Ain’t it funny how the holidays most focused on peace, love, and gratitude can also be the most stressful?!

Often the stress is rooted in expectations of ultra-positive emotions. If you feel obliged to be extraordinarily grateful and congenial, you may be suppressing the less sunny aspects of yourself. And forcing yourself to look like you just stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting is hard, stressful work!

The cure for obligation is freedom. So if you feel stressed on Thanksgiving, you might want to try saying these affirmations to yourself:

When you know you’re free NOT to, that means you’re also free TO... Now you can choose based on what feels REAL.

And the freedom to be real is something we can all be thankful for! :)

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