Do Hard Things Holiday Survival Guide:4 Tips to Keep your Mind Right & Body Tight

Anyway , you're going to love this episode . Today , we're going to talk about the holiday survival guide how to keep your mind right in your body tight . We've got a little fitness challenge for y'all . We want to talk about some of the challenges that people face in the holidays .

So I'm Jay Teiggs , I am your high performance leadership trainer , speaker , venture coach , running coach , and welcome to the Do Heart Things podcast , where we intersect the topic of high performance , mindset and endurance sports and , like I said , today we're going to talk about some of the challenges that people have facing the holidays .

Maybe some tips and some strategies to navigate this with a positive mindset and that keep your body in good order and shape .

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So this type of year we start to fatten up a little bit .

The sun doesn't come out as often , it gets a little colder and it's really that time from Halloween till around the end of the holidays where I mean , I noticed it with the Halloween Bowl it's like sitting there by the door at all the leftovers from what we didn't hand out to the trick or treaters , and we go by that , we start grazing on it a little bit

and you got Thanksgiving and all the food there , and now we've got the holiday season and it's easy to kind of get off track just a little bit , and there's also some other holiday stressors going on like some family dynamics . There might be some financial stress . I mean , statistics are showing that this year people are financing a lot of their Christmas gifts .

I mean , money's tight this year . We're kind of in a lot for a lot of people that were in a pinch . A lot of people are traveling . It can just be kind of a weird time for people , and so there's all sorts of stressors .

So we're going to talk about some of the stressors this morning , give you a few tips to kind of help you navigate some of the stressors , because we want you to come on on the other side of this feeling positive that the holiday shouldn't be a beat down on your mental and physical capacity . But we can get caught up in that a little bit .

I know I've had some pretty rough holidays myself . So some of the holiday stressors that are pretty common . So just like I mentioned overeating , unhealthy eating Holidays often revolve around food . It's easy to overindulge high calorie dishes and treats and you're not really paying attention .

Everyone's kind of we're wearing a little bit heavier clothes this time of year . We're not really getting ready for the beach , right . So you just kind of start grazing and before you know it you got an extra five , 10 pounds on the scale . There's a lot of stress and anxiety , just the preparation of holiday .

You know you just have to do the thing and all the external pressures that come along with that .

You got family gatherings and you got that asshole uncle that you just don't agree with politically and you're going to have to hear him and maybe it's like you know you get your life choices brought up at the dinner table and you know all of these awkward conversations can just lead to a lot of headbutting and some challenges .

Hopefully that's not that way in your family , but a lot of family dynamics are like that and so there can be a lot of like increased stress , increased anxiety and it's it can be tough time in that arena For some people's depression and lonely loneliness .

You know some people it amplifies their feelings of loneliness because they're seeing everyone else connected with their family and friends and you're seeing all the ads and it's supposed to be this time of connectedness . But some people might be alone .

They may have gone through a major breakup or relationship ending or , you know , maybe they're in the military or they're in another job where they have to have to work and be working through the season and so that can exasperate and spike depression for some people and that's tough . There's a lot of people that are going through that .

So we need to be kind , we need to be kind to everyone we run into , because you don't know what they're going through and there's a lot of people out there that are lonely . A lot of alcohol consumption I mean with increased social events often means more opportunities to consume alcohol , which impacts health and mood and behavior .

I notice when I drink , especially after doing a couple rounds of 75 hard and I'm standing from alcohol when I drink , it has a tremendous effect on my sleep . I might go to sleep right away but I don't sleep well . It also feels some depressive moods and just don't feel good , especially as I've aged . Just it's like .

But so I gotta be careful with that because it's it's always good in the moment . It feels good , but then you know I start my workout the next day or the routine the next day just isn't as good . I have a lot more brain . I'm doing that now , brain fogginess .

So I noticed that without call consumption , financial pressure you know the cost of gifts , the travel , the entertaining , all the people can lead to some financial strain , worries and this can impact people's mental health . This is a challenging time for a lot of people to try to keep up with with , with all of the pressures of that .

Right , this season has become very , very consumer , consumer driven , and so there's a lot of pressures to get all the gifts . And I tell you what just trying to get you know 20 , 30 , $40 gifts for people Just co workers . You got to go to the holiday white , all those things it adds up quick and then you got to entertain people .

You got to get the food . You got travel arrangements . You got to make it can be very , very just . You spend this money's flying out the door this time of year , right ? So you got to be careful with that Unrealistic , unrealistic expectations that the desire to create a perfect holiday experience .

This can lead to disappointment , feelings of inadequacy when things don't go as planned . I know some people that put some incredibly high pressure on themselves to make the perfect holiday experience for everyone and then it just doesn't go quite as planned and then it'll left feeling like so disappointed .

