🎄 A Strengths-Based Holiday: Reducing Stress Through CliftonStrengths
The holidays often carry lots of joy, but also a fair amount of pressure. As calendars fill with events, shopping lists grow, and expectations rise, many of us carry extra stress on top of already full plates.
If you’ve taken CliftonStrengths, you already have a powerful advantage. Your strengths aren’t just about what you do well; they can guide how you manage stress, preserve your energy, and maintain presence during the busiest season of the year.
Here are some practical, domain-based strategies to help you get through the holidays with more calm, clarity, and ease.
1. Executing: Plan with Peace
When your Strengths lie in the Executing domain (themes like Discipline, Focus, Responsibility, or Arranger) your natural tendency is to manage tasks, check boxes, and get things done. That’s a gift during the holidays.
Holiday Stress Strategy:
Use a "Holiday Brain-Dump": Sit down with a blank sheet and write out everything you need to do: big and small. Gifts, cards, food prep, social engagements, work deadlines, family responsibilities. Just get it out of your head.
Create a realistic plan: Once the list is out, use your strength of Discipline or Arranger to block out tasks over time. Space them out so nothing feels rushed or overwhelming.
Schedule rest like a task: Put self-care time on the calendar. Whether it’s a night off, a walk, or a quiet cup of tea. Treat it like an important appointment.
Because Executing-strength people naturally thrive when they see a clear path forward, these steps can reduce the mental clutter that often turns holiday cheer into holiday chaos.
2. Strategic Thinking: Choose What Matters
If your top themes live in the Strategic Thinking domain (like Strategic, Futuristic, Intellection, or Ideation) you have the gift of vision, insight, and options. But too many options, too many ideas, too many “shoulds” can feel overwhelming.
Holiday Stress Strategy:
Prioritize with purpose: Use your Strategic or Futuristic strength to reflect on what truly matters this season. Maybe it’s deeper connection with loved ones, meaningful traditions, or learning to slow down. Decide what you actually want to put energy into and let go of the rest.
Mindful reflection: Set aside a few minutes each week to journal or think: “What felt energizing this week? What drained me?” Use your Intellection or Learner strength to observe what aligns with your values and what doesn’t.
Declutter your commitments: If something doesn’t align with your season’s priorities, give yourself permission to step back and say NO, even before it becomes urgent.
Because Strategic thinkers naturally see patterns, possibilities, and potential outcomes, leaning into what matters most can reduce decision-fatigue and help you feel intentional instead of reactive.
3. Influencing & Relationship Building: Preserve Your Energy & Boundaries
If your strengths lean toward Influencing (like Communication, Woo, Activator) or Relationship Building (like Empathy, Relator, Includer), you may draw energy from people or feel energized by connecting. But at the holidays, that can also lead to over-extending, over-giving, or emotional burnout.
Holiday Stress Strategy:
Set a boundary: Before saying “yes” to every invite, ask yourself: “Will this energize me or drain me?” Use your knowledge of your own Strengths to decide.
Use your strengths to simplify: If Communication or Activator is a top strength, maybe you send a heartfelt group message or e-card instead of a long handwritten letter or multiple phone calls. If Empathy or Relator leads your way, focus on meaningful connections with a few people rather than spreading thin.
Celebrate small rituals: Use your Positivity or Woo to create small moments of joy. For example, a hot cocoa night, a gratitude phone call, a festive playlist; even if the rest of the season is busy.
By honoring how you recharge and connect and saying no to extras that drain you, you protect your emotional energy while still staying connected and generous.
4. Well-Being & Stress Reduction: Lean on Strengths for Resilience
Research from Gallup supports this: when people use their strengths regularly, they report higher levels of well-being, lower stress, and less burnout. You can read more about it in this article: How Strengths and Wellbeing Work Together to Create Thriving Workplaces.
Employees who use their strengths daily are more likely to be engaged, thriving, and less likely to experience worry, sadness, or stress, even during busy or high-pressure times.
So this holiday, treat your strengths like tools in your well-being toolbox:
Mix rest and action: Use your strengths to decide when to push forward and when to rest.
Notice energy leaks: When you feel depleted, reflect: “Which strength isn’t being honored? What do I need to do differently?”
Build a strengths-based rhythm: In December, create simple check-ins: a few minutes each evening to review what went well, what drained you, and how to adjust for tomorrow.
Because strengths aren’t just about productivity, they’re about thriving, even when life gets full.
Want a Little Extra Support?
If you’d like to dig deeper, we’re hosting a live session on December 10: "Stay Present Through the Holidays" a Collective Connections workshop in partnership with the DeKalb Chamber Partnership, focused on reducing stress, staying grounded, and making this season more meaningful and less chaotic.