Finding Peace in the Middle of the Holiday Rush

If the holidays feel less like a celebration and more like a sprint, this episode is your deep breath.

 We’re talking about finding calm in real-life chaos, slowing the swirl on the inside, and remembering where true peace comes from—busy season or not. You’ll hear simple, practical ways to reset your mind, breathe again, and rediscover joy when life feels loud. Even in the holiday chaos, there are little moments that can quietly anchor your heart—if you notice them. This episode will make you pause, breathe, and maybe see ways to stay connected to God that you never expected.

Listen for ways to: 

Walk Away When Needed – Sometimes stepping back is the first step toward real joy… would you dare? 🤔 

Focus on One Thing – Could slowing down and giving yourself space actually calm the swirl inside?  🌀 

Remember the Reason – How could a moment with God or a reminder of Jesus quietly anchor your heart amid holiday chaos?🕯️

Easy Holiday Joy – Less fuss, more fun…  ways to let go of perfection and still sparkle✨

Reignite Your Inner Child – Lights, treats, nostalgia… what if leaning into a little magic is exactly what you need? 🎄

Curious to discover more ways to stay grounded and joyful this holiday season? Tune in and find your little pockets of peace

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"Imagine Yourself" is hosted by Lanée Blaise and Sandy Kovach—two dynamic voices with a passion for inspiring and uplifting others. Lanée, a TV writer, producer, motivational speaker, and podcaster, brings powerful storytelling and insight. Sandy, a radio personality, voiceover artist, and podcaster, delivers warmth and wisdom with every conversation. Broadcasting from the Detroit Metro area, they welcome guests from around the world to share valuable perspectives on health, career growth, faith, and personal transformation. Tune in and imagine the possibilities for your life!

Transcript

Sandy Kovach [00:00:01]:
There are moments in life when peace feels like something we have to chase, when our minds won't quiet down and the world around us just keeps rushing ahead. And with the holidays, that feeling can get even louder. So today we're talking about how to slow things down on the inside, even when everything around us is moving fast. We have some strawberries, stress busting tips. Some that are just general and some specifically for the holiday season. I'm Sandy and on behalf of Lynae and I, welcome to Imagine Yourself podcast. Now we've got some good tips for you, but before we even get into the specific ones, here's a general one for the holidays, and that is to remember the reason for the season. And I know we hear that a lot, almost sounds cliche, even though it's not.

Sandy Kovach [00:00:55]:
But this is a specific way to do it, when the other parts of the holiday season maybe overshadow and overwhelm us. So a good way to do that when you start feeling overwhelmed, let's say with the commercialism of Christmas, or maybe you can't find the right gift for somebody. You're running around from event to event. Maybe you're even feeling lonely. This holiday season, when you get that feeling, say out loud if you can, or to yourself, I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior, yes, the Messiah. The Lord has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David. You probably recognize that scripture.

Sandy Kovach [00:01:39]:
It's Luke 2, 10, 11. I read it out of the NLT. Whatever, your favorite translation paraphrase it, however it works, or you might even pick another scripture. Isaiah 9, 6 is another good one. Maybe there's a song that a couple of the lyrics really bring you back to the Lord. It doesn't matter so much what it is, as long as it gets that connection to God going. And that is the best stress buster of all. Now let's get into those stress busting tips.

Sandy Kovach [00:02:10]:
It's an excerpt from an episode we recorded a few years back.

Lanee Blaise [00:02:15]:
There's regular life, there's holiday life, there's all kinds of things going on. And we love to address ways to make our lives better, to imagine ourselves and our lives the way we truly want them to be. And sometimes stress comes in and tries to take that away from us. And so today Sandy and I wanted to gift everyone a few little tips on how to fight back against that stress and deal with it. And I have got one that the world tells you. Don't ever give up. Don't ever quit. Sometimes I think we have to Realize in order to alleviate stress and have a sense of peace in our life, we have to realize that there are times in this world where you are meant to walk away, say no, end it, quit.

Lanee Blaise [00:03:14]:
I know they say quitters never win, but sometimes winning back your sanity, your peace of mind, your serenity is worth it. And sometimes you look back and say, I'm glad that I quit. So basically what I'm doing in this tip is just giving confirmation and reassurance that there are times in this life where you're meant to lay down the sword. And technically, maybe more people are starting to embrace this. I did see on Instagram the other day a woman who did put a post about really saying sometimes there's a time to walk away. But she also said even when you're walking away, it doesn't necessarily mean that you'll never come back to it. You know, like sometimes you're quitting temporarily, sometimes you need to quit for good, but sometimes you're just, you're taking a realized break and you're walking away and you're decompressing and you're not worrying about if you are going to come back to it or if you're never going to come back to again. You give yourself that distance and that peace.

Sandy Kovach [00:04:18]:
I like that one. And I especially like the part where you can say, hey, I might come back. Because even though maybe you won't. Depends, right? But it won't feel as abrupt.