They look at this as a magical season and then they they ends with disappointment because it didn't quite go as planned , and so that's a challenge for people over committing , saying yes to too many invitations and commitments . This can lead to exhaustion , lack of downtime , more added stress . You don't have to go to everything you're invited to .

You don't have to go to everything you're invited to . And so all these things balancing your work and all the celebrations and all the things , the time management I know you have extra activities you got to do , like wrapping presents , like for me , like I would . That's up there with a wrapping presents is up there with doing my taxes . Absolutely hate it .

It's something I got to do . I'm going to have to carve out a night to get that done right and trying to find joy in that process , right . So I said I hate it , but I'm trying to . How do we write that to work , you know ?

But the bottom line is we have a lot of activities , a lot of things , maybe some things that we don't generally enjoy doing , and we got to find the joy in doing it and navigating it without falling apart , right . So how do we do this ? How do we navigate the stress ? How do we balance expectations and reality ? How do we embrace the moment ?

And so here's some tips and strategies . So you know , with navigating the stress . We need to be able to manage our expectations . We need to balance expectations and reality , from what our ideal holiday is and what it actually is going to be , and we need to manage these expectations and have a plan going into the holiday . That's really what it boils down to .

What is your plan going into this holiday season ? How are you going to survive ? Do you have a game plan ? And how can you embrace the moments that you have ? How can you bring positive energy and enjoy to these moments ? Well , the first tip is I think it's important for us to find our own meaning to the holiday .

So , strategy number one Find your own meaning to the holiday . I know for me . I came from a broken home and I Holidays were always Kind of weird for me and then , being in the military , I always find myself like I didn't have . I didn't go to my own family .

I would always Experience it with other families and there were many years and I'm just like man , I wish my family got together more . It just wasn't like that for my family dynamic . It just wasn't a joyous time or occasion .

But I always had this expectation like I would be jealous of , like these other people's family and their dynamics , and what I learned over time was , although that they had , like , it seemed like the perfect family , as you peel back the layers , their family wasn't so perfect . Every family has their challenges .

So I had to , like really find my own meaning of what the holiday was for me , you know , and what does that mean ? Maybe maybe you can derive your meaning of the holidays is a time that you just you know . Let yourself Just think about what the season is all about .

Maybe , maybe it's about giving , maybe it's about your relationship with , with God , because we're Celebrate . For many it's the celebration of the birth of Christ . There are other holidays , you know . There's the Iconica , and I don't know what Kwanzaa is .

I hear it come up every year celebration of color , I think , or something like that , and it's a very colorful time for people . I don't know . I don't know what those are , but there's , there's a few holidays that are happening , but really it's a time to celebrate one another , right , it's time of love .

And how can you find your own Meaning of the holidays so that way you can feel in control over your holiday experience , versus all the external pressures of what the holidays should be and what it should mean for you . Like you know , you need to start buying your holiday presents and Christmas trees in September , because that's when Lois puts them out .

Right , they're already starting to influence you . There are a lot of external influences of what holidays should be for you . You get to control that and choose your own adventure with this . That's the cool thing about it . So find your own meaning . Have you really thought about what the meaning of the holidays are for you ? What is it for you ?

I Look at it as an opportunity to connect with my family . I think about I mean I I usually like to watch some type of movie about the birth of Christ . I think it's cool , I like to find meaning and it's an opportunity to get out into the woods . It's usually hunting going on or there's . It's not pretty .

There's some downtime to go run some races in the cold weather and take advantage of some of the off time , and that's what I choose to kind of do and I try to navigate . You know , go to all the things I'm invited to , but try to navigate the things I that I have to go to with with some form of joy and An opportunity to connect with people .

This is usually an opportunity where I'm making probably more phone calls and connect with people that I haven't caught up with in a while , and so the bottom line is you get to choose what your holiday is for you . You get to choose the meaning of it , and when you're in control

, you feel better . When you're trying to control things that are beyond your control , when you're trying to appease other people because you're You're trying to participate in what they feel the holiday is for them and how you're what your role is into it , you're trying to fit into that . What's gonna suck for you . So make it about you , be selfish with that .

What does the holiday mean to you , and live up to that . That's what it's all about . So , whatever that is for you , I think some great tips to help you with that control bit is practice , mindfulness . We talk about that a lot , right , so you know , doing those mindfulness activities , staying in the present moment help you reduce stress .

Meditation , visualization , set realistic goals for yourself . Don't over commit . Get your calendar out . What are you gonna say yes to ? What are you gonna say no to ? Have a list of your holiday gift giving and Put time in for yourself . Buy yourself the presence . Give yourself an experience of joy of some kind .

