Get a Life!: Don't let the turkey get you down II

If you feel a compelling urge to ram your car into the jerk who cut you off on the highway, you need to regain your sense of humor. That’s the advice of Pamela Aye Simon, a lifestyle coach and self-published author of “Book of Blah: Random Thoughts for Boring Days.”

This is akin to “don’t sweat the small stuff.” Left festering, tension just amplifies minor problems. If you can see the humor, instead of the threat in stuff that makes you tense, even the most difficult situation can be a little more tolerable. 

Take a deep breath, assess the situation and then laugh at the inane nature of it all. Laughter can be a great coping mechanism when it’s time to gather all the relatives. Family issues are one of the biggest and most demanding stressors.

Laughing at the foibles and dynamics of family and worklife can help. “We can’t change other people, but we can change our approach and learn to laugh more,” Simon wrote. 

In my view, you can also lighten up by trying to prepare for problems at the airports, on the road and around the table because the anticipation is often worse than the reality. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!