While I’m sure there are people who are sailing through December with ease and orderliness, I write these posts for the rest of us. The people who are trying to have a grip on the end of the year/the holiday season/Thursday but with varying success.
And for those of us who are kind of puttering along, doing what we can with what we have, I think that things like self-kindness, adjusted expectations, and making space make all the difference in how we feel about our days.
Martha had some great advice on this topic back in 2020 with her reminder to ‘Stuff the turkey, not yourself’ The title sounds like the post is all about food but really reminding us that excess anything can be stressful and overwhelming. And she suggests a few boundaries to set to protect ourselves from that excess.
(I particularly appreciated the reminder to considered not doing multiple events in one day – I often forget how hard that is on my brain until it is too late to change my plans.)
When I write birthday greetings for people I often wish for them to have ‘plenty of time to spend as you choose and plenty of energy to enjoy it fully’ and I think that makes a good wish for right now as well.
Having the energy to enjoy ourselves depends on many things, of course, but choosing our boundaries wisely is definitely one of them.
What choices can you make right now to help protect your energy and your enjoyment for the days ahead?
Sending you ease, self-kindness, and energy to create firm boundaries.
Here are your videos for today:
A walking workout with a warm-up from Denise Austin:
And here’s a short meditation about boundaries.
About Making Space 2022
About Making Space 2022
In December 2020, Fit is a Feminist Issue blogger Martha created a tradition – a series of reminder posts to take good care of ourselves during this last month of the year when it is far too easy to get swept up in your to do list, no matter what you are celebrating or not celebrating. Last year, it was my turn and after an introductory Go Team post called Give Yourself Some Space, I created a series of reminders called ‘Making Space‘ that offered a suggested short exercise video and a suggested meditation in case you needed an easy way to find space for yourself in your schedule.
For 2022, I’ll be doing the same thing but I’ll also be including a link to Martha’s post from the same date in 2020 and I’ll offer a few extra ideas for relaxation, creativity, and self-kindness here and there.
These posts are not about insisting that you do more, more, more during this busy season. Instead, I want to encourage you to remember that there IS a *YOU* who is doing all of the things and you are worth taking good care of.
Perhaps the things I suggest aren’t what you need in the moment. That’s totally ok. Perhaps you can use something else to create some space, something that will help you feel more relaxed or more in charge of your day.
