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“Grandma … Mommy and Daddy and me are going to the beach for Christmas!”

That’s my 5 year old granddaughter, speaking to me on the phone last year. She was pretty excited.

Me … not so much.

This was the first I’d heard of it.

We’ve been going down to Atlanta to spend Christmas with the family ever since she was 7 months old.

Five is such a fun age at Christmas … and I wasn’t gonna be a part of it. I was devastated.

It really took a lot for me to process the sense of loss and hurt around being left out … and the feeling of sadness around not having Christmas together.

I could understand they wanted to do something different … but she’s only five once, and I was going to miss this special time with her.

But sometimes, things just are what they are, and you can’t change them. So, what do you do?

I don’t care who you are, you can’t help but feel bad in the moment, and maybe for a few days or even a couple of weeks.

But beyond that? You have to make the best of the situation.

So, I declared we were going away! Somewhere warm.

Florida? Nope. That wasn’t gonna cut it. It had to be someplace new and special.

We’d been making a list of places we wanted to check out as retirement destinations. Why not go to one of those?

What about Playa del Carmen on the Yucatan Peninsula, just below Cancun? We’d never been and it always looked really good on TV!

So, we booked an Airbnb, got our plane tickets and went. And while we were there, we found a great deal on a condo, from a highly motivated seller, that just needed a little fixing up.

We just spent this last month down there putting the finishing touches on the place. When it came time to leave, we didn’t want to go. We love the place and we want to go back … tomorrow!

The moral of the story … we never would have found our condo had we gone to Atlanta for Christmas last year.

We resolved to make the best of a sad situation, and it turned out to be one of the best things we’ve ever done.

I know you’ve had similar disappointments in your life, and maybe you’re living with one now. Let’s face it, Christmas isn’t all joy and eggnog.

So, what can you do to transform the experience? What can you do to make the best of a situation that’s less than ideal? What can you do to take a loss and turn it into a win?

Because that’s a lot of what living a successful life is all about. It’s not about getting lucky enough to have the stars always align for your happiness. It’s about taking the hand you’re dealt and playing it for all it’s worth.

The alternative? To feel like a victim and stew in your juices. There’s no payoff there.

So, this holiday season, and all year long, do your best to become an emotional alchemist and turn that lead which is weighing you down into 24 karat gold. You never know how that transformation might pay off for you.

Last thing: Guess where we’ll be this Christmas? In Atlanta with our six year old. Yea!

Here’s wishing you get to be with the ones who are most special to you this year.

To my wonderful newsletter family, warmest wishes for a great holiday season and a terrific 2018.

Love,
Denise

Meet Denise: Denise Hedges is a Business Development Coach and Speaker Coach for small business owners who want to be more comfortable, confident, and successful with their sales and marketing efforts. She specializes in helping them use speaking as a way to dramatically improve their results!

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