7 Tips to Interact with Toxic Family Members During The Holidays (Pre- Party Practice)

How can you prevent toxic conversations? How can you prevent someone from triggering a negative response out of you? As we step into the holiday season, potentially tricky conversations during family gatherings can happen. We've all been there, dealing with relatives where the connection isn't as smooth as we'd like, and the conversations can be a bit of a challenge. Before you switch into the festive gatherings, a bit of pre-party practice could be your secret weapon. And there is power in being the bigger person—leading with empathy and understanding. In this episode, you’ll learn: The best practices for a restful sleep How to improve your sleeping habits How to change your body clock Let's make this holiday season one filled with warmth, understanding, and, of course, lots of love. With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 02:00 The Sense of Discomfort Around Family 04:10 #1 Pre-Party Practice You Need Before the Holidays 10:03 #2: Prepare for the Questions Often Asked 12:14 #3: Family Gatherings are Rarely the Place to Fix Things Out 18:10 #4: Select Your Allies and Communicate with Them Beforehand 20:04 #5: Alter the Direction of the Evening by Showing Affection 23:07 #6: It’s Okay to Vent Afterwards 26:15 #7: Don’t Let Anyone Get Under Your Skin See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Jay Shetty?

  This episode is brought to you by AG1. Are you feeling September reset too? Shorter days, longer to-do lists, earlier alarms, all those routines you promised yourself you'd pick back up. It can feel like your whole life is recalibrating. And when everything around you is changing, it helps to have a few things you can rely on. AG1 Next Gen is one of those easy habits to keep. It's the clinically-backed, comprehensive daily health drink that supports your gut health, energy production, and foundational nutrition all in one scoop. AG1's ingredients are sourced from quality partners for absorption, potency, and nutrient density to deliver the foundational nutrition your body needs. And alongside a proper diet,

• 0:44Jay Shetty?

  AG1 Next Gen meets 94% of nutrient requirements and it's clinically shown to enrich the gut microbiome. For a limited time, save 20% on your first subscription order of AG1 Next Gen or AG1 Pro at drinkag1.com/onpurpose. That's drinkag1.com/onpurpose. This episode is brought to you by AG1. Are you feeling September reset too? Shorter days, longer to-do lists, earlier alarms, all those routines you promised yourself you'd pick back up. It can feel like your whole life is recalibrating. And when everything around you is changing, it helps to have a few things you can rely on.

• 1:29Jay Shetty?

  AG1 Next Gen is one of those easy habits to keep. It's the clinically-backed, comprehensive daily health drink that supports your gut health, energy production, and foundational nutrition all in one scoop. AG1's ingredients are sourced from quality partners for absorption, potency, and nutrient density to deliver the foundational nutrition your body needs. And alongside a proper diet, AG1 Next Gen meets 94% of nutrient requirements and it's clinically shown to enrich the gut microbiome. For a limited time, save 20% on your first subscription order of AG1 Next Gen or AG1 Pro at drinkag1.com/onpurpose. That's drinkag1.com/onpurpose.

• 2:16Jay Shetty?

  This episode is brought to you by Vinted. Value can be found anywhere, even in the clothes sitting untouched in our closets. That's where Vinted comes in. Vinted is a secondhand marketplace app where you can sell clothes you no longer want and get more value out of them. Whether you're running out of space, moving, or simply updating your wardrobe. Listing items is a quick and simple process, and once something sells, Vinted creates a prepaid shipping label for you. And the best part, there are no seller fees, so you keep what you earn. It's a simple way to clear out your closet, be less wasteful, and maybe make some extra money along the way. And if you've been thinking about a wardrobe refresh, this can make it feel a little more worthwhile. You're not just letting go of clothes, you're getting more value from what you already have.

• 3:00Jay Shetty?

  Give your clothes a second life with Vinted. Download the Vinted app for free to start selling with no seller fees, so you keep every dollar you earn. The children who need the most love often ask for it in the most unloving ways. What I find is that people who usually stir up trouble or have this toxic nature are often people who feel unloved or unheard or unseen themselves. Usually their comments about other people are a way of getting attention, a way of feeling superior, or a way of feeling interesting.

• 3:41Jay Shetty?

