You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.

Hey, everybody, it's Mariel.

You know, it's always frustrating to get stuck in transit.

We all want to get where we're going,

not to sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic or spend 10 hours at the airport

or wait on that freezing cold

corner for the bus that doesn't seem to be coming. But all of this feels especially annoying

if you're headed somewhere for the holidays. Dan Harris, host of the mindfulness and meditation

podcast 10% happier, has some theories on why. Maybe because we expect everything to be perfect during the holidays.

Maybe because from a travel perspective, everything actually is worse during the holidays

in that there is more traffic and more people at the airport.

You may also have complicated feelings as you anticipate reuniting with certain family members.

You know, what am I about to walk into?

I'm traveling. I'm going home. I'm going to see my parents or my family or I'm going to revert back to old family roles that are stressful and I'll feel infantilized or I'll feel my childhood trauma coming back up again.

And so this traffic jam is the straw that's breaking the camels back.

On this episode of Life Kit, Dan and I talk about how we can keep our cool while we're in transit,

and in particular on the way to some family holiday weekend or gathering.

We've got tips you can use quickly in the car

or at the airport or wherever and big picture ideas to reframe these moments. Can you go into the

holidays with the idea of, yeah, this is an opportunity for me to practice a bunch of skills that

will help me the rest of my life. Like learning how to communicate clearly,

how to set boundaries with others and with yourself,

...