use them in our everyday lives as well.

The holidays are a good time for me to practice Rational Detachment. A lot of people get stressed out during this time of year—running around town looking for that perfect Christmas gift or preparing the house for guests. There’s always something to do. I need to remind myself that not everyone presents their best holiday spirit while out and about. While I can’t control someone’s behavior, I can control how I react. There’s no need for me to get drawn into someone else’s Ebenezer Scrooge-like antics.

We don’t know what someone else’s Precipitating Factors are that might cause them to be a little rude, maybe even a little aggressive, but I can be supportive by offering a smile to an overworked store clerk, holding the door for a mother and her children, or waiting for a senior citizen to walk down a store aisle instead of trying to run past like Adrian Peterson. The holidays should be a time of cheer and goodwill. I’ll do my part to keep it that way.

As this year draws to a close, I want to extend warm holiday wishes to you and yours and I hope you enjoy a happy, healthy, and safe 2014. 

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