Get out there in the woods , go run , go to the gym , go do what you got to do . Go read . I know I've got my friend Stephanie . She like use around the holiday . She piles up on all the books that she's missed out on the year and she makes it , you know , and that fills her cup and that's important . So do you .

The holidays are all about everyone else for a lot of people . Block some time for yourself to be selfish about it . You're gonna be happier . You're gonna be more joyous to be around for all those other people . All right . Number two , tip number two Keep fit amidst the festivities . All right , so make sure you work out . Gotta get your workout in there .

It helps you manage your stress . It helps you maintain your normal routine , because this is what happens this time of year when we get in the celebration mood , we get out of our normal routine and we start skipping out on our workouts . We're not feeling as good . So maintain your routine and the challenge of keeping a fitness routine is it's hard .

When you've got this holiday routine You're gonna be traveling , but make sure that you're getting it up , getting it up , getting up and getting out there and keeping your body moving during this time . It'll help you reduce the stress and burn those calories . Find opportunities for creative workouts .

Find fun , festive ways to incorporate exercise into the holiday activities and then adapt your condition so you adjust your workouts to accommodate the weather and maybe you have some indoor constraints because maybe you're traveling and you don't have access to a gym . Plenty of body weight workouts that you can do , which is why we created the 12 Days of Fitness .

It's a scalable routine . I'll talk more about that in a minute , but you can take that along with you during these holidays and do some stuff on your own . Schedule your workouts so you're on this holiday schedule . Make sure that you pin that time in there for your workouts .

When are you gonna be able to get it done with all the activities that you have to do during the holidays ? So make sure you wanna schedule that .

Maybe , if you're short on time if you typically work out for an hour and you don't have a full hour because you're traveling or you've got these other commitments you can really do a lot of good in about 10 , 15 , 20 minutes . So maybe you shorten up the workouts , but don't skip it Okay .

Holiday healthy eating Okay , hey , just manage your over , have fun with it . Just don't over , just don't overdo it , don't overdo it . The temptation to overeat can be a challenge for many people . Maybe you find some healthy alternatives . Maybe you're bringing a dish to a party , maybe you make your dish the healthier one , so maybe you can do that .

But yeah , just be mindful about how much you're eating , how many calories you're ingesting , and portion control is important . Get the small plate , don't get the big plate . Put a little bit of everything on the little plate . Pile that little plate up , but it's better than piling up the big plate . So just a little half like that can help you out .

Don't skip meals . So you're gonna go to a party , right , if you don't wanna overeat at a party , well , don't skip your . Don't skip lunch . You're gonna go to the ravenous . You're gonna overdo it . All right , all right . Tip number three I think I already mentioned this because it kind of went hand in hand with tip number one .

But tip number three to survive the holidays is schedule time for you , and I know it sounds simple to basically make a schedule , but so many people are not very good at doing this or they don't do it at all , they're shooting from the hip or we over . We don't plan effectively .

And so make out , you wanna basically create your plan , create a conscious , and your plan's gonna go to hell when you go to these parties anyway , but at least it kind of keeps you focused on the tasks that are most important , like getting the workout in , maybe doing the mindfulness , getting the timing for yourself . Maybe you can get all of the .

I know I tend to , and I used to really procrastinate about just gift giving and getting all of those things done , having a list to work through , looking at this like a project . When I started navigating the holidays like a project , procrastination and the stress really , really like reduced in my life .

So look at this like a project , because that's really what December is all about . It's a series of tasks and things that you have to accomplish and there is an end to this . Whichever project has a definite start and an end and you get to control that project . So look at your holiday schedule and all the activities like a project .

Do more of what you love . So make sure you take care of yourself . What are the things that you enjoy doing ? Make sure that you block out that time for yourself so you can leave the holidays recharged . So I can't stress this enough Be selfish with time for yourself . Take out a block of time .

It doesn't mean you got to take an entire day for yourself and like skip your whole family . Maybe some you probably might want to feel like doing that , but that's not reality . But you can take some time for yourself and this is an opportunity to strengthen the commitment and the relationship that you have with yourself .

If you don't love and respect yourself , it's gonna be very difficult for you to pour love into other people , right ? It's almost impossible . Take time for yourself , you deserve it . And then tip number four how to keep the motivation alive . So how do you keep your mental and physical motivation alive during this holiday ?

Well , what I like to do is I like to create some short-term goals and what I do is this time of year , especially for , like my , my running and the other , I like to start planning next year and I want something in the spring that I have to train for now .