  Hey, everyone. Welcome back to On Purpose, the number one mental health podcast in the world. Thanks to each and every one of you that come back every week to listen, learn, and grow. It has been an incredible 2023. I want to thank you all for posting how On Purpose is your most listened to podcast this year, or even if it's second or third or fourth on your list. I love you, I appreciate you. I genuinely am so grateful for your love and support, and we're only getting started, we're only getting better. I want to make sure that you've subscribed to the podcast, make sure that you've left a review. All of this helps podcasts and also means you'll never miss an episode.

• 4:26Jay Shetty?

  Episode, they did an iOS update recently and it meant that your podcast app is not downloading the latest podcast immediately. So a lot of people were asking me, Jay, wait a minute, have you not uploaded a new podcast? No, we're uploading two new podcasts every single week, Monday and Friday. Every Monday, you're going to get a guest. Every Friday, you're going to get me and I don't want you to miss out. And of course, we have over four and a half years of episodes for you to listen to, which means you could listen to an episode of On Purpose every day if that's what you want. Now, this episode is extremely timely and I'm doing it because whenever I'm traveling, whenever I'm meeting lots of you, one of the biggest questions

• 5:09Jay Shetty?

  I get is, Jay, how do I deal with my family? My family creates so much toxicity in my life. My family creates so much negativity in my life. If that sounds like you, this episode is for you. Now, this isn't to say you don't love your family. The people that are saying this love their families. It's not that there is something hugely abusive that's happening, but there is a sense of discomfort. There's a sense of stress. There's a sense of pressure. This isn't just about general holiday pressure. This is about pressure from specific people you know you're going to have to spend time with. And that's why it gets particularly amplified during the holiday season,

• 5:54Jay Shetty?

  because you almost have no way out. Maybe Christmas dinner is already set. Maybe New Year's Eve is already set. All of these things can lead to a lot of stress and pressure. A lot of that stress and pressure comes in the buildup, right? There's a lot of worry and anxiety that just kicks in in the buildup, even before you've got to the day, what to speak of the day itself. So I hope that the next few tips that I'm going to share with you are going to help you lower that stress, deal with that anxiety better, and learn how to navigate those situations. And I want to start off by

• 6:38Jay Shetty?

  Sharing this. Think back to when you used to go clubbing. And you're thinking, Jay, I still go clubbing. Got it, understood. I used to go clubbing. But I remember when I used to. We would always do pre-drinks, right? Whether it was in someone's college dorm room, whether it was at someone's apartment, whether it was outside the club, right? Whatever was possible with our budget at the time. But there was always this idea of pre-drinks. And the idea of pre-drinks is it would get you in the zone. You'd get to hang out with everyone. It would be a more casual atmosphere. But it prepared you for the night. It prepared the tone. It prepared your mindset, right? Not even if you saw it that way, but that was the point of it.

• 7:19Jay Shetty?

  So what we need during the holidays is a pre-party practice. Instead of a pre-party drink session, we need a pre-party practice. If you've got a party to go to, if you've got an event to go to, if you've got your family's home to go to, you need to create a practice or a ritual that gets you in the right mindset. Now, for some of you, it could be breath work. This is a big one for me. I find that when I'm anxious, my breath is what gets out of control. Now, if you've read Think Like a Monk or heard Think Like a Monk, you'll know this example, but it's something that's worth repeating. When I first saw a young monk teaching other younger monks on their first day of school,

• 8:04Jay Shetty?

  when I asked him what he was teaching them, he said he was teaching them how to breathe. This obviously blew my mind because it was a 10-year-old monk telling me this. And I said to him, why do you teach them how to breathe? And he said, well, what did you learn at school? And I was like, I think I learned 1, 2, 3 and A, B, C. And he said, well, we teach them how to breathe because the only thing that stays with you from the moment you're born to the moment you die is your breath. And he said, what changes when you're happy? Your breath. What changes when you're sad? Your breath. What changes when you're elated? Your breath. And what changes when you're exhausted? Your breath.

• 8:48Jay Shetty?

  Your breath is intertwined with every emotion in your life. So if you learn how to navigate your breath, you can navigate life. Now, this has had such a profound impact on me ever since I heard it because I started to recognize how all of my emotions had a different breath pattern. It's even why we use the language like you take my breath away, or that was breathtaking, right? Or let me catch a breath, I'm out of breath, right? Breath is reconnected to all of those emotions. So you may find that in the build up to going out, you start breathing shallower and you start breathing quicker. Now, when that starts to happen, it's natural to panic.

• 9:32Jay Shetty?

