Are Too Many Decisions Compounding Your Stress and Anxiety this Holiday Season?

Making decisions is exhausting. Too many decisions leads to mental depletion, indecisiveness overwhelm, and yes, stress and anxiety. Decision fatigue is real!In a given day, we have a finite capacity for how many decisions we can make well. So much so Steve Jobs chose to cut out what he considered unimportant decisions so he could focus his energy on what he considered more important. This is illustrated in his uniform style of dress, a black mock turtle neck and jeans every day. This one decision cut out thousands of decisions. Generally a decision like this stems from a greater vision for the life one wants to create. An example: “I know my anxiety is tied to my health and wellness, therefor my Health and Wellness has to be a priority so I can be present in every part of my life.” These type of decisions become keystone decisions and are often helpful in simplifying our lives. Typically throughout the Holiday season, I see an increase in stress and anxiety in my Acupuncture practice. Much of this stress and anxiety is due to overwhelm, especially trying to sort through commitments and priorities. When we tackle each decision one by one, it’s exhausting. The demands of the season are folded on top of all the decisions related to our day to day life and this compounds the decision fatigue and subsequent stress and anxiety when someone is already tapped out.This year what keystone decision can you make that will remove thousands of decisions for you? In my family about 10 years ago we decided that we would only buy Christmas presents for kids. This has really allowed the adults to focus on enjoying time with each other. Prior to little ones in our family, we chose to find ways to spend time together in lieu of a gift, usually in the form of a family trip.  Keystone decisions can be applied to anything related to the holiday: I’m committing to 3 holiday events a week so I don’t become exhausted as a result of over committing.I’m committing to 1 dessert at every party so I don’t fuel my anxiety with sugar. I’m committing to being in bed by 10 for the season so I’m fresh every day. What overarching decisions can you make to cut out the stress and overwhelm for you this Holiday Season?