Happy Motivation Monday!
Over the past several days, I’ve heard so many variations of holiday stress:
- “I have no time for all the holiday shopping I need to do!”
- “I don’t know how I’m going to afford all the Christmas shopping this year!”
- “All of these holiday parties stress me out so much because {I don’t have anything to wear / I don’t feel social enough / I end up making unhealthy choices}”
- “My holiday cards {aren’t out in time / don’t have this year’s popular theme / don’t have everyone looking at the camera}”
- “My holiday decorations aren’t perfect and I have 10 people coming over tomorrow night! They might judge me!”
- “I feel like I eat and eat and eat throughout the holidays, and then get to January 1st needing a major detox!”
If you’re feeling stressed about the holidays, I only ask one thing of you today …
Breathe. Move on from the superficial concerns of the holidays (like those I highlighted above) and take a moment to be grateful for the year that is coming to a close. What do you have to be grateful for? Did you accomplish something wonderful at work, or a new athletic feat? Did you focus on making yourself happy, make others smile, give back to the community? Do you have a wonderful family or friends? I guarantee you that, in the long term, all of these things are far more important than any superficial holiday stress. So remember that, and breathe.
I’ll have more tips and tricks for how to deal with holiday stress in next week’s edition of The Lyons’ Share monthly newsletter. If you aren’t already signed up, feel free to do so here! (You’ll also get my free download, “7 Nutrition Myths that Will Change How You Eat Every Day!”)
Blog Update: Yes, I know … my posts have been getting less and less frequent, and Motivation Monday posts have often been the only ones to make it out for the week. This isn’t necessarily intentional, and I’m sorry! Good news – I have a lot of recipes coming up! I’m planning to feature not only new creations, but also things that I cook regularly to give you ideas for quick meals that you can enjoy on a regular basis. I’m also revamping my recipe listings to make them much easier to navigate!
So tell me in the comments … How do YOU deal with holiday stress? Any tips for remembering the meaning of the season, and not stressing over superficial things?
Such a good reminder! I swear 90% of what I stress about this time of year is over stuff that isn’t even important.
It is so important to take care of yourself and not get overhwhelmed during the holidays. The stress isn’t worth it.
SUCH an important reminder!!
Lists, I find creating to-do lists so helpful! For the holidays, I have a full page in a notebook. I add to it whenever I think of something and, of course, cross off things completed. It helps keep the stress down bc I don’t have to remember everything in my head which in and of itself is stressful. So for me, lists work wonders. Thanks for the tip this week, can’t wait to read the follow-ups!
I love lists, too, Bre – so critical to just get a download of whatever is in my head out on paper. I hope you’re doing great!
I love this!
It is SO important to be centered for the holidays. It is SO easy to let the ‘quest for stuff’ spiral out of control year after year, trying to keep up with others, or match them gift for gift or whatever.
None of it is worth it. A day together with people you love making cookies is MUCH more important than having a perfect ‘instagram ready’ cookie display. For us, it is the four of us around the island doing things that makes it special – of course with Lisa being an awesome baker and Chris possibly being headed fr culinary school, we do ok.
Same for all of it. We decided to do a lot of charitable donations this year in areas that are special for the person getting the gift. None of us really need much, but the thought of helping feed the hungry, advance women’s issues, or make a difference in a country with inadequate resources is a good place to put money.
And we have come to a great place with decorating – we have stuff all over the house but don’t stress on it! Lisa had given up on outdoor lighting (no time, then too cold) …so she was really surprised when she came home from work and I had done the lights – and her being pleasantly surprised like that made it into a gift.
Loads of little things … we need to step back from ‘the packages’ and really take the time to revisit the love and good thoughts that should be behind the gift giving.
Great post 🙂 And don’t worry about quantity, I always look forward to whatever you post – and knowing you are building your business, even better!
That’s so sweet that you decorated as a surprise to Lisa!!!! I love it!!! I hope she was thrilled!
And yes on the donations. A few years ago, Kevin and I started making donations in honor of family members (it’s often a diabetes-research-focused organization for my sister as she has Type 1, an ALS-research-focused organization for my parents as they each lost their moms to the disease, World Vision for my sister-in-law because she’s passionate about the cause, etc…). It’s a feel-good that also DOES good … can’t beat that!
Can’t wait to see what you chefs cook up (of course, if it’s not Instagram-ready, I may not “like” the photo ;))
Nice post! People do need to remember to stop and breathe and remember what the true meaning of the holidays are all about. Happy Monday 🙂
Thanks, Deborah! Happy Monday to you, too!