  Maybe you experience sweat, maybe you need to talk to your partner or a loved one that's going to the event and you're just pouring out and struggling and stressing about it all. I've found that a pre-party practice of breath work can be huge. So what you want to practice is this, you want to breathe in for a count of four and you want to exhale for a count of more than four. You want your exhale to be longer than your inhale and that will slow your heart rate down. If you repeat that 10 times, you will feel your breath get deeper and you will feel your heart rate get slower as well. Try that out before as a pre-party practice.

• 10:16Jay Shetty?

  Now, another one of your pre-party practices, maybe for you, what really helps is listening to a song that puts you in a good mood. You're gonna get your dance on, right? Everyone's been doing the David Beckham challenge. You've probably seen me and my wife do it and I failed to get her to dance, but maybe you're gonna get your partner, maybe you're gonna dance, maybe you're gonna move. That can really get you in the right zone to put yourself in the mindset of, I'm gonna have fun tonight. I think there's two types of mindsets before you go somewhere. It's like, I'm either going to try to not have a bad time or I'm going to make sure it's a good time. And I think that often what we end up settling for is, I hope it's a good time.

• 10:58Jay Shetty?

  Now, there's a big difference between I'm going to make it a good time, I hope it's a good time, or I'm going to avoid a bad time, right? They're very different mindsets. Let's walk down each of those. So the idea of God, I hope it's not as bad as I think it's gonna be. The challenge with that is you are still leaving the success of the evening up to other people. So the idea of I hope it's not as bad as I think it's gonna be. You're hoping. Hoping means you're helpless in how it's gonna go. You're saying you don't have any impact or any control or any skew or steer as to how this evening can go.

• 11:37Jay Shetty?

  You have surrendered yourself powerless and now you're walking into a space allowing for it to be what it's going to be. That doesn't work. We've all tried that before. The other way to do it is say, I hope it's gonna be good. Now you're doing the opposite. At least you've added a positive twist to it. But again, you're still hoping. You're still allowing the circumstances and whatever happens in the environment to define how you feel. And the third is, I'm going to make today a great night. I'm going to make sure I have fun. I'm going to create opportunities for connection and fun. And this mindset, what it does is it takes your power back. Notice how this isn't positive thinking. This isn't fooling yourself. It's not tricking yourself.

• 12:22Jay Shetty?

  It's actually coming at it from the point of view of saying, you know what? I know myself. I understand myself. I accept that there are things tonight that are not going to be easy, but I still know how to have a good time. You're reclaiming your power. You're reclaiming your focus. And you're reclaiming your strength. And that's exactly what we need to do in these scenarios. Now, having done that, so you've got a pre-party practice, right? First of all, could be refining your intention or your mindset as we just did. It could be doing the breathwork practice. It could be dancing, putting on a song you love, setting yourself up. So what you want to do is make sure that in your schedule,

• 13:05Jay Shetty?

  you have a pre-party practice set up for you to do. It sounds crazy, but I promise you it will help you so much. It could even be rehearsing your answers to the questions that you know you're going to get asked. So you know that annoying person in your family is going to say, when are you getting married? Or are you dating anyone yet? Right, the relationship questions are often the hardest ones. Maybe you've just been through a breakup. Maybe you had a great relationship that didn't quite work out. Maybe you took someone over last year and this year you're not with them anymore. Maybe you're with someone, but you're not ready to get married. Maybe you don't want to get married, right? Maybe you don't want to have kids, whatever it may be. You know what those questions are going to be.

• 13:46Jay Shetty?

  Having rehearsed answers, practised answers allows you to set yourself up to win. So often what I'll do is before an event, I'll write down the questions I'm most likely to get asked. Almost like FAQs, right? Frequently asked questions like on a website. Write out your FAQs and then write out your answers practised. So that when the question is asked, which it inevitably will, you're not surprised by it. I think this is something that a lot of people make a mistake about. Where what we're doing is we're standing there the whole time hoping, don't ask me that question, don't ask me that question. Oh, if he asks me that question, I'm gonna flip out. Or if, if, if they go there, I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna lose it. They are gonna go there. They are going to go there.

• 14:30Jay Shetty?

