I have always felt a huge energy shift this time of year – one that makes me want to retreat, slow down, get cozy, go within, rest, and reflect. Ironically, it seems like the opposite starts occurring with the volume of busy turning on full blast.
After the lazy, carefree days of summer, September brought back to school, and even if you don’t have school age kiddos, things just seemed to gear up. October gave us Halloween. I know, you swore you were only going to have just one piece of candy, but found yourself raiding the candy bowl (or your kid’s stash). The dreaded sugar coma slowly crept in bringing on the cravings for more sugar which usually begins the downward spiral to unhealthy eating. This year had the extra whirlwind of crazy energy with the election, and even though the election is over, the negative emotions buzzing around has been unsettling (to say the least). And, have you noticed how Christmas seems to arrive earlier every year? I saw ads and decorations before Halloween. Can’t we just celebrate Thanksgiving without all the distracting advertising and decorations trying to suck us in? BTW – Black Friday now starts at 6:00 pm on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. Oy vey!
So what’s a sensitive soul to do? Turn up the volume of SELF-CARE and PLEASURE. Doing so is vital to staying grounded and healthy so that we can enjoy the splendor of GRATITUDE, LOVE, and LIGHT this season.
Here are a few of my favorite Self–Care Tips that will Keep You Sane and Healthy this Holiday Season
1) Get enough SLEEP – “what!?!” you say, “I have no time to sleep”. Well, I beg to differ. Now more than ever you need to stay true to your sleep routine or you will have no energy to do what you want to do this season. Sounds counterintuitive but without restorative sleep, you will not be at your best. Pushing yourself to depletion simply does not work. Oh my, look at the time. Now it’s off to bed for me. I’ll be back to finish writing tomorrow ;-).
2) Drink lots of WATER – staying hydrated is critical to keeping your energy high and your body functioning optimally. Coffee, wine, hot toddies are all diuretics and are dehydrating. Make sure you are drinking extra water when you are partaking. When we are dehydrated, we often mistake it with hunger and tend to eat when we are really thirsty. Don’t wait until you are thirsty either, you need to hydrate regularly throughout the day. General rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in water – every day! That means if you weigh 150 pounds, aim for 75 ounces.
3) Eat BREAKFAST – I love starting my day with a good nutritious shake. Quick and easy to make and it gets my day off on the right foot. Here’s my favorite. Fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, and eggs are other good choices. Make sure you have protein and some good fats with every meal. Eating breakfast keeps your blood sugar stabilized and stops you from becoming famished and over eating later in the day.
4) Eat CLEAN – I know it seems like we need to wear our running shoes just to keep up with the speed of things this time of year. Finding the time to prepare and eat a decent meal is more challenging then ever. Scheduling in some prep time is helpful – see my Blog titled “What’s Your Back-up Plan” for some quick and easy tips. Practice the 80/20 rule – eat as clean as possible 80% of the time and allow yourself to indulge 20% of the time. This way you will not feel deprived but you stay in control. Set yourself up to have some healthy stuff in arms reach –keep healthy snacks like low glycemic bars, nuts, fruit with a little cheese or nut butters, or hummus w/ veggies on hand to keep you on track.
5) Stay CONNECTED – with your soul sisters and the people in your life that fuel your soul. It’s easy to get caught up in doing, doing, doing – shopping, cleaning, cooking, working, laundry, tending to that never ending list – and forget that we are human beings, not human doings. Getting stuck in that doing mode can make us feel isolated and lonely. Connecting with a soul sister is the easiest way to break that cycle and come back home to ourselves. Call up a girlfriend(s) and schedule a night of FUN (see #8 below). Read books or listen to podcasts from your favorite inspirational authors. Spend an afternoon with your kids. Go on a date with your spouse. Call a friend and catch up. We thrive on connection, so fill up by spending time with your favorite peeps to keep yourself grounded and connected.
6) Get up and MOVE – make sure to schedule exercise into your day. Try some soul filling exercise like yoga, NIA, Journey Dance, or walking in nature. Don’t have time for a “formal” workout? Squeeze in what you can. Park at the far end of the parking lot. Take a walk at lunch. Do squats and lunges or arm circles at your desk. Do leg lifts or sit ups when watching tv. Stretch when you can. Take a dance break. You get the idea. Fit in fitness during the day and keep the oxygen flowing, your energy high, and your body healthy.
