The holidays are now upon us, the busiest time of the year. You plow through shopping, events, parties, to-do lists, and jam-packed calendars without a minute to spare or any time for yourself. All you can think about is crossing things off your list and before you know it, you feel sluggish, stressed out, your head hurts, and you're gaining weight. What happened to those quiet holidays where you could sit around for hours and actually enjoy the company of people who were important to you? Where happened to relaxing?
In no time at all, it will be the New Year and with the chaos of the holiday season, you haven't had time to workout or eat well. You look down at your new belly pouch with disgust, so you rush off to try to gain control by pulling out that pad of paper and writing down your New Year's Resolutions. This makes you feel somewhat better. You have a plan, you're back in control. The problem is that by the time January 1 st hits, you're 5-10 pounds heavier from the Christmas cookie binges. You want to get to work fast, so the weight doesn't sit on your body. You want it off now! So you train hard, you train vigorously, all the while feeling agitated with yourself and angry at your body as if your body did this to you. But it is your poor body that takes the brunt of it all. Something's gotta give! Your body is your gift, it is the vehicle that carries your precious mind around all day from one place to another and deserves premium care.
We don't really have a good understanding of how severely stress impacts our body and mind. Why else would we let ourselves get caught up in the whirlwind of sleep-deprived nights, fattening and sugary foods, and skipped workouts, all the while gladly adding more gobs of things to our “To Do” lists. We find ourselves spinning out of control and practically screaming for more balance in our lives. How would it feel to just say, “I've got enough on my plate” instead of trying to squeeze that one extra thing into the day that pushes you
over the edge into anxiety, agitation, and anger? There are always more things to do, more parties to attend, more gifts to buy, more people to please, but what if you just do what you can reasonably, easily do and just let that be enough. True, there are times in life that are just unavoidably stressful. And anxiety is a normal part of our psychology and a natural response to some of the challenges in our lives. Demanding or expecting a perfectly balanced and stress-free life is not realistic. But our stress and anxiety do not have to rule us. We need to learn how to cope successfully with these challenges, all the while making it a top priority to be good to ourselves. That is why it is important to take the time needed for self-care even it's only a small part of the day.
As a health and fitness professional, it is my job to help people deal with these issues everyday. In my experience, I have found several tools that are sure to help you win and succeed.
The Self Care Track:
Make Time for Yourself Today! Take time for yourself, starting now. Don't over-think it and don't delay. Put yourself at the top of your list. You are number #1. Nothing is more important then you!
Set a Daily Goal. When you wake up each morning, make a committed goal to yourself. Be reasonable and self-loving when you set your goal. Make it something that challenges you, but that is also doable. You can put a Post-It with your daily goal on it on your mirror or your computer or somewhere else where you'll see it repeatedly. By clearly setting your intention to do something positive for yourself each day, you entirely alter the course of that day towards a more positive future.
Follow through. Once you've set a reasonable, reachable, positive goal for the day, you must follow through . No exceptions! This builds trust with yourself that when you say you're going to do something, you do it. In addition, you will feel empowered and capable when you have completed what you set out to do. Baby steps complete a marathon, so set a new baby step each day.
Don't get distracted. If only it were as simple as setting a goal and doing it, everyone would be healthy, happy, and thin. Life is so much more complicated than that. There will always be a million other things that will pull at you from every angle each day and try to deter you from reaching your goal. And the hardest part about that is that part of you will want to give in to those distractions if for no other reason than to sabotage your progress. You have to learn to acknowledge the parts of yourself that do not want you to succeed, but then choose to succeed by following through with your daily goal anyway.
For example, my goal the other day was to run on my treadmill for 60 minutes and not to exit no matter what. Well, I struggled big time because I had a brilliant business idea while I was running and wanted to hop over to my desk and write the idea down on paper. I felt the idea pulling on me every five minutes, but darn it this was my time to nurture and care for my body, to help build it internally, to help relieve stress, to help give it clean pure energy, and I was not going to let myself get distracted! I fought myself and that is why I share this with you. I am very dedicated to my exercise. I understand the importance of it, but even so, I still struggle from time to time as I did that day. The only way I managed to keep on trucking was to remind myself that I made a promise to myself to run 60 minutes that day and I was going to keep it. Distractions will always come up, but it is important to keep the commitments you make to yourself no matter what.
Take charge and be strong. Be aware when distracting thoughts come up and grabs you in tricky ways. Set your morning goal and follow through. Your goal can be 10 minutes of stretching, a 20 minute brisk walk, or a session of weight lifting. Set a bite-size goal and do it. This will set you up for a win. Every time you succeed at completing your daily goal, you are strengthening your inner resolve and you are making it easier to make more good choices in the future. You will feel good about yourself because you will know that you took the time to nurture and pay attention to you and that feels great! If you have workouts planned with a trainer, ask to sit down for fifteen minutes and evaluate your holiday schedule to make it work for you. If you feel that one hour is too much time don't cut it out entirely, just cut it down to 30 minutes. I can't tell you how empowered and good you will feel when you follow through. The commitment and dedication you show yourself will reap benefits in all aspects of your life.
Happy Holidays
~Jackie
WOODSIDE, CA. • PHONE: 650-851-2705 • ©2006 PHYSICALLY
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