Holiday Self-Care 101
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year. The holiday lights, the music, and the eggnog. Stars twinkle a little brighter and the crisp air cleanses the soul; to me it’s a magical time of year, a time for self-reflection and planning for the year ahead. The flip side of the holiday season is the stress that comes from racing from aunt Irma’s Thanksgiving banquet to that ugly sweater holiday party at work. How in the hell are we supposed to remain sane amidst the craziness?
Gratitude
The first and foremost way to become a relaxed, delightful muffin during this time of year is to be GRATEFUL.
We give thanks at Thanksgiving. We hope our kids appreciate the millions of dollars spend on their toys. We send Christmas cards displaying our children with photoshopped smiles and dogs with bright red bows sitting pretty.
But, how often do we really stop moving and chill in gratitude? Once a day? Once a week? Oops, I was too busy setting up the tree and forgot, now it’s been three weeks because I keep noticing ornaments out of place?
Go outside and look up at the stars tonight. Look up at the twinkling lights and remember how small we all are. Appreciate all that this vast earth has done for your life. Do it every single night. Even if you’re tired, hungry, sad, sleepy, bored, irritated, or stressed. No excuses; just commit to looking up at the stars in the sky once in the evening and think about how insignificant you are. Not insignificant in a cruel way, but insignificant in a ‘maybe my problems actually aren’t going to cause world-wide destruction’ type way. A shift in perspective outside of our little rosy bubble can change our attitude in an instant.
List it up
I don’t care who you are or what you say, or whether or not it is the holiday season, lists help. Lists, calendars, writing shit down somewhere, anywhere - your hand, a post it note, a napkin, the bathroom wall. Write stuff down where you’re going to see it and remember to do it. 95% of stress is caused by our imagination because we create a story in our head that runs around screaming ‘omigod, I just can’t even’ over and over. Shut that shit down! Pull up those Apple Bottom jeans and write a list, make an action plan, put a deadline for those tasks in your calendar, then drop it like it’s hot and get to work.
Seriously, stress is all mental and being terrified about forgetting something makes life miserable. There’s no reason for that added stress.
Some excellent tools to use for organizing:
My favorite: Asana. This organizer helps to create tasks grouped by project or scheduled for a specific date. You can also create a little team on there and assign tasks to others. C’mon little Suzy, dishes were due yesterday!
Trello. This organizer is pretty cool. You can create project boards with pictures for the board cover. Super fancy.
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Who’s the fairest of them all? Well….that depends. Who’s looking back at you when you look in the mirror? What is your mean girl whispering to you?
Reflection is extremely important. Reflection regarding your mind and the things you’re saying to yourself throughout the day can impact the stress you have during times where scheduling is crazy. Do you tell yourself that you can’t get anything accomplished under the pressure? You never have enough time? You wish there were more hours in the day because it’s never enough? You can’t afford Christmas? You’re broke? Ugly? Not as put together as Suzy’s mom?
Shut the mean girl DOWN
You get the point. The thoughts we feed our mind can be poison. They can sabotage productivity. Thoughts can make or break your day. So check out your mental record player. Is it going platinum or does it need to be thrown in the trash?
If your record player needs some revamping, start with some mantras to change those thought grooves to a new chart topping hit.
I have enough time in the day to accomplish all of my goals and complete all tasks necessary for the day
My time is valuable and I spend my time in productivity and organization
The way I do things is unique and special to me, no one else can do what I do in the way that I do it
I can afford the lifestyle I choose to live
I live an abundant life, filled with ease and an endless flow of blessings
I am a beautiful women and a leader in all the things I choose to do
Take some time to write a few mantras that resonate with you or use the ones I created for you, and then share them below for everyone.
Life should be enjoyable! If the Christmas holiday season is stressful for you, take a little while to journal about it to figure out why. It doesn’t have to be stressful or anxiety ridden. It can be classical music, soft lighting, hot toddy’s, sitting on a faux fur rug by the fireplace with cozy socks and an amazing book. The joy and peace is inside you, you just have to do a little thinking and record a better sound track.
