3 Ways to Spark Joy During the Pandemic Holidays

3 Powerful Ways to Spark Joy During Pandemic Holidays: Finding Connection, Love, and Silver Linings

In a time when many of us are spontaneously bursting into tears, having anxiety attacks, and heavy doses of loneliness, it can feel like an extra hard blow that our holiday season holds such a different tone this year. Maintaining our social distance while also craving the desire to carry on traditions can feel like the last straw in the 2020 ? show.

And the only way for us to make the most of this time is to keep finding our silver linings and even creating new ways to feel connection, joy, and love.

Here are 3 ideas for how you can spark joy during the pandemic holidays. In the comments below, let us know what else we can add to the list!

Create a Tribute Video. This was one of the most joyous experiences I received in 2020. My husband invited 60 people to join him in creating a birthday video for me that was framed around “What do you appreciate most about MaryBeth?” What I was then gifted was a 60-minute video of people from all over the world filling my heart and soul up with massive love.
There are so many companies that have easy online platforms to create a collaborative video montage that you can give as a gift on any important occasion (James used Tribute.co). They can be created for workplaces, families, friends – anything! And you get to frame the entire video around your specific question. So imagine if one of your key tribes each uploaded a short video on “what are you grateful for this year?” and during the (remote) holiday you received it as a gift to watch and cherish together?

Ask Deeper Questions. The quality of our life often reflects the quality of our questions. And when you choose to go deeper than the surface level (think: how’s work? how are the kids?) then you can begin to understand yourself and those around you better. Here are a few of my favorites that work great around a firepit or zoom gathering:
– What are you most proud of in life?
– What is your favorite memory from the holidays and why?
– How did you grow this year and what do you appreciate about that?
– Why do you think you are so passionate about _______?
– When did you last feel pure joy? How might you have that feeling more often?

Activate Your Values. You know those internal motivators that make us feel alive when activated? Well, those are your values! When you are having an experience that leaves you feeling filled with good energy – you know your values live there. And on the other side, when you are feeling completely drained and depleted your values are absent. For example, one of my core values is Unity with Nature. So every time I go out in nature I feel a sense of personal alignment and yes… JOY! And when I’m stuck inside for too long, I feel exhausted. So if you don’t have your values clearly defined yet, just think of 3 words that describe what REALLY matters to you. (Think: authenticity, true friendship, freedom, inner harmony, innovation, creativity, etc). Then make a choice to do something intentional in your life to activate that value on purpose!