Don’t Let the Holidays Stress You Out

Hey Bravehearts! Christmas is right around the corner and I'm going to give you a few tips so that you don't let these things stress you out. I'm giving you permission, not that you needed permission, but just in case some of you might be wondering or stressing, uh, you're going to get some good advice here today on The BraveHearted Woman Podcast.

Let me just give you some of my top five powerful hints. Number one, schedule time for you to have fun over the next 7 days. You have to have one thing that brings you joy, maybe some girl time, a pedicure, a comedy movie, a massage, whatever makes you feel like you're getting away with it and nobody's looking for you. You've got to have one of those moments, something that makes you feel like you're getting spoiled, right? Come on. You deserve it. You work hard. You need to enjoy life over the next seven days. You can't go rushing up to the deadline stressed out and frazzled. You need to show up for Christmas beautifully calm, de-stressed, and ready to enjoy so to do that you've got to laugh a little bit. You got to have some fun Promise me you're going to do something in the next seven days just for you.

Number two, be done when you're done, okay? We all stress ourselves out by doing one more thing and if I could have bought a purchase and then you get one more thing, but now you're off balance So you got to get five more things because there's six grandkids and now their numbers aren't correct. Or if I just bought this then I don't have the whipped cream to go with that pie or I don't have the right spices to go with that recipe. Okay, so on and on it can go what just be done. At some point, you have to call it. This is it. It's enough. I'm done. So make a list if you want of what's appropriate to buy or bake or purchase or fry, and then just be done.

Now, I want to encourage you that if you want to avoid stress, you've got to give yourself two days at least, and that's such a minimum. Hopefully, many of you listening to this are already done with Christmas shopping. You've been done for months, but there are a few of us who like just love to come crashing in under the deadline. Buy a few seconds. Kids are on their way over and you're wrapping the last present. Don't do that. Give yourself at least two days of margin where you can just chill. Set realistic standards and deadlines for yourself that you can reach and then you're just going to enjoy yourself. Don't try to outdo anyone. You know, the hostess with the most-est that make little snowmen out of eggs and do all kinds of just. Don't worry about it. Just give yourself permission. Do some fun things, but don't try to outdo it.

Number three, I really want to encourage you in the next seven days, get a lot of rest. Get your sleep. You don't want to show up once again feeling tired and drained and frazzled, whether it's people coming to your house or whether it's you going to other people's homes. You want to just be and enjoy, have your presence if you will, your aura, have your spirit radiating just peace and beauty and relaxation. You don't want to get everybody frazzled around you. You know, stress is just like the gift that keeps on giving. Have you ever been around somebody who's just so stressed out? Then before you know it, you are, no, don't do that. Being fresh, being in the right spirit, having the right attitude, and getting enough sleep will do that because this is a time when family stressors, relationships, and financial stressors can really get the best of us. So if you're also going on a lack of sleep, you're going to be irritated and in a bad mood. How many times do you get to the other side? Not you, but people we know on the other side of a holiday and say, I didn't really enjoy that fully because I was so angry. I was so upset. I was frustrated. I felt like it was all fair. I did all the work. They just laid on the couch and watched football. You know it. You get it. So just get on the couch with them. You don't have to stand in the kitchen like a martyr wringing your apron. Say, forget it. I'm going to do something fun too. Give yourself permission, but get that rest.

Get that sleep. Number four, prepare your home. Clear the clutter to make space for everybody. So look in every corner of your house. Do you have a basket filled with books and magazines? Look in the other corner. Do you have a basket full of blankets and throws? Look in the other corner. Do you have some shoes and tennis shoes and tennis balls and a tennis racket? Clear the clutter. It's okay to say this one room to find a designated space. This room is the chuck room. We're chucking everything in that room, including people's coats and boots. When they come over, we're chucking it all. It's just for the next seven days. You don't have to do it forever. Give yourself permission to let one room of the house just be that room. But do prepare your home, make it nice, because when people walk in and see beauty and clutter is so stressful, it is. Clutter is not just benign. It's not just dormant. It's actively Irritating people and radiating and you can do the, you can look up the research on that one. I'm not just throwing you a Hail Mary. That's for real. Clutter disrupts and disturbs people. So get rid of it if you can and baby-proof your home. If you got grands coming over and you got babies and you got stuff that you don't want to get ruined or broken. Put it up. Just hide it. Get it out of the way. Anything breakable or something very meaningful because that's the one thing that's gonna break. That's just Murphy's Law. All right, we're just having a little bit of fun here. I'm hoping that you're enjoying my ugly sweater.

For the event number five, be present. This is the greatest tip that I can give you. When you have realistic boundaries, when you've set your standards when you've said done is done, enough is enough, and when you've gotten enough rest, you're going to be present. That's the beautiful thing. You're not going to be isolated in another room, preparing something, cooking something, baking something. There might be some of that, just given the nature of it. Make sure you stay present. Enjoy your family. Enjoy your children. Enjoy your friends, whoever's coming. If you're going somewhere.

If you're single, if you're married, if you're divorced, if you're widowed, whoever is in your circle on the day of the holiday, be present and enjoy them. Get to know them, love on them, have fun, and have a good time. You've got one fleeting life. And you know what? God says that our life is like a vapor. Here in the North Country, if I go outside and cold and I breathe, I'll see my breath and it's gone in a second. Your life is like the breath. It's like a vapor. So make sure that you're present that you enjoy it and that you're going to live every minute of it to the full. Love it. Okay?

Now, I'm going to throw in a bonus actually because this is the big one and I don't want you stressing over this. Are you going to be stressed over calories? Are you going to be stressing over how much you eat? Now, those of you who have special dietary needs or are in the zone, baby, you have been crushing it with your eating and you don't want to mess it up. Prepare in advance and decide this is what I'm going to eat. But for the rest, who just, give yourself a day.

Now what I want you to do is prepare your plan. How I'm going to eat and when I'm going to start immediately. After the holiday, knowing that you have a plan and that you're going to do it and you're committed to it, you are earnestly committed to this plan, will allow you just to enjoy the day without the stress. Eat what you want, have the cookie, but you know what, point number two, be done when you're done when you've had enough, push away from the table, and just call it. I've had my treat, I've had my food, I've had my little indulgent, and my little sneaky pleasure. But now I'm done because you don't want to have to undo a lot of stuff after the holidays. So don't let the holidays stress you out. Be present, enjoy them, get some sleep, and over the next seven days do something fun that makes you laugh and makes you smile. I want you to go into the new year with the biggest smile on your face and the glow of the Lord in your heart. Have a great time. After all, you got permission. And if you want to blame someone, you can say that Dawn Damon, Braveheart Mentor told me I could.

That's what I have for you. And by the way, my earlier podcast episode was on How To Find Your One Word For The Year. If you've not found your one word for the year, Go back and listen to that because my free download for you this week is also the same. I want to give you A Complete Guide to Finding Your One Word for the Year. That also, combined with your beautiful smile, will set you up for having the greatest year ever.

All right, everybody. Make it an amazing holiday. I look forward to seeing you at the top of the year. This is Dawn Damon, Braveheart Mentor, leaving you like I always do. It's time for you to find your brave and live your dreams!

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