Episode 41: 3 Gifts to Give Yourself This Holiday

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I have to know, do you buy your own Christmas gifts? I go back and forth each year. Sometimes I completely leave it up to my husband and kids and other times I just buy all of my gifts and tell them it’s taken care of. Or sometimes, I do a mixture of both.

I would love to hear how you do things in your family. Pop over to social media and let me know!

Shopping during the holidays can definitely get expensive. Today I will be talking about 3 gifts you can give yourself that don’t cost money and can actually save you time in the long run.

I know that for me when I take better care of myself I am so much better prepared to care for others. It’s like the oxygen mask analogy. You need to be taking in your own oxygen first so you have sufficient energy to care for others.

Making yourself a priority can greatly improve your life and ability to connect with others. 

Actually, studies have shown that the benefits of connecting with yourself during the holidays are reduced depression, more satisfaction, greater happiness, better sleep, and more energy. 

I would like to add, that when you are caring for yourself you have a greater ability to connect with God.

Like I talked about last week in my Managing Holiday Stress Podcast. The Savior sometimes takes a backseat to our holiday celebration because we are too exhausted after cramping in everything else. So ask yourself,

• Am I making time for myself this holiday season?
• Am I putting myself last on the list or first?
• Am I prioritizing what is most important?

Well I am going to dive into three gifts you can give yourself that will help you restore your energy, confidence and motivation. These will help you put yourself at the top of your list without sacrificing what you give to others.

The Gift of Self-Compassion

Who else is the queen of beating themselves up? Judging, comparing and ruminating on the negative?

Did you know that focusing on our weaknesses takes precious time away from what we want to be doing? We often think we could save ourselves time if we could just be/do/have something different. When in reality, compassion is what will save you time.

Here’s an example that you might resonate with.

Let’s say you have been so busy this holiday season you haven’t even made neighbor gifts this year. Then the doorbell rings and your neighbors shows up at your door with a gift, a plate or gift bag full of home-baked holiday treats. 

Yeah I know you, I've been there.

You start feeling guilty or pressured into giving back, returning the deed, and sharing your love with them. Even though you don’t have the time, energy or motivation.

Instead of beating yourself up for not being enough, give yourself some self-compassion by showing gratitude for being thought of and loved. 

Show gratitude out loud to that person and in prayer that someone is caring for you and showing you love. Just because someone does something nice for you, doesn’t mean you have to return the favor in the same way. 

One way I try to extend self-compassion is I try to think of what I would tell a friend in that same situation. If a friend was telling me that they just experienced that situation, what would I tell them to do?

Would you tell them to get in the kitchen and bake some cookies?

No, you would tell them to enjoy them and recognize all the things they are already doing. You do not have to be super woman to prove your worth.

The best way to feel like superwoman is to

connect with Christ and feel His enabling power.

When you can connect with Christ and feel his compassion for you, then you no longer feel like you need to prove your worth to other people.  I encourage you to give yourself the gift of self-compassion this holiday season and decrease that stress.

The Gift of Time

Who doesn't want more time? I don't think that more time would actually help though. 

I know for myself when I have more time on my hands I get less done. That's because when I don't have time I tighten down on a few things that make a huge difference and this often give me back time.

It’s not really about extending the day though, its about connecting with a source that can help you prioritize your day and know what is the most valuable thing you could be spending your time on.

Think about it, wouldn’t you save a ton of time if you could talk to the one person that knows the end from the beginning? The ways that I do this are making sure that I have a time of day that I am intentionally connecting with God

Set aside time everyday to have

meaningful prayers and to ask the Savior for His help

Which is another great way to save time. If you yoke to the Savior daily and receive help with the small things in your day, you will exponentially get more done. 

The Savior is there ready and willing to help you be sure to ask and let Him.

The Gift of Decluttering

I am not talking about decluttering stuff. I am talking about decluttering your life with the things that are causing you to feel disconnected from yourself, others and God.

Think about those things that are causing you to especially feel disconnected from yourself. Here are a few you could think about decluttering from your life.

1. Social Media:

Are you spending more time on social media than on other priorities. Are you coming away from social media feeling worse? 

Then you may want to look at who you are following and how much time you are spending on there.  In fact, if this is really a struggle for you I would encourage you to take a 10-day social media break.

If you go back and listen to episode 8 of the podcast I walk you through how to do that. I even have a worksheet with a list of questions to ask yourself after a 10 day social media fast.

2. Busy schedule:

Are you having enough time to connect with God? Is your to-do list unnecessarily long? Are there items on that list that can be removed?

Connecting with God can actually save you time? Creating a space in our busy schedules to specifically connect with God offers us the encouragement and motivation we are seeking.

3. Your Inner Critic:

Remember what I said about self-compassion? Decluttering your inner critic will leave space for you to feel the love that the Savior has for you. Celebrating His birth is the perfect time to build a strong connection to Him.

Decluttering your inner critic is one of the skills I teach in my Removing Roadblocks to Revelation group coaching program. I will be opening the next round up here in January. Be sure to get on the wait list to receive notification when it opens up. 

You can also still purchase my Managing Holiday Stress Workshop where I teach you some of those skills as well. 

I hope you pick at least one of these gifts to give yourself this holiday season so you can enjoy the reason for the season even more.

As a reminder, I will not be releasing a new episode next week so I will see you after Christmas. 
 

Merry Christmas!