How to keep positive and stop stressing over the build up to Christmas
How to keep positive and stop stressing over the build up to Christmas
Getting through Christmas can be hard, there’s the shopping, the wrapping, the planning, the gatherings, the school plays, the school parties, the Christmas do, the family visits and the overwhelming sense that there is just too much to do. Stop right there. Letting your mind focus on all the things there are to do and how difficult each day will be will only make everything seem a lot harder. Take a deep breath and focus on what you can achieve today. Each morning pick 3 things that you MUST get done today and write them down. Then focus on 3 things that you are looking forward to today and write these down too. Focusing on what you are looking forward to will help you appreciate those moments more, knowing what you need to get done will help you relax and let yourself enjoy your day. Who knows you may even get more than 3 things done!
Be grateful
One day America is celebrating Thanksgiving, the next they are fighting over a bargain TV on Black Friday. There is something wrong with this picture! Gratitude is so important for so many reasons. Two psychologists, Michael McCollough of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis, wrote an article about an experiment they conducted on gratitude and its impact on well-being. The study split several hundred people into three different groups and all of the participants were asked to keep daily diaries. The first group kept a diary of the events that occurred during the day without being told specifically to write about either good or bad things; the second group was told to record their unpleasant experiences; and the last group was instructed to make a daily list of things for which they were grateful. The results of the study indicated that daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism, and energy. In addition, those in the group experienced less depression and stress, were more likely to help others, exercised more regularly, and made greater progress toward achieving personal goals.
Take a moment each day over Christmas to remind yourself what you have to feel grateful for.
Give yourself a break Finding some me time could be the best Christmas present you can give yourself, take this as permission to take some time out! It can be a few moments or a full day out whatever you can manage will definitely allow you some time to take a deep breath and step back from the rat race.
Focus on more relaxing exercise like yoga
If you do have time to work out, chances are you may be feeling more sluggish than usual. And possibly a little more achy! This is the impact stress has on your body. Eating more processed food, rushing about and trying to keep up with everything will all make you feel under the weather. Going hard at it in the gym may well be the last thing you need. Now is the time to focus your efforts on low impact workouts like Yoga or Pilates or to just maintain where you are now. Once Christmas is over in January you can ramp up your efforts again and take your fitness to the next level.
Our aim at Fit In Minutes is to provide you with daily exercise solutions, to coach you towards individual success whatever that looks like to you so that you can feel fitter, healthier and know you have a way of fitting exercise into your life.
To book your free consultation and fitness test click on the link above, call us now on 07973 751190 or email Kirsty@fitinminutes.co.uk. We look forward to helping you achieve your health and fitness goals.
Kirsty x
Fit in mind
Fit in body
Fit in your life
