6 Simple and Beautiful Ways To Live In The Moment This Holiday Season
Hi Thrive Tribe!
I was out Christmas shopping yesterday with my mom and sister & I was hit with the speed at which everyone was moving around. Honking, shopping carts flying, people running around like it was their last day to get their gift shopping done…. I won’t lie I was one of these crazy people. After I got home, I reflected on the hustle and bustle of life these days & decided to refocus and reshift my energy to be present & live in the moment this holiday season!
With the world around us moving so fast, so many things on our TO DO list, it can feel as if we are on a treadmill that’s set at 10 and we can’t keep up. After a night of reflection I have come up with 6 simple and beautiful ways to live in the moment and shift your energy this holiday season.
Set your intention for the day.
Don’t let the day happen to you, decide when you wake up that you are going to create the day! It is sad but a lot mornings, I wake up & it’s like I start going through all the things that need to get done that day in my head writing out this checklist. I’m already at the end of the day before my feet hit the floor. WOAH! slow down man!!! Instead, take a few moments in the morning to set your intentions. Decide what kind of day you want to experience & set your intention to have that day! A practice that I have started is writing my intentions for the day on my chalkboard in my kitchen while I’m getting my coffee and breakfast prepared. This way, you are reminded all day what your intentions were before you got that work call, before the egg fell and broke on the floor, or before you little one decided to pluck all the leaves off your new plant. Here’s a few ideas of things I write down in the morning…. Go ahead give it a try!
Today I will live in admiration
Today I will have fun & laugh a lot with my family
Today I will be enthusiastic & excited about our activities!
Today I will put out loving and giving energy to my family
Today I will create a memory for my family and I that we can remember & cherish
Today no matter what happens I choose joy & positivity
Get interested & Listen.
Are you just waiting for your friend to get in the car to start venting & telling all your stories from the week without letting anyone else get a word in? I know I am GUILTY of this one too…… YIKES! Being a mom I talk to myself a lot throughout the day so when I get my friends or family around it’s like the words just keep flowing out of my mouth like word vomit that won’t stop, like I’ve never had the chance to talk to people before!!!! Take a breath & start your outing or gathering with asking questions & listening - this will place you in a space of being present & focusing on those around you! It will shift you out of your head and into the present moment.
If you already have your storyboard of venting laid out, you are inside your own head & thinking instead of truly being in the present moment… you’re actually reliving the past! The secret to being present and in the moment with the people around you is to get interested and get interesting…. asking questions and listening ….. Go ahead and try it… GET SUPER INTERESTED IN THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU, LIKE FASCINATED INTERESTED….ask questions & pretend like you are writing a documentary on their interests, ideas, dreams…….your focus will shift automatically to the present & you’ll see a magical transformation in your relationships as well.
Get silly.
Do you remember when you were little? Christmas break was like a year long & time was just slower. As we get older, time moves faster & it seems like the days are running together. The holidays become a frantic to do list rather than a season to be merry and enjoy! The secret to slowing down time is to stop & smell the roses. As we grow up we start believing that everything has to have a reason, that everything has to have a timeframe, that something has to be productive to be worthwhile and we forget to play. When was the last time you just spun around and jumped like an elf clipping your heels together… for no reason at all? When was the last time you just burst into a christmas carol out of nowhere just because you felt like it or tried to do your best Grinch impression at the checkout line without cracking a smile? Yea I didn’t think so…… We are so serious, UGH, gross!!!
This holiday season try adding a childlike spirit into your days and do things for no reason at all. You will see the more you regain your childlike playfulness, spontaneity & ditch the serious act of “I have so much to do I don’t have time to be fun and play” attitude, you’ll start to feel alive, time will become slower again, & the holiday spirit will take you over. It’s also contagious so people around you will be happier too! (Que the music and begin to do your happy dance…. it’s time to PLAY!)
4. Set timeframes for your phone time!
We are all in this together guys, I mean it’s a real social epidemic….I am guilty…. A LOT, but we are missing the moments and people around us by having our eyes glued to our phones 24/7! It’s been a problem in our family, owning our own business & being in real estate I mean sometimes it feels like the phone is just another member of our family. My husband and I have had lots of talks on how we can improve this and make sure that the phone doesn’t become this overwhelming item that seems to always have more importance than what’s going on in front of us. I have found that setting certain times during the day that I check my social & make my posts helps. You have to set boundaries and limits on social media & phone time we call it “Screen time” because it can be all consuming. There will always be a new emails coming in, a client calling, new comments, a new post, heaven forbid a missed compliment or private message…. but do we really need to check it every 5 minutes? Try keeping your phone in your car if you are at a party or doing something fun with friends. Lets face it, if temptation is near you know you’ll be scrolling or peeking at the least, leave it in the car & enjoy making memories with your family & friends - someone else will for sure have their phone on them if the epic picture comes your way, don’t worry :) Come up with your family phone rules and boundaries & try sticking to it! Also, for us mamas, lets be real, I have like 1 picture of me when I was 1, a few of me throughout the year, & it’s great we know what we looked like but now I think I may have 500 of Stevie from last week…do we really need 500 pictures & videos of last week? Lets try to enjoy our kids & outings instead of filming them all day!
5. Focus on what’s right!
A lot of times we focus throughout the day on all the things that don’t go right. A million really nice and sweet things can happen, but then 1 guy cuts you off & it derails your mood and throws us into a tailspin. This is a practice and habit of retraining our brains to stop looking at what went wrong & start noticing all the things that go right throughout the day…. when you start to count, you’ll see there are a lot more beautiful and amazing things that are happening around you than bad, but for some reason our little brains love to cling to that one bad thing and make that the focus of the day. A practice that has really helped me retrain my brain to start noticing the good and the beautiful more is at night, you can get out your journal & write down all the things you did well for the day, the things that went right, & you’ll see that over time you’ll start noticing more and more of what’s right with you and others! Tis the season to notice the holly and the jolly!!!!
6. What we eat we become.
You may think I’m talking about food, but I’m actually referring to what we are feeding our minds on a daily basis. We start our days with facebook newsfeeds (lets face it not always the most positive posts going on….) Sometimes it’s the morning news… wow now there is a whole lot of gloom and doom…. say goodbye to holly jolly. Sometimes it’s the morning phone calls with our friends and family that turns into a vent fest or gossip…. I mean it’s a real morning plate of negative nancy….. If we are feeding our minds with negativity throughout the day, how can we expect to combat this?
This holiday season, try turning off the news & instead listen to a motivation podcast. Try getting your friends and family to join you on a morning gratitude call where you all share what you are grateful for on the morning call. Try reading a feel good positive book before going to sleep or listening to a beautiful meditation. This season, try feeding your mind & soul with a dose of holly jolly! When you make it a daily practice to feed yourself with good things, your days become richer & your spiritual health improves automatically. It’s like eating greens, you can’t help but shed off the weight of negativity!
Living in the moment can only happen when we are in a state of joy, gratitude, & in the energy of admiration, the true spirit of Christmas! I hope these tips help you to live in the moment this holiday season & get HOLLY & JOLLY! Please share for anyone who may be heading to Grinch land this season & nees a little dose of Whoville love! - Ashley