Holiday Overwhelm? 3 Strengths-Based Tips to Help You Finish the Year with Peace, Not Pressure

December has a funny way of speeding up and slowing down at the same time. The lights get brighter, calendars get fuller, and many of us feel that mix of joy and exhaustion as we try to wrap up a year while preparing to step into a new one.

The holidays do not overwhelm us because we are weak. The holidays overwhelm us because we forget to use what makes us strong.

Your CliftonStrengths are not just workplace tools. They are the way you naturally think, feel, and behave, which means they shape how you navigate stressful seasons, including right now.

Here are 3 strengths based tips to help you stay centered, grounded, and at peace.

1. Let Your Strengths Set the Pace, Not the Pressure

Every strength has a beautiful side, and a demanding side.

One of my top strengths is Futuristic, which means I can see possibilities, opportunities, and visions for what could be. That is a gift because I can picture the future so clearly that it pulls me forward.

But during the holidays, Futuristic can nudge me into next year before I have even enjoyed this one. It can make me feel behind. It can whisper, "You should already be planning 2026," while I am still trying to enjoy a cup of cocoa.

Ask yourself:
Which strengths help me move through the season with joy?
Which strengths push me into pressure or perfection?

The goal is not to change your strengths. It is to let them work for you, not against you.

Try this:
Write down one strength that energizes you this season and one strength that might speed you up too much. Be aware of both.

2. Do Not Overuse Your Strengths, Aim to Use Them Right

Our natural talents get overextended this time of year because we say yes too often, we want things to be meaningful, we want people to feel loved, and we are trying to finish strong.

An overextended strength is like a star shining too brightly. It can burn you out.

Examples:
Responsibility can turn into taking on every holiday to-do.
Empathy can turn into emotional exhaustion.
Achiever can turn December into an endless checklist.
Relator can feel pulled in too many directions.

Try this:
Ask yourself: Where do I need to turn the volume down on one strength so I can turn the volume up on peace?

Right use of your strengths is the greatest gift you can give yourself and the people around you.

3. Give Your Strengths One Clear Job for the Rest of the Year

When life feels busy, your strengths need direction. Give them a simple, meaningful assignment for the rest of 2025.

Examples:
Positivity can spread joy to someone who needs a lift.
Strategic can simplify your plans, not add to them.
Harmony can create calm in one space in your life.
Connectedness can help you find meaning in the quiet moments.
Futuristic, my example, can cast a hopeful vision for the new year and still allow you to stay present enough to enjoy what is happening now.

Your strengths are not just tools. They are anchors. When you use them intentionally, they pull you out of overwhelm and into alignment.

Try this:
Choose one strength today and give it a holiday job description. Something simple like:
My Empathy will help me be present.
My Discipline will help me protect my peace.
My Futuristic will help me create a hopeful vision, then let me rest.

A Holiday Reminder

You do not need to be everything for everyone this season. You just need to be yourself, your strengths, your joy, your presence, your heart.

That is more than enough. It is your superpower.

Wishing you a season filled with peace, purpose, and the magic of becoming more of who you were created to be.

Merry Christmas, happy holiday season, and Happy New Year from the Kelly Merbler Company!!

Cheers & Cocoa,

Kelly