(The bonus tip is the best one…)
There’s no other time of year that we travel so much, buy so much, or eat so much. The theme of the season is often excess and overindulgence. It doesn’t matter what you or I think of the theme, it’s out there. We’re either in it or we’re holed up in our houses trying to avoid it.
If you’re like my little family and I, you’re headed to the airport this season to a known destination. Warm, cozy, familial – with touches of magic and crazy. Just how we like it!
With that comes more of everything. More love. More food. More laughter. More drinking. More – wait – LESS sleep!
These things all make it harder to stick to plans, feel good in our bodies, and maintain our own inner peace. So I bring you:
My top 10 recommendations for inner peace this holiday season:
- Wait until you’re hungry to eat – not because you’re on a diet – but because the food tastes so much better when you do! If you eat when you’re not hungry it’s hard to know when to stop which leads to feeling uncomfortable.
- Say yes to the nap. If you see the opportunity present itself, take it. Have you ever regretted a nap?!
- Drink some water.
- Take a few walks.
- Connect. Take the four to twenty minutes it takes to connect with a few of the people you are going through the chaos with. It will feed your soul, you do have time, the potatoes can wait.
- One plate. The idea of “One plate” invites you to scan the table, decide what looks great and that you want to enjoy now, what could be delightful (or even better) as leftovers for lunch tomorrow (if that’s an option), and what you don’t want at all. After the scan, put as much of the things you love as you want on your plate. Eat your one plate, enjoy it, and then stop.
- Turn your email notifications off. If your phone beeps all the time consider giving yourself a few days off from the binging. Set an auto responder if that helps you break away. Take time away from the constant reacting.
- Decide today what you’re going to drink tomorrow. Keep the cocktails coming or the wine flowing, just decide the day before how much you’ll drink and what at each event. I find for me it’s much easier to make smart decisions for my future self than for myself in the moment, a few egg nog’s in.
- Allow your feelings. Whatever feeling is present – let it exist. Don’t make it wrong – allow it. Let the feeling be like a pair of pants. You’re pants aren’t “good” or “wrong”, they’re pants. Let your feeling be as triggering for you as your pants.
- Decide ahead of time how you want to feel post holiday, then make sure the majority of your choices take you to your goal. I’ll use mine as an example: I want to feel fulfilled. So, when someone says “Hey, do you want to play a game?” I can ask myself, will that bring fulfillment? Yes. So I’ll play. If they say, “Hey, do you want to head down to the old dive bar after dinner?” Will that bring me fulfillment, nope. So I’ll head to bed. That’s it. It’s a filter that all experiences can go through that helps guide you right to where you want to be.
BONUS TIP: If you don’t do ANYTHING above you’re still doing it right for you. Let that be okay!
The point is inner peace. The path is as gentle as the destination.