By Kelly-Ann Allen Ph.D. and Duyen Vo Ph.D.

It is early December and your days are suddenly full. There are school concerts, end-of-year celebrations, work deadlines, family gatherings and the logistical gymnastics to make them work, not to mention gift buying for those who celebrate. On top of all the activity, there can also be internal pressures. Perhaps a sense that you could be doing Christmas better — that the house should be cleaner, that you should be performing better at work, or spending more time with your family. The pressure is subtle, but it can accumulate. While this time of year can bring joy and excitement, it can also feel hard and mentally exhausting. Sometimes these feelings occur concurrently.

Christmas has the propensity to carry this tension more than any other time of the year. It is framed as a season of joy, but there are subtle measures for some of us to do more. Accumulate more. Prepare more. Visit more. Book more. See more people. Psychological research suggests that this constant striving can undermine the emotional states people hope to experience. What is the solution? It may be easier than we think: contentment.

Contentment is not happiness in a lesser form. Research has found that it is a separate emotion defined by feeling a sense of completeness in the present moment. Cordaro and colleagues (2024) describe contentment as arising when the situation feels whole and enough, rather than needing to be improved or increased. This emotional profile sets it apart from joy, excitement, happiness, cheerfulness or even tranquillity.

Across six studies, Cordaro et al. (2024) found a strong association between contentment and unconditional self-acceptance. This form of self-acceptance represents an acknowledgement that you are doing enough. It is not tied to........

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