Making a List & Checking It Twice........

This year let's flourish into the holiday season. Last week we started to get clear on what brings us joy during the season and explored whether we could let others help create the wonderful day. How is that going? Did you find yourself going back to the Joy List to add or delete things? Did you share your thinking with those people who are important to you?

Whatever action you took, or didn’t take, time is still moving and so we find ourselves six brisk weeks until Christmas Eve - the night I usually find more of a joy trigger than Christmas Day. I think it's the anticipation of what is to come and that in our house we also have a tradition of gathering together and lighting a candle to remember those who no longer get to be with us physically.

Speaking of physically, we need to be looking after ourselves and there are just four things that move the dial more than anything -

move, nourish, hydrate and rest.

What these look like for all of us will differ but for the next six weeks try and build habits that support these.

For me that means

Move - walk for 20 minutes a day minimum. Some days I even struggle to do the 20 minutes but focus on what I can “do most days” rather than beating myself up for what I do “everyday”. It’s a habit in progress and at the moment needs to be scheduled. It helps so much having a exercise buddy to keep you on track and help each other.

Hydrate - drinking 6 glasses of water - such a simple task but so hard to achieve consistently for me. I’ve found tying the filling of a glass to something that I do during the day has really helped - so each time I go to the bathroom, I then fill my glass. When I find that I haven’t even touched the last one (and that is the case probably more than I care to admit) I chug that one down and refill.

Nourish - fresh and real is the key for me and so is trying to get in 5 servings of greens each day - the difference it makes when I stick to this one is amazing.

Rest - I’m so lucky that I lay down at night and go straight to sleep - this is one that I can do super well. But this time of year with lots of functions, my regular bedtime can get pushed around a bit which is why moving, staying hydrated and nourishing my body is even more important. With these four pillars you can go through periods where one may not be in top shape but if all four are out of whack your resilience, energy and ability to do anything will be compromised.

Consider it a gift to your future self this season - taking care of that temple that is your body.

Holiday season and gifts go hand in hand and with the sales coming up if you have decided that buying gifts is what you will be doing then do yourself a favour, plan for what you want to buy and make the most of the sales. Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be great to save you money but only if you are going in with a plan and not sucked in to all the offers. I cringe that these are even a thing but we humans are superficial little creatures at times, accumulating shite we really don’t need and that doesn’t spark joy - but that’s the reality so lets make our dollar go further if we are going to dance that dance.

List time again! Write down everyone you want to buy for. And like the joy list, look over it and cross out anyone who you don’t really need to buy for. Now this next step most of you will skip because it's a reality that you probably don’t want to face, but I’m gonna suggest it anyway. Next to each name write the amount you will be spending. Now add that all up. Did that make you gulp or make you think “yep that’s about right”. If you gulped is there anyone on the list you could convert to a card rather than a gift? Could you consider baking or home made gifts to reduce the load, or doing a secret santa rather than buying for everyone? Giving of gifts is a wonderful thing - just make sure it is a joy trigger and not a burden!

For all of us, the greatest gift is someone’s love, time and knowing that they thought of you.

Your gift list should leave you feeling excited about the act of giving and not be filling you with dread. If it doesn’t perhaps you need to consider if the list needs some adjustments?

Part of flourishing is feeling “in control” a concept that is never really reality but one we strive for anyway. Hopefully with these two lists, the one that captures the things that trigger joy for you during the holiday season and now the list of giving, you can at least be finding it a little easier to make decisions and set priorities over the coming weeks - if it’s not on the list and isn’t life or death, maybe, just maybe you can say “no” or “not right now” and create some space for the important things.

Here’s to continuing our journey to creating a holiday season filled with joy with good food, great people and wonderful conversations and allows us to flourish.

Take care