Navigate this Holiday Season with Confidence

The holiday season is upon us once again!

Although it is often a joyous time of the year filled with friends, family, and giving, it can also be a period of excess stress resulting in emotional highs and lows, loneliness, anxiety, unhappiness, and sadness.

In addition, holiday triggers can incite challenges. Doing too much or too little and being separated from loved ones at this particular time can lead to many unresolved feelings, stress, and sadness.

It is no wonder many people end up abandoning their health and wellness goals.

The good news is that setbacks can be avoided by planning. Here are my suggestions to help you navigate the holiday season confidently.

Develop a holiday plan to help you experience more joy and well-being throughout the season.

Your plan will include improved self-care, enhanced support from others, and healthy ways to celebrate. Here are a few suggestions to achieve a happy, healthy holiday season:

Good self-care is vital. Give yourself time to nourish your body, mind, and spirit! You not only have permission to take care of yourself, but it is also your responsibility.

Take the time to figure out what you truly need. Slow down and plan quiet time for reflection and tune into yourself and ask, "What does my body need?", "What does my mind need?", "What does my spirit need?"

Examples of everyday needs: Healthy, nourishing foods, water, exercise, sunshine, nature, rest, play, connection, reflection, contemplation, music, art, a good book or movie to stimulate your mind, and exciting conversation…

Be mindful and present in your life, whether eating a meal or wrapping a gift.

When we rush through life, we miss the experience.

Take the time to enjoy pleasurable moments and experiences. We look forward to a yummy meal and don't take the time to taste it. We have tea with a friend while thinking about our to-do list, thus missing connection and camaraderie. We miss out on the simple pleasures of life and crave more. When we are mindful and present to the experiences in our life, we are nourished by them.

Avoid overindulgence.

Put your emphasis on incorporating nourishing, balanced meals. Don't skip meals or go too long between them. Monitor your intake of caffeine, nicotine, and sugar. Make time to exercise regularly to help maintain your energy level amid a busy schedule. Don't try to do too much. Get plenty of sleep. Fatigue is a stressor. Maintain some schedule and plan; don't wait until the last minute to purchase gifts or prepare to entertain.

Create and enhance your support system.

Holidays are an excellent time to reach out more frequently to your supportive friends and relatives. Sharing your struggles with a trusted friend and enlisting their help can be a great support when the temptation to abandon your self-care practice arises.

Find new ways to celebrate.

Create new symbols and rituals to help redefine a joyful holiday season. You might host a holiday gathering for friends who support a healthier lifestyle. Avoid isolation and spend time with people you like who are not prone to self-destructive behaviors. Don't expose yourself to unnecessary challenges. If there are people who negatively influence you, avoid them.

Cultivate an attitude of gratitude.

Studies suggest that grateful people may be more likely to:

~ take better care of themselves physically and mentally

~ engage in more healthy behaviors and maintenance

~ get more regular exercise

~ eat a healthier diet

~ have improved mental alertness

~ schedule regular physical examinations with their doctor

~ cope better with stress and daily challenges

~ feel happier and more optimistic

~ avoid problematic physical symptoms

~ have more robust immune systems

~ maintain a brighter view of the future

Holidays may also be a time to evaluate your spirituality and find a personal way to draw support from the season's spirit. Return the holidays to a spiritual base, and stress the power of unselfish giving.

Having fun, laughing a little, and enjoying are also essential. Start seeing the humor in those things that annoy you.

Take what is essential from the holiday season and leave the rest.

If you would like extra support, including practical strategies and techniques to navigate the holiday season with much less stress and much more peace, happiness, and success, I'd be happy to help!

Click on this link for a Free Strategy Call and give yourself the best gift you can give yourself and your family: a stress-free, happier, healthier you!

Strategy Call with Maria

I wish you a happy holiday season!

Much love, 

Maria