The holidays are upon us! It’s my absolute favorite time of year with big family gatherings, Christmas decorations, and sharing gifts with the people I love. However, the holidays can be a stressful time for some, what with all the different parties and gatherings to attend, presents to buy, and even tension between family members who don’t get along very well.
Aside from learning some time management skills to get it all done and improving our relationships with family and friends, which can lead to long-term positive changes in our lives and reduce stress on a larger scale, there are some immediate, smaller and specific things we can do to reduce stress right now:
1. Breathe! Anytime we realize we are feeling stressed out or tense, we can take some deep breaths, filling up our bodies with fresh oxygen, and letting all the stress and tension leave on each exhale, right along with the carbon dioxide our bodies no longer find useful.
2. Lower your shoulders away from your ears. Especially for those of us who sit hunched over at desks all day, we can roll the shoulders up toward the ears, roll them back bringing the shoulder blades together and roll them down the back, to loosen tightness and improve posture, give the lungs plenty of room to fill up with cleansing breaths, giving us more energy while helping us relax, anytime we need it.
3. Take a walk! Whether you’ve been staying super focused working on a project for a long time, you are having an argument with someone, or you just feel overwhelmed with something, stand up, move around, take a short walk, do some jumping jacks or sit-ups or stretching…Anything you can do to get your blood pumping and clear your head will help you approach the issue with a renewed sense of commitment and possibly even some new ideas and possibilities.
It’s so important to take good care of ourselves, during the holidays and all throughout the year. Get plenty of sleep, feed your body good foods full of nutrients and drink lots of water, find relationships and hobbies you enjoy, and help others by giving back to the community or finding some cause you can be passionate about. All of these things can improve your mood, reduce your stress and help you better manage the stress you do have. And if you want to learn more short-term practical tips as well as getting long-term, lasting solutions for the stuff in life that causes you stress, come to our goals workshop to make more money and find more time for the stuff in life that matters!