Lanee Blaise [00:04:30]:
I have a personal one for this too, because I mean, this was many moons ago when I was in college. I should go back. When I was in high school, I knew what college I wanted to go to. I wanted to go to the College of William and Mary. And it was two hours from my home and I would be able to come home for Thanksgiving. And I was really excited about it. I visited and it was great. Got in, got there and I wasn't enjoying it at all.

Lanee Blaise [00:04:56]:
I did two years, you know, I definitely didn't. I don't encourage people to quit like after the first semester, first few weeks. But I actually went through two years and everything in my spirit, in my life and my mind, everything was leading towards this is not the place. And so I truly did quit or walked away. And I didn't know what school I was going to go to. I didn't know when I was going to go back to school. My father was so worried, like, you've got to graduate. And my mother said, let her take her time.

Lanee Blaise [00:05:28]:
It's all going to work out. She is going to find her place. And I took a full year off, which nowadays they call it like a gap year. But I took a year off, rediscovered some aspects of myself, and then I ended up going to University of Miami where I flourished, got the degree of my dreams, found the man of my dreams, had the best friends of my dreams. Everything was great and I appreciated it so much more because I had quit on the other school. So personal example, it really can be a blessing.

Sandy Kovach [00:06:01]:
Yeah. And not to say that it's always the right thing to do to quit. I know that's not what you're saying. You're saying sometimes it is. Sometimes you need to take a break or reassess.

Lanee Blaise [00:06:09]:
Yes.

Sandy Kovach [00:06:10]:
There are many circumstances that could be different and not one size fits all. So since you're talking about school, I have a tip that is related, well, somewhat to school. I read about it a couple years ago and I think it was the University of Delaware. I'm not positive that was the college. But the point is it was during final exams week. And what they did in the library is set up a place place where the students could do jigsaw puzzles. So it was like a singular focused task. And you know how we're always multitasking and thinking of different things and sometimes when we relax, we pick up our phones or tablets and that's just more stimulation.

Sandy Kovach [00:06:51]:
But this was a good way to focus on one thing and to engage your brain and get those finals or whatever you're stressed out about, out of your head. And I think that would work with other creative tasks too, like maybe knitting and crocheting. I know a lot of people do that to relax.

Lanee Blaise [00:07:10]:
I think it will make us smarter. Also, I think it should be required that everybody every once in a while do a singular task, like you said, where you're focused on that one thing that is brilliant. And I think it would make for a smarter nation of people. Yes. That we're not just all flailing around like you said, in front of our screens or trying to do things, 14 things at once. And that is the definition of stress. You think that you're winning, but it's sometimes that that's a great stress buster, in my humble opinion. So I have practicing gratitude, but I wanted to put a little spin on it as far as the stress busting aspect of it because many times we talk about gratitude journals and things like that to make sure that we connect more with God and ourselves and others.

Lanee Blaise [00:08:02]:
And I still definitely. We definitely want to than God. We definitely want to thank others. We definitely Want to thank God for all the beauty and nature and stuff like that, but I want to take a page out of Snoop Dogg's book and I want us to do for this stress busting, consider thanking yourself. Back in, I don't know, like 2018 or 2019, when Snoop Dogg got his Walk of Fame star, he got upbeat there for his speech and he said, I want to thank me. I want to thank me for believing in me. I want to thank me for doing all this hard work. I want to thank me for.

Lanee Blaise [00:08:44]:
Well, he said for never quitting. But which that one will take that in moderation. But he said, you know, I want to thank me for always being a giver and trying to do more right than wrong. And again, in this society, I don't know if it's proper etiquette to thank oneself, but I think we need to embrace it. I know everybody's a little different. There are some people who are super conceited and arrogant and think that they're the best thing since sliced bread and airplanes. But for the majority of us, I think we don't take that time. And so we're stressed.

Lanee Blaise [00:09:20]:
We think we've failed, we think we've done everything wrong. Take a moment and just say, I want to thank me for getting up today, for brushing my teeth, for going through and doing the things that I have to do for myself, for my family, for this world. I want to thank me and of course thank God for making me. But I had this book that I got and it's called 100 Days of Believing Bigger by Marshawn Evans Daniels. And it's a devotional, but you are encouraged to write in it. And one of the things that she had in the book, one of the pages was write down 21 things that you appreciate about yourself. How many people take time to sit and write 21 beautiful things that they appreciate about themselves? I hope and believe that in itself would be a little stress buster and self image booster and self care moment.

Sandy Kovach [00:10:21]:
Yeah, all the things. How about let's get into some holiday tips or holiday stress busting tips. One of the things that we tend to do during the holidays is we try to make everything so perfect. And that includes things like holiday cookies. And some people are great at making cookies, some people not. What about you? What's your holiday cookie policy?

