Don’t Lose Your Damn Mind During The Holidays

Love ’em or hate ’em, the holidays are here in all their tinseled glory.

The season is associated with joy, peace and happiness, but for many people, it can be a severely stressful time, especially for someone trying their best to stay on track with their mental, physical, nutritional and overall health goals. Luckily for you, DNDY Coaching has helped guide many clients over the years through the chaos that this time of year can bring.

Here, we’ll explore tips you can use to navigate your way through the holidays with confidence. 

GET SLEEP

With holiday parties and late(r) nights, it’s easy to merge into unhealthy sleeping patterns. And oddly, somewhat expected. One of the most important coaching tips I can give you during the festive season is to make sure to prioritize sleep.

Sleep influences many physiological functions, including hormonal balance, immune function, neurological performance, growth and repair of muscles

How much sleep required for optimal performance greatly depends on the individual and their lifestyle choices. However, the average adult requires between six to eight hours of sleep every night.

Unhealthy sleep patterns can lead to a host of emotional and physiological disorders. Poor sleep can also compromise the immune system.

YOU’VE GOT THE POWER 

How many times have you absolutely dreaded a situation, creating a narrative of HOW TERRIBLE it was going to be only to find that after going through it, it wasn’t really that bad? Sound familiar?

Practice removing the invisible power that the holidays hold over you. Look at the FACTS and not the story you’ve created based on old experiences that, often, no longer exist. Or future experiences that also, do not exist. If it helps, write a list that differentiates between that Facts and the Story. You’ll be surprised by how much of your worry is simply made up.

Our source of dissatisfaction often lies in our impulses and our repeated dependency on our reflexive senses rather than logic.

RELAX

You must dedicate time for relaxation as it is essential to staying healthy.

There are literally hundreds of different ways you can choose to relax. So, let’s not spout the ridiculous theory that you just can’t relax. Sorry, I don’t buy it.

Whether it’s meditation, yoga, reading a book, taking a nap, a light workout, a bath, making love, taking a walk, playing a game, stretching, going to a cafe, writing, watching a movie, etc. make sure you take time to relax and energize, especially during the holiday season.

“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” –Sydney Harris

FOOD (AND DRINK) WILL TEST YOU

In the modern world, at any hour of the day, food and drink are available. While it isn’t just a matter of self-control for those suffering with eating disorders or alcoholism, for the majority it does come down to, well, self-control.

Although the pleasure of food is experienced on the tongue, it’s crystal clear that the purpose of food is truly revealed when it assimilates with the body through digestion. On the other hand, the pleasure of alcohol is experienced on the tongue and throughout the body. The purpose? Mostly as a social lubricant and/or crutch.

It’s even more important during the holidays to realize that we should eat and drink to live rather than live to eat and drink.

TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF GIFT GIVING

Gift giving can become a downright financial burden around the holidays, it doesn’t have to break the bank.

Simply spending quality time with the people you love and care about can be the best gift you can give. Memories will last a lifetime while, no matter what the material gift may be, it will degrade and its shine will fade over time.

Plus, do you really think your friends and family want you to go broke buying them gifts? They don’t.

HELP OTHERS

Remember that many families go without gifts during the holiday season, and sometimes even without a hot meal or a warm place to sleep. The holiday season is one long commercial and it’s difficult to not fall for it. The true spirit of the holiday season comes from giving back, giving thanks and helping those in need.

Helping others provides a sense of duty and courage. It also has a way of simultaneously empowering and humbling us. And providing such an example for children will not only teach them of their connection to other people, it will give them the tools to be a good human in the large ecosystem that is our world.

KEEP MOVING

The holiday season can get crazy busy, it’s imperative that you continue (or start) staying active at this time of year.

Whether you enjoy walking, weight lifting, yoga or spin class, make sure to allocate time for these activities. You’ve worked hard to establish your healthy habits, so it’s important to try your best to keep going, even with a busy schedule.

Consider these activities just as important as an appointment with your doctor or a business meeting.

INDULGE IN MODERATION

One indulgent meal is not going to ruin your life.

If you’re going to indulge, indulge guilt free. Keeping the negative self-talk to a minimum is always a good idea, especially during this time of year. Besides, if you are following the other suggestions listed here, a couple indulgences over the holidays will be nothing to worry about.

Healthy living is best assessed over a period of weeks rather than days, and will not be completely screwed by the odd “cheat meal.”

BE REALISTIC

Many of us have an idealized version of what the holidays should be and look like. When they don’t live up to those expectations, heavy disappointment sets in. Try to be more realistic this year.

NOBODY has a perfect holiday or a perfect family, roll with the punches.

PLAN YOUR FUTURE

How are you going to improve next year? Start thinking about that now by planning ahead instead of when you, on January 1, 2020, make a resolution that will last a few months and then be repeated on January 1, 2021. Unfortunately, a mere 8% of resolutions are reached each year, on average. Why? Poor planning and much too lofty goals.

Not to toot our own horn (toot! toot!) but we offer mobile and one-on-one fitness, nutrition and lifestyle coaching. Also, in early 2020 we will be offering Behavioral and Mental Wellness Consulting and be launching a Youtube channel.

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

—

Wishing you a happy and peaceful season.

 

Christopher Hostetler, founder Do Not Die Young Coaching

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Small Towns Have the Biggest Hearts

Small towns have the biggest hearts.
They strap you in from the start.
There is a difference between dreaming big
And not dreaming at all.

Living in Los Angeles makes it easy to forget the way of the “normal” world; getting places quickly, finding parking spots on command, leaving your doors unlocked during the day…
But there are undesirable facts about most small towns across the country; a sea of chain restaurants, lack of fresh and healthy food options, minds less opened to different walks of life and opinions about the world in general.

I’m in my small hometown visiting family for a little summer vacation. Mansfield, Ohio is known for it’s monolithic prison where the Shawshank Redemption was filmed. When finally moving from Mansfield, I felt very similar to one particular scene in the award winning movie. While it’s fantastic being around family and friends, it does make me realize that I take for granted many things that a large city offers, like fresh local produce, the juice and smoothie shop that’s walking distance from my home, my Vitamix, restaurants that have more on the menu for children besides chicken fingers and french fries!

I’m sitting in a fantastic coffee shop called RELAX, it’s just coffee. They just happen to use some of my favorite coffee beans from a popular coffee shop walking distance from my home in L.A. Proving once again the we live in a small world. And upon walking to the coffee shop, I noticed people setting up stands for their weekly Farmer’s Market! I also just ran into some old friends who advised me that there were now some natural food markets around town, a health food store that carries the fish oil that I forgot at home, etc. In short, you can find your tribe anywhere, if you’re willing to look for them!

On top of all this, I will be enjoying quality time with the family, showing them how to prepare some healthy dishes, giving some delicious non-sugar options to prepare on the quick, grilling some local, grass-fed meats for the 4th, and most importantly: getting some needed rest!

We all tend to go 100mph down the road of life. We tend to forget that the pause is just as important.
Pause
Appreciate
Breathe

This might be my favorite quality of small towns, they seem to allow and understand the pause much more than the Big City.

Okay, I’m off to relax and teach my daughter to swim.

Be well.