Tips on Surviving the Holidays are part of our new Podcast. Be sure to check out our other episodes.

 

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Here’s the transcript:

Today’s tip: Accept Last Minute Changes

 

You do not have to do everything! Not even all of the things you agreed to do. And sometimes, things don’t go your way! And that’s okay.

 

If you’re trying to have a Pinterest Perfect Holiday and you Nailed It, in the worst ways possible, just accept it and move on. Perfection is dull and boring, so if you succeeded in your Pinterest Perfect Holiday, it would just be that Thanksgiving that everything was…perfect. Not that Thanksgiving where you tried to make little bunnies out of the rolls and they ended up looking like demon bread—that’s memorable!

 

Going with the flow will help keep you sane.

 

When you’re expected to put forth more effort than necessary to be part of something, that in and of itself creates unnecessary stress. It can also send you into panic mode or trigger you to respond in ways you don’t want to or intend to. Which, that can then create more long-term issues, with family or loved ones or co-workers.

 

So if you’re going through your day and you are starting to feel drained and you’re just not feeling it, you can change your mind. If you made lunch plans with someone, you can cancel. If you planned on having a friend over for dinner, take a reign check. If you were planning on going to a party, and you’re feeling drained and exhausted, it’s okay to cancel.

 

You need to listen to yourself before you can really listen to others. If you’re going to a social event and you aren’t listening to your body, you aren’t going to make meaningful connections. If what your body or mind is saying is to stop, take a beat, relax, then do it!

 

Your friends and family will understand, and if they don’t, then do you really want to hang out with them anyway?

 

Please note that if you’re always changing plans last minute with someone, there will come a point where they might stop making plans with you. I’m not advocating flakiness—I’m advocating taking care of yourself. But if you’re regularly cancelling plans with that same person, is there a deeper reason? Perhaps YOU don’t want to be making plans with them anymore. Which is fine. Just pay attention to what your body is saying.

 

Now I have a goal, an intent, to post a tip every day. Well, I didn’t do one yesterday. I had time. I had plans to do it. I just didn’t want to—I wasn’t feeling it. I can’t say that if I forced myself to do one yesterday that it would be bad, but I just wasn’t feeling it, so I didn’t do it. And I do not feel bad about it.

 

Yes, it’s my goal, and yes, there’s part of me that said “what are you doing? You were planning on this, and now you’re just not doing it??” But then I reminded myself that I was doing so many other things and if I didn’t do this one thing, life would, in fact, go on.

 

I had to reprioritize my day and my to-do list. I had other things that I really needed to get done yesterday, so I made sure those were done over doing another podcast.

 

I’ve decided to not go to a Halloween party because I was too tired, and guess what! My friend who was hosting it was completely understanding!

 

Accepting last minute changes quickly will help you process stress better. Being aware of you and what you actually need to take care of you is a practice that will help you say happy and healthy.