  This is all about resetting expectations, right? They are going to go there. They are going to be annoying. They are going to be frustrating. They are going to be inappropriate. It will happen. And therefore you being prepared is far better than you setting yourself up for failure. And that's often what we do is we set ourselves up for failure. Because we hope and wish and wait rather than predict, plan and prepare. We don't want to hope, wish and wait and worry. That leads to worrying, not only in the build up, but even on the evening. Whereas if we're prepared, predictive and planned, we're now ready to answer those questions. So make sure you write down the FAQs.

• 15:15Jay Shetty?

  Oh, you know, did you not get promoted this year? Whatever it is, right? Write down those predictive questions and have your answers ready. Now, point number three is often if it's been bubbling especially, right? Like I know someone who was telling me that. Whenever they get asked about, you know, why they're not dating yet, it really gets under their skin because the truth is, the reason why it triggers us is because we're struggling with it. Right? If you're not struggling with something and someone criticizes you, it usually doesn't trigger you. Right? If you don't care about how you dress and someone comments on what you're wearing, you won't care. But if you do care about the fact that you've been struggling in dating and someone says something, it triggers you much worse, right? It's natural.

• 16:00Jay Shetty?

  And they were saying to me that whenever they got asked this question, it really irks them and they just want this person to understand that it's inappropriate to ask that. Now, I agree that people ask and say things that I wish they didn't say. And I agree that often it is malicious. It's not like it's something you just have to let go of. But what I've discovered is that family gatherings are rarely the place to fix or fight things out, right? It's rarely the place that you're going to have a healthy debate and a discussion that leads to a resolution. Because emotions are high for everyone. Everyone is worrying about what everyone else is thinking of them.

• 16:45Jay Shetty?

  And often the person who tries to solve the problem ends up looking like the problem, right? Have you ever experienced that before? Where you're the one trying to solve the problem, but you end up looking like the problem? And now everyone thinks that you've ruined Christmas, right? Like that. And that isn't true. It's not right, but it is human psychology because everyone feels like they're on display. They're trying to have a good time. The person who gets triggered, even if it's truly valid, isn't going to be seen as the person who's fixing. They're going to be seen as the person who's fighting it out. And so what I often find is that in this scenario, If you can remind yourself, hey, if I wanna fix this, I need to approach it at a different time.

• 17:27Jay Shetty?

  If I want to fight it out, I need to approach it at a different time. It's not always the right time to fix something, and it's not always the right time to fight something. And fixing and fighting about something is far more about timing than we give it credit for. We don't lose fights because we're bad at fighting. We often lose fights because we get our timing wrong, right? It's not that you're bad at fighting, it's that you're bad at timing. It's not that you're bad at fixing, it's that you're bad at timing. And I find this over and over and over again, where we don't time conversations effectively. Think about this in general in life, right?

• 18:10Jay Shetty?

  Like, someone walks through the door, you say something to them immediately. You wake up in the morning, someone says something to you immediately. Most of our conversations that are uncomfortable are had at the wrong time. And if you can get the timing right, which isn't the holiday dinner, which isn't the holiday event, chances are you may be able to get to some resolution. So don't try and fix it and fight it out at a time when it's not the right time. And I'm repeating this because I know you're going to need to hear me in your head when you're in that moment, because guess what? When you're valid, when you know that it's right for you to raise this and push this and make something known, and you're also thinking, well, everyone just needs to realize this person's wrong.

• 18:53Jay Shetty?

  And you think, this is it, this is my moment, right? We've all been there. And by the way, I've been there too, I've made this mistake many times. This segment about connectivity is brought to you by AT&T. AT&T believes connecting changes everything. Do you struggle to connect with others? Sometimes past experiences like feeling left out, tough times, or messy relationships can make us throw up these walls we might not even notice. And guess what? These walls end up isolating us from the very people we want close. Especially now with everyone working from different places and all over the map, staying close to others matters more than ever. It's not just about casual interaction.

• 19:34Jay Shetty?

  It's about fostering a sense of belonging, empathy and shared understanding in a world that's increasingly interconnected, yet emotionally distant. Staying connected, especially when miles apart, has become more accessible than ever. Here are some ways to keep those meaningful connections alive, no matter the distance. Number one, video conferencing. Apps like FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom and Skype are your portal to a more connected world. From daily catch-ups with loved ones, to brainstorming sessions with colleagues, these moments bridge that physical gap and remind us that we're not alone. Two, hosting virtual events. Ever thought about live streaming special events like birthdays, anniversaries or even weddings? It's all possible with the use of video platforms. But it's not just about the big moments.

• 20:20Jay Shetty?

