The Holiday Dance: Hustle, Waltz or Quickstep?

While it’s accurate to say that the holidays are fast approaching, it’s equally accurate to say that the “holiday season” is upon us.  That’s right, it is here and we as a collective are smack dab in the middle of all that it entails.

For some, the arrival of the holiday season brings with it a whack of excitement, anticipation and joy.  For others, it’s a sure-fire source of angst and turmoil — blood pressure levels start skyrocketing and muscles take on a whole new level of tension.  Using a dance metaphor (because I love metaphors and I love dancing) I feel that I can confidently say the holiday season has different people dancing to different tunes, and whether or not they include christmas carols is absolutely a moot point.

You see, the holiday season brings with it a very specific rhythm, a beat that is different from any other time of the year.  What’s interesting is that the beat is entirely open to interpretation.  As a result, while some hear soft, fluid melody, others hear syncopation and a backbeat.  Nothing wrong with either — and it does mean that people are going to dance through the season differently.  After all, it’s hard to do a jitterbug, if the music you’re hearing is a paso doble (can you tell I’m a Dancing With the Stars fan?).  The beauty is that you can actually determine what beat you’ll hear, what dance you’d like to do.  All that’s required is a conscious choice on your part.

So, let me ask you:  when you think of the holidays, is it your preference to dance your way through doing a waltz?  Or are you more of a quickstepper?  Maybe a jive?  Know that there is nothing wrong with any of the dance styles you might choose.  The only challenge is that if you don’t consciously determine what holiday dance you’re doing, you will end up being dragged onto the dance floor to engage in some sort of movement that you’d rather not do.

Bottom-line:  decide here and now, the essence of the holiday dance you’d like to create.  Once you’ve made your decision, hold this in your consciousness and make every experience align with your choice.  That way, once the holidays are over, you’ll be able to say with confidence and recall with certainty that you had the holiday dance you wanted.