We’re five days away from Christmas so I’ll keep things brief today.
The holidays can be a crazy, stressful, and hectic time for many of us.
Between shopping for the perfect gifts, figuring out what to make, cooking, cleaning, working full-time, things can get a little overwhelming.
And because we’re so busy, this time usually flies by too.
You’re probably familiar with the feeling that the whole month of December becomes a blur since you’re so busy rushing from one thing to the next.
I know it’s happened to me plenty of times.
And that’s exactly why I’m touching base today.
With 5 days left, I think it’s about time for us to slow things down so we can actually enjoy this time of the year. And I’ll show you just how to do that in today’s article.
Step 1: Get Moving
I know I preach this a lot, but it’s because I believe in it: Exercise is essential to your mental and physical well-being.
And with the holiday craziness, this is no exception.
With rushing around and work stresses, our bodies are naturally more tense during this time of the year.
Because of this, you must make it a point to weave in some exercise time before and during the holiday.
Just because you’re “on vacation” doesn’t mean you should gorge out and overeat and sit on your butt all day.
In fact, if you want the former, you’ll definitely need to tackle the latter by working out each day.
Go for a walk if you don’t feel like doing anything too strenuous.
Personally, I love a good sweat session before any holiday. It makes me feel accomplished and gives me less guilt when I decide to indulge in a few extra goodies.
Depending on how I feel, I’ll either lift weights or do cardio everyday leading up to the holiday and the morning of. Sometimes I’ll take off the next day, but recently, that hasn’t been the case.
Exercise makes you feel good and when this happens, you can really start to enjoy the holidays.
Step 2: Practice Gratitude
Another thing you can do differently this holiday season is practice gratitude in a more formal way.
Instead of just donating money at the grocery store or through a school or work fundraiser, think about how you can take some real action.
You can challenge yourself to one act of kindness every day leading up to the holiday and make it a point to use a gratitude journal.
Every morning and night, write down 10 things (for a total of 20) you’re grateful for and watch how much your energy changes. You’ll instantly start attracting positivity.
By writing things down, you’ll shift your mindset and by completing those random acts of kindness, you’ll actually be taking action. Positive actions. And the Universe will thank you for it.
Step 3: Put the Phone Down & Be Present
I’d also encourage you to quit multitasking and hiding in your phone and instead just be present.
Most of us are so busy doing too many things at once that everything becomes a blur and our lives switch to autopilot and fly right by us.
Instead of getting to this point, focus on the one task at hand and don’t get distracted by your phone or any other nagging problems.
The same goes for any times you’re with your family and friends — just put the phone down and enjoy each other’s company!
These are the times you’ll store in your memory bank so it’s important to be fully present in them.
Over the next 5 days, I want you to acknowledge those times where you’re doing too many things at once. Pause and reset things tackling only the most important task at hand first.
Once that’s done, and only when it’s completely finished, should you move on.
And before the busyness of the holiday overwhelms you, just take a break and breath. Deeply and purposefully. It’s time to live in the present so you can actually enjoy this short life of ours.
Another thing that can help you do just that is stretching.
Step 4: Stretch
How is it that cats and dogs stretch almost every hour and yet most of us barely do it?
Stretching not only feels good but it also breaks up tension in the body.
And when you’re tense, it makes it that much harder to enjoy the holidays so it’s about time you get your stretch on.
I’m not suggesting you go into crazy pretzel twists or pull your back out. Simple stretches are enough to get the benefits here.
Reach one arm across your chest and then over your head and repeat for the other side.
Bend forward (bending your knees if straight legs hurts) and let your head hang. Shake from side to side in this position.
Lay down on the floor with your feet up against a wall.
Practice twists, pigeon, cobra, and things like downward dog poses to really work out the kinks.
The options are virtually endless here.
Over the next 5 days, make it a point to stretch throughout your day and you’ll start to feel more recharged and energized naturally.
There’s also one more thing you’ll want to do over the course of this time too. I’ll shed more light on this next.
Step 5: Replace Negative Thoughts With Positive Ones
Because this time is so stressful, negative thoughts can easily pop into our heads.
Someone may cut you off while driving.
Your favorite cookies might burn while baking.
Or you could end up sick right before the holiday (it happened to me last year!).
Whatever happens, it’s important that you don’t get too down about it and let it ruin your whole holiday.
Remember, you have the choice to either dwell on the little things or let sh!t go so you can really enjoy the present.
I suggest you let sh!t go.
If you’re picking out a holiday outfit and it’s not fitting as nice as you’d like, don’t sweat it and douse yourself in negative, criticizing thoughts.
Instead, find something you do like about yourself and start drawing the attention there. Forget about what doesn’t fit you.
And if someone cuts you off while driving, don’t get all worked up and curse them out either.
Instead, think about how they may be having a bad day or are really late to something important and move on.
One more thing — don’t argue over parking spaces.
Just park as far away as you can, rack up the extra steps, and don’t bother finding the closest parking spot in the middle of all this craziness.
By replacing these negative stressors with positive logic, you won’t feel so aggravated this holiday season.
Have a Holly Jolly Christmas This Year
Thank you for taking the time to read today’s article!
I hope you’ll tackle a few (or all!) of the items on this list so you can have a holly jolly good time too.
Keep moving.
Practice gratitude.
Be present.
Stretch.
Replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
And you’re done.
It’s really that simple. I promise 🙂
From my heart to yours, have a holly jolly Christmas this year!
You know I heart you,
Devan