Your Energetic Holiday Survival Guide

Whether you're doing exactly what you want to be doing tomorrow or wishing you would have had the courage to say no and make different plans, there's bound to be someone or something that gets under your skin and makes you want to lose your cool.

While you can't keep Aunt Margaret from sharing her political views, your mom from making judgmental comments, or your brother-in-law from teaching your kids inappropriate jokes, you can make it through the day with your sanity and nervous system intact.

Here's how:

Step 1 - Decide in advance how you want to feel tomorrow. It might be calm, peaceful, connected, grateful, joyful... you get to choose.

Let the emotion settle into your body so you know exactly how it feels.

Step 2 - Create an energetic boundary around yourself before you go. Imagine a circle forming around you (I like mine to be sparkly!) sealing you inside. The circle now serves as a filter. Anything happening outside the circle can only enter and affect you if it supports the feeling you chose in Step 1.

When something is said or done that doesn't support how you want to feel, imagine it bouncing off your protective circle without impacting your energy or emotions.

Step 3 - If negative emotions or energy drains do make their way past your circle, that's ok. It happens and it's totally normal. You can release it and move on. Find some space to be alone - outside is great, but a bathroom or an empty room works too.

Physically shake or brush off the thoughts, emotions and energy that don't support how you want to feel off of your body. Visualize them falling off of you as you do. This helps your mind and body release the negativity. You should feel lighter after.

Then take a few deep breaths and bring yourself back to how you want to feel. Breathe it into your body and say to yourself, "I'm choosing [emotion]".

For example, "I'm choosing to feel peace" or "I'm choosing joy".

Seal yourself inside your protective circle and get back to the party.

Repeat as necessary.

If your holiday together-ness has already begun, it's not too late! Just start right now with Step 1.