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Two tools to tame the holiday turmoil

INSERT YOUR TOWN NAME HERE, Iowa—To stay grounded during the holiday rush, it’s helpful to be reminded of what really matters. The Pick 5 Survey takes just one or two minutes to complete, yet provides a clear idea of the factors Iowans find essential to a good quality of life. To take the survey, go to ReclaimYourHolidays.org and click on Pick 5 in the right hand column of the webpage.

After that exercise, complete the 5-minute Assessment (found as a sidebar to this article) or go directly to http://bit.ly/162sGfr. This activity is based on the book, The Pursuit of Happiness, by Tal Ben Shahar. Shahar theorizes that both the “experience of meaning and the experience of positive emotions” (pleasure) are needed “…to lead a fulfilling, happy life” and that this is a lifelong process. In this exercise, readers reflect on the meaning and pleasure derived from some common activities of the season. Then, readers can begin to reshape holidays to derive more meaning and pleasure.

Additional tools for taming holiday turmoil—as well as many useful tips for creating meaningful, fun and eco- friendly holidays—may be found at www.ReclaimYourHolidays.org.

The "Reclaim Your Holidays" initiative is a program of the University of Northern Iowa Center for Energy & Environmental Education. It is funded with support from the Resource Enhancement and Protection Conservation Education Program and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Solid Waste Alternatives Program. INSERT YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME HERE is a project partner.

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Pick 5, assessment tool ss/9/05/13

A 5-Minute Tool to Assess Your Holiday Activities (sidebar)

1) Review the following list of holiday activities shown below. 2) Think about the amount of time you spent on these activities during the last holiday season, and how much meaning and pleasure you derived from each. 3) Then rate activities on the meaning and pleasure you derive from them. Use a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being “a great deal of meaning or pleasure” and 1 being “no meaning or pleasure.” 4) To the right of the Meaning and Pleasure columns, indicate if you would like to spend more or less time on that activity this holiday season. If you want to spend more time, put one or two pluses (+ +). Use the minus sign if you want to spend less time, and a double minus if you want to spend a lot less time (- -). If you are satisfied with the amount of time you spend on the activity, write in a zero (0). 5) In the Comments column, feel free to make notes for yourself—such as what might work better, or why you don’t find meaning or pleasure in a particular activity. 6) Skip activities that you did not do last year, and/or add activities. 7) A few examples are shown at the top of the chart. Activity Meaning Pleasure More, less or Comments (rank 1- (rank 1- about the 5) 5) same time (+, -, 0) Ex: Home decorating 3 3 0 Invite friends over to make it more fun. Ex: Making music (singing, 5 5 ++ Be intentional-go to events where I playing instruments, etc.) know singing will occur. Home decorating

Time with family

Time with friends

Volunteering or helping others

Spiritual/religious activities

Time to myself

Shopping for gifts

Making gifts

Baking for the holiday

Making a big dinner

Attending holiday performances/entertainment

Making music

Listening to holiday music

Playing outside with family/friends

Writing cards What did you learn? What would you like to do differently this year?

References: Ben-Shahar, Tal, Ph.D, Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment, New York: McGraw Hill, 2007. Robinson, Jo and Jean Coppock Staeheli, Unplug the Christmas Machine, New York: William Morrow, 1991.

This exercise was written by Susan Salterberg, University of Northern Iowa Center for Energy & Environmental Education. This project is made possible thanks to funding support from the REAP Conservation Education Program and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Solid Waste Alternatives Program. Find more at ReclaimYourHolidays.org.