When I was putting lights on our Christmas tree this year, I noticed that one string of lights in the middle of the tree had died somewhere between being tested and being strung. Resisting the extra work of starting over, I tried to creatively thread in a new string. In the time this “shortcut” took me, I could’ve started fresh three times over.
That’s the way it works. As Carl Jung pointed out:
That which we resist persists, and often even expands.
Take stock. What do you find yourself resisting in the holiday season?
Often we resist disappointment and put on false cheer to keep it at bay, leaving us with the disappointing empty feeling we feared in the first place. We resist conflict with family members despite ideological differences, unhealed historical wounds, or clashing personalities—resulting in us pushing conflicts underground until they rear up with the toxicity we feared. We even resist fatigue. Determined to make the most of the holidays and pack our days full with joy and adventure, we resist our need to rest and instead drive ourselves to exhaustion.
That which we resist persists.
So my wish for you this holiday season is for acceptance.
I hope for you that you can accept the disappointment of imperfections and unexpected glitches with grace and humor. I hope you can accept the conflict that comes with closeness, and allow yourself to risk true vulnerability with your loved ones. I hope you can accept your very human need for rest, and give yourself permission to sit, sleep, and slow down. Notice what you resist, and ask yourself to accept its presence. This will be your greatest gift of all!
Read my full blog post about acceptance this holiday season here.
Click below to access a worksheet I am sharing from my Resilience e-course. It’s designed to help you reflect on what you learned about emotions—particularly, which ones you may have learned to resist.
Awareness of your patterns empowers you to create change!
Yours in acceptance,
Lindsay
Lindsay B. Jernigan, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist – Doctorate
Eastern View Integrative Medicine
185 Tilley Dr. #14
South Burlington, VT 05403
802-229-8270
drlindsayjernigan.com
instagram.com/dr.lindsayjernigan