Like Lacey and I signed up for the rock and roll marathon in In April , so our training has already started to meet the timeline for the training cycle so that keeps us motivated to Run during the holidays and into January , when a lot of people have their foot off the off the gas all together . So create a goal for yourself .

Find something to train for , whatever that is for you . Another aspect of keeping motivation alive Look , find a workout . I pair up with a friend or family member to help stay motivated . I know I you know , lacey and I we meet up with a Tuesday and Thursday morning group run . We keep each other motivated . We find other opportunities to connect with people .

It is so much more fun to suffer with friends than to do it alone . You're gonna find greater motivation . You probably push yourself harder . So , even during the holidays , find someone to go work out with .

If you're around family , maybe you can encourage a family member , maybe maybe someone that maybe isn't as fit , and maybe you can go for a walk with them or do something light , like introduce them to Something . But maybe use that as an opportunity to connect with someone else and , like I said , find it . Find a race or an event to sign up for , all right .

So , with that said , let's talk about a little . If you need some additional motivation , we have an opportunity for you here at the do-hard-things nation called the 12 days of fitness . Lacey came up with this great idea . We're gonna do an advent style Routine over the next 12 days . It starts tomorrow .

So if you go to do our things , nation calm , click on register and if you're listening to this a couple days late , you can still join in the four couple days into this . But go to do our things , nation calm , click on the events tab at the very top and you'll see the 12 days of fitness and Every day you're gonna get sent a new workout routine .

They're all body weight . They're all things that you can do at home . They're completely scalable . Adjust it as you see fit . Maybe , if you're , if you're fit and you're already dialed in , maybe this is your second workout of the day . That's how you get that extra challenge in . But the the intent is to give you just something new .

These are some of our , a collection of some of our favorite workout routines . There's some warm-up videos , there's some .

There's gonna be a couple recovery days in there , but I'm gonna give you the exact routine that I use often and and just as a way to you know , just you open your open your eyes to something a new , a new way of doing some things , and it's a great way to just stay Accountable with a community of people we're gonna be sharing .

If you're not part of the do hard things Facebook page , definitely want to join there . We'll be dropping some additional motivation in there and , yeah , it's a great way to just kind of keep your mind and your body right Over the holidays . So that's what that's what it's all about . So go to do our things nation calm , it's completely free . We'll send you .

We'll send you the details . Daily workout will be posted and sent to you so you can execute on that and get after it . Like I said , completely scalable but a fun way to get through the holidays , great way to Build your habits or sustain your habits through this challenging time for people .

It adds a little bit of variety and fun to your routine and you can use this opportunity connect with other like-minded people . This is what I love about the Social media . Right , you can do this with friends and family , but you can also connect with a community of like-minded people , which is what we're creating here with the do our things nation .

Right , like-minded people Focus on growth , mindset and during sports . So , so that's it . That's it . What am I missing ? I Wish he was here to keep me straight , unless he's not even here to keep me straight either . So that's , that's all I got . I you know , I wish . I hope that you have a happy holiday season . Merry Christmas to you and yours .

Be safe as you travel , don't overspend , don't overeat , keep your mind right , keep your sanity , but that's it . It's all about establishing healthy boundaries and Really creating a plan to navigate the season , and we would love to see you as part of the 12 days of fitness , fit miss , 12 days of fitness . So that's it . That's all I got for you today .

I'm trying to think . If there's any other notes , I think that's it . So , wherever you're out in the world , I appreciate you , be good , do good things , make good choices and we'll see you guys . Next episode couple upcoming episodes .

So I recorded an episode on adventure racing , like an overview of adventure racing , which includes running , paddling , mountain biking and navigating . I did a race report for my race at the Castlewood Adventure Race and then I'm gonna . Recently , lacey and I ran the Pure Marquettes trail run , so I'm gonna do a race report on there .

So the podcast you'll start to see some race reports . I've got some interviews lined up with some other people that are out there getting after it and mindset and endurance sports . That's where we're kind of , that's where we're steering the podcast toward capturing those activities .

So if you know anyone that has any cool stories about endurance , mindset and he , you know , loved to connect to do an interview . So that's all I got . That's it for today . So , wherever you're at the world , it's Tuesday , crush the day in the palm of your hands , keep doing hard things and , as Angie would say , make someone smile .

It's a lonely time for some people out there , so your that interaction of kindness can really make someone's day , and that's what the holidays are all about for me . So , all right , we'll see you guys . Oh , we got a bunch of comments here . We'll see you guys in the next episode . Hey , good morning , sherry , john , raymond , kerry . Hey , good morning .

Good to see you all . That's it for this episode . We'll see you guys in the next one . Keep doing hard things , make someone smile , that's it , peace .