The holiday season is a difficult time for most of us.
After Christmas is over we can get into a funk, especialy with a new year approaching.
Lots of people are lonely on Christmas day, and when it is all over it can really make us feel even worse looking back at it.
Or mayeb for you, Christmas was great and you can be left with an empty feeling.
It could be that it wasn’t what you expected it to be and so you feel let down.
Maybe the house is a wreck and you are left with so much work to do that you feel overwhelmed.
There are tons of reasons why so many of us feel funky right now…
So I have come up with 5 things you can do to get through this time unscathed.
The first thing to do is to take it easy on yourself.
Realize that even the Martha Stewarts of the world are stressed this time of year, and those who have it all together all year round are not having an easy time right now either.
So, cut yourself some slack, know that you are not alone and are actually in very good company.
The second thing to do is take a check-up from the neck-up and do some self care. We can really feel drained right now.
How do we do that?
One thing to do that most of us never think about is to acknowledge any pain you might be feeling, don’t run away from it.
We don’t like to feel pain so we stuff it down.
But it doesn’t go away it’s only masked and comes up in other ways.
We can become outwardly angry and irritatable, or try to make ourselves feel better and go shopping, we will often over eat to avoid the pain, and get depressed…
So do yourself a favor, consider this self care and feel the pain, ask God to Heal you, ask God to show you where the root to the feelings are coming from, and don’t be afraid to dig deep.
Ask yourself if you need to forgive someone.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean what you did was OK, it means that I am going to let that go, untie it from me!
The pain will go away right away, healing takes time in the natural, and it takes time in the spirit too, but ignoring the pain is like ignoring a broken leg, it aint gonna get better walking on it!
You gotta acknowledge it.
Do you need to forgive yourself?
Have you done something to hurt someone that you have been beating yourself up about?
Well, if you are celebrating Christmas then you are a Christian, and one thing Jeusus came to bring us was forgiveness of sins.
The Bible says that God casts our sins as far as the east is from the west and remembers them no more.
If God can forgive us and forget, I say that we can too, why keep reminding Him of things that He forgot about?
Are you beating yourself up about something stupid that you did? Like maybe you farted in public or said something dumb you wish you didn’t say.
We all make mistakes, none of us are perfect, no one can throw stones… those sayings have stood the test of time for a reason.
If other people choose to remember your ‘sins’ that is their problem. If God can forget them, why should we care about what Joe Blow remembers?
The Bible also says that we can be wounded in the Spirit.
That means that in the natural you can look just fine, but in your heart you are walking on crutches or are in a wheelchair. This sh** is real, so when you FEEL crappy it is because in the spirit you’ve got the flu.
Now take some medicine.
Put on music that màkes you feel good. Put on a comedy and laugh. That is medicine.
The bible says that a merry heart does good like a medicine. So acknowledge the pain, let the healing process begin, take your medicine and start getting better 🙂
The third thing you can do is make a housework plan.
There is a lot of stuff out now, and even if you did clean up pretty good after dinner and all of the other stuff that makes a mess this time of year, there are probably hot spots, pockets of mess about the house.
Make a little plan for yourself.
I have a great video for this. Here is the video.
We clean up 15 minutes at a time methodically jumping from one room to another so that we don’t feel overwhelmed.
It helps us to use our sidetracked nature to our advantage which makes us able to stick to our plan and stay encouraged all at the same time.
The fourth thing to do is to get up and shower dress and groom first thing.
(This of course is if you don’t get up and go to work in the morning where you have to groom whether you like it or not… don’t worry, I have your fourth thing below)
Doing this sends your body a message that you are important, your life is important.
We are more productive when we are dressed for the day.
Even if you aren’t going out of the house, it’s important to get yourself together just for you, and if you live with others, do it for them.
We take care of ourselves for strangers and it is a little backward. Give yourself the gift of dignity and do this, you will be so happy you did.
If you do get up and go to work and you get up and shower already. Then you get up 30 minutes earlier than you have to.
It gives you a real sense of peace. You won’t be spilling out the front door in the morning, you will be able to make eye contact with those you live with and it gives you the opportunity to be kinder than you normally are when under stress to get out of the house in a rush.
If you are alone it gives you a sense of control and dignity to your day. You won’t feel like a dog chasing his tail and it will help you feel grounded and able to face the day.
The 5th thing to do is to make your bed. Even if your room is a wreck, if your sheets need to be changed, change them.
Make your bed even if you are just about to get into it.
By doing the things that I have suggested we send a message that we are in control, that we are important and that things are not as bad as they seem (they never are).
You will reap the rewards of productivity and fulfillment and will overcome the pitfalls that come to us this time of year.
Well, thanks for being in my world. Let me know what you thins of this. Leave a comment. I love to hear from you.
Kathy
The Tidy Tutor
