Wow!! It’s nearly the end of the year!!
Who can believe that the Christmas break is coming so quickly?
You’re probably looking forward to the break. But before the break, there are a few weeks to get through…
End-of-year parties, buying/making and wrapping presents, not to mention the celebratory activities at work! It can really make it feel like you’re running a gauntlet before crashing into some time off, on TOP of everything else that you normally do.
It’s times like these where we rely on all the good work we’ve put in, taking care of ourselves/our bodies so that we can emerge into the new year, a strong healthy version of ourselves – or at least not an unhealthy version…
You might remember that in my last article, I lamented how in Australia, most of us virtually ‘abuse’ our bodies with lots of things that society thinks of as ‘enjoyment’! Getting plastered at the Christmas parties, late nights, over-eating. I know that you know what I’m talking about, if not for yourself then you’ve seen others doing it.
It doesn’t have to be that way… and if that is you, you don’t have to wait until the New Year to do “something” about it.
Holiday season can be stressful – there is no doubt about that. I would also add that taking care of ourselves isn’t something to be saved for when you have time or when you get a break either.
Let’s call out two of those stressors:
Work/Work Functions: Seriously look at your schedule and your priorities. Take a break for a moment and really look at your commitments. Ask yourself – Are they all necessary? / Why am I going? / What will I achieve by attending (xyz) activity? What are the costs (and not just financial)? What are the benefits?
And if you’re in Defence… is this mandatory? Can I just go home and sleep? (The question I would ask myself more often than not. Hahahaha)
Fatigue. It’s been a big year for most people. Maybe coming into the holiday season, it’s time to give yourself some grace. Prioritise what actually has to be finished before the break – the non-negotiables. Handover, delegate, postpone the rest. Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should.
Aim for longevity in your career and your life, not burnout!
Listen to your body and feel secure in putting yourself and your longevity as a higher priority – long before saying ‘yes’ to everything and burning out. Your body will thank you, trust me.
As you may know, I became a wellbeing mentor and epigenetics coach, using health types, to help others with their year-round physical and mental health as well as helping them to understanding their environment and how it affects them on an individual basis. I would love to see lifestyle diseases become a topic that is read about in history books. Stress is a particular passion of mine since I have personally dealt with it so poorly in years gone by.
There are a lot more stressors that impact our lives than the two mentioned, particularly at this time of year.
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be writing about the different parts of our lives that seem to come under focus for stress over the December/January period with some tips. If you’ve already been following along, you’ll have seen that I’ve been posting tips about different health types and stress as well as, in November, the different health types and food.
Would you like to begin your journey of getting on top of stress and having a life that is consistent with what you want?
Don’t know what health types are and what the heck they have to do with anything?
Get in touch with me at michele@michelescherr.com.au to find out more. Let’s get on top of that stress.
