Why Gratitude is a Must During the Holiday Season

We at The Shops @ Rockvale are so excited to welcome in a new holiday season. The twinkling lights, the beautiful music, and the busy stores are all great things to experience. But there is more to the holidays than shopping and buying gifts. Family and friends are what truly matters and should be focused on this time of year.

We know everything seems much busier and more chaotic right now. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a good idea to stop and focus on what matters most. A happy life, a loving family, and a supportive group of friends will remind you of what is really important. And they’ll help you stay sane amidst all of the holiday festivities.

If you are starting to feel overwhelmed, stop what you are doing, take some deep breaths, and think about all of the people and things you have to be grateful for. Your loved ones, your coworkers, your pets, your friends (whether you see them every day or once a year). Your job, your home, your holiday decorations. There are so many things around you, big and small, that can bring you calm as well as bring you joy.

It can be easy to get caught up in the commercialization of the season. We here at The Shops @ Rockvale totally understand. Everywhere you find ads, jingles, news reports, and sales displays pushing you to focus on shopping more than anything else. But while we appreciate your business this time of year (and all year), we encourage you to take some steps back and look at what really matters as well.

What matters is the people around you and the life you are living. What matters is how your life will be after the busy rush of the holidays is over. What matters is how you treat others and how you ask them to treat you. What matters isn’t frantically buying all of the latest things. What matters is your family loving one another whether gifts are involved or not.

This holiday season, when life seems to be overwhelming you, take a few moments to re-center yourself. Meditate or listen to happy music or spend time quietly with the people you love. Make a list of people and things you are grateful for. Expand on it by including why you are grateful for each thing. Read the list to yourself whenever the chaos starts to get to you again.

There are a lot of things to stress out about this time of year. Finances. Time management. Event hosting. Vacation plans. Do yourself a favor and take some time to figure out what about each of these things is stressing you the most. Then figure out a way to work around that. Get help for events and planning. Minimize shopping lists. And make sure you find time for yourself to relax.

The holidays are a magical time of year, and we at The Shops @ Rockvale enjoy seeing our stores full of shoppers. But we want those shoppers to be as happy to be with us as we are to serve them. So make sure to be grateful for your family, friends, and life, and don’t let the craziness of the season ruin your enjoyment of it.