  Plan a virtual hangout with friends for a book club session, or maybe doing an online games night. It's like bringing the fun right into your living room, no matter where everyone actually is. Number three, create a Netflix party. Movie nights with friends and family take on a whole new vibe with Netflix party. Sync up your shows and chat away in a group chat while watching together. It's like having a cozy movie night, but with everyone sprawled across different couches. Number four, seek support online. Feeling down or anxious, you're not alone. Online therapy is a powerful resource to lean on when things get tough. Connecting with an online therapist can offer that support and guidance you need, even when physical closeness isn't an option. I hope these tools can help you build meaningful connections with the people around you

• 21:04Jay Shetty?

  and decrease any sense or feeling of isolation. This has been brought to you by AT&T. AT&T believes connecting inspires, unites, heals and helps us grow. Connecting changes how we live our lives for the better. Number four, really important. Make someone else aware who can have your back. I think in these moments where you're not going to defend yourself or fight it or fix it out, it's great to have someone else who has your back and nixes it. So if you've told a family member or a friend and said, "Look, I really don't appreciate being asked these questions." When someone asks me and you see me get a bit uncomfortable and, you know, it's hard for me to just let it slide,

• 21:46Jay Shetty?

  do you mind just stepping in and say, "Hey, yeah, you know, like, they're doing great at work right now." Or, "You know, actually, things are going great. Like, you know, let's talk about this." And they can change the topic. So they're also not ruining the vibe, but that they can step in and help you. And I think we often are scared to ask for help. And then afterwards, we'll look at someone and say, well, why didn't you say anything? And they'll say, well, I didn't know you wanted me to run to your defense. I didn't want to feel like you needed support. Right? So that idea of why, you know, we don't ask for help. And then afterwards, we'll be like, well, why didn't you help me? And the person says, well, I didn't know you needed it. So selecting your allies, right? Selecting your allies and communicating with them beforehand.

• 22:28Jay Shetty?

  This is a strategy that's often used in business meetings where if you're presenting a new idea or you know you're going to have to respond to an idea, you've already got everyone's buy-in in the room. So that when you present it or when you respond, people are already on side. And often in our families, we don't realize how much people need to know this and how much people need to be aware. So feel free to speak to a couple of people and say, look, I find this really uncomfortable. And I'm not asking you to save the day. I'm not asking you to interject and create a scene either, but I'd love for you to help me to just redirect the conversation. Right? This can be a huge, huge win for you. And it makes it easier on the other person as well because they kind of get the message through other people.

• 23:13Jay Shetty?

  Now, the next one I'm going to share with you may be a slightly risky strategy, but it's something that's worth considering. It's inspired by this beautiful quote from Russell Barkley, where he said that the children who need the most love often ask for it in the most unloving ways. What I find is that people who usually stir up trouble or have this toxic nature in a setting are often people who feel unloved or unheard or unseen themselves. And usually their comments about other people are a way of getting attention, a way of feeling superior or a way of feeling interesting.

• 23:56Jay Shetty?

  And while our job is not to think that's okay or condone it, we can look at that and recognize that this person is feeling unvalidated. This person is feeling unimportant. And this person is probably feeling insignificant. And we see this again and again and again. And what's really interesting about this is I've often seen.

• 24:24Jay Shetty?

  That if I can be thoughtfully, genuinely loving toward this individual, then there may be an opportunity, that's if I have the ability to do that. You may say, "Jay, I have no ability to do that," totally respect it. But if I can, if I can, I have found that it can actually be revolutionary for my relationship with them. So I try my best, in every scenario that I'm in, to say, "Okay, how do I demonstrate love and affection to this person in a genuine way, not in a fake way, not as a technique? Maybe I'm going to compliment something they're wearing. Maybe I'm going to congratulate them on the news that I heard about them.

• 25:09Jay Shetty?

  Maybe I'm going to ask them a question that's open and then acknowledge the greatness or something good about what they've done, right? And what that does is it gives that person an opportunity. Now, if you do this with an expectation that, "Oh, this person's now going to be nice to me," that's going to set you up for failure because they may not. But what it does is it sets them up with an opportunity to show you that they may not feel that way anymore, that they may have not changed, but you may set them off on a different track. And I'm not saying that you have the power to do this and that you can do it and all that kind of stuff. But it's worth a shot, it's worth the opportunity to compliment them, congratulate them,

• 25:54Jay Shetty?

  connect with them on something, give it an opportunity. I know some of you are thinking, "Jay, I've already tried this before and they're still the same person." I get it, totally fair, but give it a go. Give it a go because you might proactively be able to alter the direction of the evening simply by showing them some affection in a genuine way, not as a technique.