7) Limit SUGAR (including the fake stuff) – enough said. I know this ties in with eating clean but sugar is being dubbed the new cocaine. Sugar including fake sugar (the pink, blue, and yellow packs), leaves you craving more, does a lot of harm to your body, and zaps your energy. It’s especially tough this time of year with all the goodies readily available. Take it from this recovering sugar addict who cannot resist homemade cookies. I find I am better going cold turkey because I can’t just eat one –hmm, sounds just like the potato chip commercial. Satisfy your sweet tooth with fruit, sweet veggies, low glycemic snacks, or even a cup of herbal tea. If you allow yourself a little here and there, be sure to pull in the reins if you find yourself going down the rabbit hole.
8) Have FUN – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, fun is a fundamental ingredient to a vibrant life. It is also a great way to relieve stress. Let that inner kid in you express herself. Take dance breaks, play music, sing, laugh, skip across the parking lot, giggle, doodle, smile, be playful. Release your inhibitions and don’t take yourself too serious. Follow your desires and incorporate FUN into your days. After all, laughter really is the best medicine.
9) Take time for YOU – I know your schedule is packed, but you will become depleted if you don’t take time to replenish. Schedule in some ME time and make it non-negotiable. Keep some blank space in your calendar for the unexpected. Remember, you do not have to say yes to everything that comes your way. Know that NO is a complete sentence. No. No, thank-you. Here’s what I do when I’m on the fence – if it is a Hell yes, then I accept, but if it’s not, I decline gracefully. Honor yourself and your energy, especially this time of year. You don’t’ get any awards for self-sacrifice. Taking care of you is NOT selfish. It is simply self-preservation. And if you thinking your loved ones will not be best served by this way of thinking, think again. Your peeps will thank you in the long run because you will be able to share the best version of you with them and not the cranky, depleted person who shows up when your depleted.
10) Give up PERFECT – no one really cares how many dust bunnies you have in your corners or if your countertops are cluttered and messy. So what if you slightly over cooked the green beans, they were still tasty and the rest of the meal was delish. Who would even know that you wanted to serve your famous homemade dessert but didn’t have time and instead picked up something from the bakery? Okay, you had plans to make that cool crafty thing for all the people on your list but never got around to it. Using gift bags instead of laboring over the perfect wrap job is perfectly okay. You get the picture, right? We are often way too hard on ourselves because we did not live up to some preconceived standard. Let go, stop judging yourself and don’t sweat the small stuff. Stay in the now and enjoy being perfectly, imperfect YOU!
11) Honor Yourself Financially – the last thing you want to do is go into financial debt by over spending. It’s an icky feeling opening up that credit card bill in January and wondering how the heck you are going to pay it. Make a budget and stick to it. This is actually an act of extreme self-care. There are so many creative ways to give meaningful, no or low cost gifts. Put your thinking cap on and get your creative juices flowing. Go on the internet – there are tons of ideas at your fingertips to help you even if you are not the crafty type. Still feeling stuck on low cost gift giving ideas, give me a call, I will happily help you.
One of my biggest pet peeves about this time of year is the emphasis on the materialistic. We are under so much pressure to buy, buy, and buy. We are constantly barraged with ads that make us feel like we NEED the latest and the greatest now in order to feel whole and complete. Marketers prey on our FOMO (fear of missing out) and FONB (fear of not belonging) or our FONBGE (fear of not being good enough). This puts us in that future thinking mode that sets us up for the dreaded “I am not good enough now” mindset and all will be well once I get/achieve _(blank)_. Ugh!!!
To me, this season is about LOVE regardless of your background, and love is not measured by the size of the gift or how much money you spend on someone. I would much rather “spend” some quality time with a loved one than to have a token gift that will more than likely sit on a shelf unnoticed. Don’t get me wrong, I totally appreciate any gift that is given from the heart. On the other hand, I never want anyone to feel like they need to give me something out of a perceived obligation. Let’s break away from this madness and let’s start a new paradigm.
Giving the gift of your presence and spending quality time with your loved ones is the best thing you can do in my book. Remember that it’s not material things that bring meaning to our lives, it is the time we share with our loved ones that bring lasting memories. Keep this in mind this season. Give the gift of you, let go of perfect, make yourself a priority, and have the best holiday season yet.
