As we come upon the happy holiday season, we can easily glue ourselves to unhappiness. Here’s how: Justify your unhappiness.

There is no better way to stay unhappy than to list a stocking-full of reasons why you are that way.

Here’s a Christmas tip: Don’t put justifications in your letter to Santa. It’s a surefire way to get him to divert his sleigh from your chimney or doorway.

The removal of one word from your vocabulary will take your justifications down to a bare minimum: “Because.”

The minute you say I’m unhappy because . . . you are stickier than a dog slobbered candy cane.

“Because” is the gateway to justifications, and justifications will keep whatever is being justified in place.

So the formula for keeping the holidays unhappy is to defend your unhappiness.

I love the way Eckhart Tolle acknowledges unhappiness. He recommends saying the following to yourself: “I have unhappiness within me.” That gives the unhappy feeling the recognition it seeks. Once you recognize and just sit with the feeling, you begin the process of unjustified healing.

Why should you leave your justifications off your list? When you do, you weaken their glue and help prevent a “Christmas of Blue.”

All the best,

John