• 26:17Jay Shetty?

  This episode is brought to you by Indeed. I know how important every hire is for a business. If you need to make the right hire, this is a job for sponsored jobs. Indeed sponsored jobs helps find quality candidates when you need the most. You can reach who you need based on whatever criteria you're looking for, like skills, certifications, or location. In fact, people are finding quality hires on Indeed right now. In the minute I've been talking to you, companies like yours made 27 hires on Indeed, according to Indeed data worldwide. Spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com/podcast.

• 27:00Jay Shetty?

  That's indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. This episode is brought to you by Wayfair. Home should be a place that feels like a sanctuary, a space that truly reflects who you are, but it can be challenging to balance style, budget, and endless options. I was looking to create a dedicated calm space for my morning meditation and reading, but I was struggling to find pieces that felt grounding but could also stand up to daily use. I went on Wayfair and found a beautiful, solid wood accent chair and a bookshelf. Now that corner is my favorite place to anchor my day. The quality is incredible, it's built to last, and it completely shifted the energy of the room. Plus, you can shop with Wayfair Verified,

• 27:45Jay Shetty?

  where product specialists carefully vet items for quality and functionality, so you can shop with more confidence. And if putting it all together sounds like a headache, Wayfair can handle delivery, installation, and assembly. Join Wayfair Rewards today to get 5% back on every purchase and start saving on your next home upgrade. Head to wayfair.com to shop all things home. That's W A Y F A I R dot com. Wayfair, every style, every home. This episode is brought to you by Whole Foods Market. If you're talking about quality food, you can't forget Whole Foods Market, who've been holding themselves to the highest standards since they opened in 1980. That means you'll see thousands of organic products across their stores,

• 28:30Jay Shetty?

  from the produce department to the aisles. It also means you'll never see certain ingredients. They've banned artificial sweeteners and colours, high fructose corn syrup and more, so you can shop with peace of mind. Shop Whole Foods Market in-store or online. Now, a couple more tips that I want to share with you. This one's really important. It's okay to vent afterwards. If you had a painful night, people weren't loving, you know, people said things they shouldn't have said, someone commented about something that really rubbed you the wrong way. It's so okay to vent afterwards. I think a lot of us also guilt ourselves. We go, I should be grateful for family and I should be grateful for everything around me. And I think this is kind of where the gratitude movement can go wrong,

• 29:14Jay Shetty?

  where we go, well, I just have to be grateful for everything, don't I? Because, you know, I had Christmas dinner and I could be with my family. I should be grateful for that, shouldn't I? And I think so many of us get trapped in this false sense of gratitude, where we're not acknowledging how we genuinely feel. If you need to vent, if you need to talk about it, if you need to let it out, be grateful for the fact that you have a friend or a family member to do that with, but don't use gratitude as a way to suppress your feelings. Don't use gratitude as a way to put your emotions aside and gloss over them. Because what happens is when we do that, that's when we erupt. So most of the time when we erupt in a family dinner or a meeting is because we've been trying to convince ourselves like, I should be grateful, I should be thankful, I should be okay, okay, I should be fine.

• 29:59Jay Shetty?

  And it's almost like you're trying to put a lid on something, but it keeps popping off, right? You're trying to put the lid, you're trying to hold it down so bad, but it's just trying to get out. So some of you may be able to genuinely be like, no, I am grateful and I can let this go. But for some of you, who it's been repetitive for, who it's continued to kind of build up for, that may be challenging, that may be difficult. And so I want you to give yourself the space to vent afterwards. Now, a few things that are important. You want to pick someone that's loyal and private. You don't want to speak to someone who you know is going to go and tell that person or go and stir and create more issues. We've all been there with family as well. Find the person that you're thinking, okay, I can trust this person. They're not going to go and tell anyone else.

• 30:42Jay Shetty?

  Second of all, you want to find someone who is wanting to...

• 30:49Jay Shetty?