Lanee Blaise [00:10:41]:
Lynae My daughter is an amazing chef, cook, baker. So Kayla does all of that and I just eat them.

Sandy Kovach [00:10:51]:
Nice. Now for me, I do the cookies, but I have not much talent in that department, you know, I can cook and bake some things, but I'm no. Well, let's talk about Snoop Dogg's friend Martha Stewart. I'm no Martha Stewart in the kitchen. And so what I usually do, and now my cookies get requested at holiday parties is I buy the pre cut dough and it's already cut up into stars and Santa hats and all I have to do is throw them in the oven and sometimes I put some sprinkles on them and whatever. But I read about something where I can put frosting on them and it'll look decent. Usually I avoid that because I would just make a big mess of the cookies and then it defeats the purpose of having nice cookies. For no effort.

Sandy Kovach [00:11:33]:
You can get squeezable condiment bottles, you know, buy them off Amazon or whatever and put your different colored frosting each of the bottles. And that's supposed to be a great cheat.

Lanee Blaise [00:11:44]:
And it's fun and it's easy and it's no stress and it's stress reducing. You know, as long as you don't eat too many of them or like you said, make them, give them away to some people too. It just, it brings joy. It makes you feel like you're in the midst of the holiday without doing some of the holiday things that are going overboard and that actually drive you batty and make you frustrated and make you feel overwhelmed.

Sandy Kovach [00:12:11]:
Exactly. And that's the point. I mean for some people the baking wouldn't be overwhelming. That's in their skill set. Like Kayla, a lot of people find baking very relaxing and wouldn't dream of doing these shortcuts. But if you are in the camp of not being really great at it, or maybe you just don't have a lot of time, this is a much quicker way to get things done. And the cookies still taste homemade. Plus if you have kids, it's very simple for them to help you out.

Sandy Kovach [00:12:44]:
My little niece has been my baking partner, my son when he was younger. You don't have to worry about them ruining the cookies or ruining the kitchen either.

Lanee Blaise [00:12:51]:
You don't have flour all over the place.

Sandy Kovach [00:12:54]:
No stress, no stress. And I should mention too that if cookies don't stress you out or making cookies or cooking or whatever, take this advice for something during the holiday season or whatever that does stress you out and either, you know, pay somebody to do something or like with the cookie thing, take a shortcut. So Lynae, you too have a holiday tip, right? Yes.

Lanee Blaise [00:13:19]:
Mine actually kind of goes hand in hand with yours. Mine is only to please during this holiday season and any other one, please consider taking a moment and this is as a stress reducer and just as a love booster and really try to reignite your inner child. Some of us had good childhood lives, some of us did not. Regardless of if you had a good one or bad one, take this time now, even though we are clearly adults and try to kind of look around the world sometimes. If you're in areas where there's snow or at the trees, at the lights, at the candles, with the wonderment of a child, which is part of what the season is really supposed to be about. Not the hustling and bustling to get to people's homes and drop off gifts and make homemade from scratch cookies, but really take a few centering moments to look at the candles, the ornaments, the turkey or the, you know, the different foods and like savor it, enjoy it, experience it as if you were either a child or as if you were from some other planet and you came and you got to see, what are these creatures doing here? Just consider that as a stress boosting and like I said, as a centering and love boosting tip.

Sandy Kovach [00:14:55]:
Yeah, I love that. Focusing on the things that make Christmas magical. Obviously remembering the reason for the season is a big part of it, but also the traditions and even holiday movies if you want to watch Home alone for the 800th time, or elf or A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life, whatever.

Lanee Blaise [00:15:15]:
I personally love those little ones with those little animatronic things that the hot miser and the cold miser and the Rudolph Santa's going to tell you. Oh, I love them. I love them all. I love them. That's because it reminds me of my childhood. And back then there were only like three stations on the television and so they were going to have those playing. So just kind of actually savoring those little cute, fun, reminiscent, nostalgic parts of the holidays instead of getting too wrapped up in the bad stuff. Frustrating stuff, not bad, but the overwhelming stuff.

Sandy Kovach [00:15:53]:
Yeah, the stuff that stresses you out and gets a little overwhelming. And let's face it, as much as we enjoy the holiday season, it's a very, well, potentially stressful time of year too. And hopefully these tips have been helpful.

Lanee Blaise [00:16:11]:
Yeah. But overall, we just want to say happy holidays, blessings to you and your family and friends and really take a few moments to just breathe it in, take it down a few notches. We really invite you to imagine yourself less stressed.

Sandy Kovach [00:16:33]:
Thanks for hanging with us here on Imagine Yourself podcast. Hope you enjoyed the tips and you found them useful. They were originally given in an episode from a few years back called six Stress Busting Tips, so there are more if you want to go back to that episode. If you have some tips of your own, holiday or not, please share. You can get in touch with us at imagine yourself podcast.com also a rating review Comment Anything that you have is always appreciated. Find all the ways to connect in our show notes.