  Support you both when you're in the space and outside of the space. Because you need someone who themselves recognizes that it's a challenge. Right? You don't want it to be someone who's trying to walk you out of it, talk you out of it, especially if it's got really, really bad. And the other thing I say, the reason why I say vent afterwards is because often what we do is we vent before. So we'll say things like, oh my God, this person, they're always like this, they're like that. And now what we've done is we've convinced ourselves that it's war. That when we go in there, we're already on the defensive. That's not necessarily preparation. It can actually be putting ourselves in a position of weakness. Whereas when we vent afterwards, we get a sense of like, well, how did it go? Let's actually review it. And maybe it wasn't as bad as we thought.

• 31:34Jay Shetty?

  Maybe we've made it worse in our mind. And there's a famous quote from Seneca who said, we suffer twice, once in imagination and once in reality. Right? We suffer twice. We suffer in the buildup and then we suffer at the time. And that shift of mindset that I was talking about earlier can actually shift how we deal with it. Now, number seven, really important and mirrors some of what we've said. But when you're not trying to fix it and fight it out, often you find that that person is so set on bringing up a trigger topic, right? How many times have you felt this, where they're just obsessed to find a way to get under your skin? And what's really interesting is that in that time, we know

• 32:19Jay Shetty?

  that we don't want to let them get under our skin, but we do. And we're actually giving them the satisfaction of doing it. If someone's trying to get under your skin and you don't let them get under it, what do you think annoys them more? Right? Whether they succeeded or whether they didn't succeed? And I think for so many of us, we allow someone the joy of having got under our skin. And so use that competitive spirit and say, you know what? I'm not going to let them get under my skin. I'm better than that. I'm stronger than that. I don't need to let that happen. And there's no need for me to let it get that far. And allowing yourself to use that competitive mindset to say, you know what? I'm not gonna let them do it. And that's gonna be an achievement for me.

• 33:02Jay Shetty?

  Sometimes we have to set a goal of not being triggered. Because we're using that desire of saying, I'm not gonna get triggered because I don't want them to get the satisfaction. I don't want them to trigger me and then get that as well. Right? So that's a great way to think about how to address it differently. I wanna thank you so much for listening to today. And I really hope that you give it an opportunity to try some of these principles, to try some of these out in practice. Remember, the first thing I want you to check out is building a pre-party practice. The second thing is resetting your expectations. The third is don't try to fix it or fight it out. Remember, it's not that you're a bad fighter or a bad fixer. You're bad at timing.

• 33:46Jay Shetty?

  And make someone else aware who can have your back. That's a really, really powerful point. Make sure you give it an opportunity to compliment them, congratulate them, connect with them over something surprising. You may not even realize that you have something in common, something you can talk about. Maybe it's sports. Maybe it's something that someone in the family is going through. Maybe there's something you can connect with them on that isn't triggering. And finally, make sure that you give yourself space to vent and make sure that you're avoiding those trigger topics or changing them up. Thank you so much for listening to today. I hope this helps you. I hope it helps your family. I know that some of these ideas, you'll be like, Jeff, I've thought about that. I've struggled, but sometimes we just need another reminder.

• 34:30Jay Shetty?

  I hope that this has been that reassuring reminder. I want you to have the best time during the holidays. I want you to have really beautiful moments and making great memories. And I'll speak to you all very, very soon. I'll see you all very, very soon. Thanks for tuning in. Again, thank you for posting how much you've been listening to on purpose. I'm so, so deeply grateful. And I will see you all very, very soon. Thank you so much, everyone.

• 35:06Speaker 01

  Now, more than ever, we need someone on our side. But Rob Whitman? Whitman's votes drove up costs, cut Medicaid, and risked 350,000 Virginians' health care to pay for tax breaks for himself and his donors. He's not on our side. Shannon Taylor will fight corruption, cut taxes, and bring down costs. This November, vote for Shannon Taylor. She's for us. Paid for by HMP, the House Majority PAC dot com. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

• 35:35Speaker 02

  Mr. President, my company informed me of the explosion on our rig on October 2nd. Causing massive water displacement and triggering a tsunami. They all heap the blame on me. Tom Cruise is. Digger got us into this mess, and Digger's gonna dig us up. From the director of Birdman and The Revenant.

• 35:52Speaker 03

  What would happen if I stopped doing it? You start, you freeze to death, that's what.

• 35:56Speaker 02

  With great power comes great deniability.

• 35:59Speaker 03

  I'm not the first daddy.

• 36:01Speaker 02

  Digger. See the trailer online. Only begins October 2nd. Rated R. Under 17. Not a minute without parent.