YOUR HEALTH
I know our health goals can go out with the turkey carcasses around Thanksgiving, but the holidays should not be an excuse to stop what is good for you: exercising your heart, strengthening your muscles and bones, stretching, breathing, drinking water, eating a healthy diet, and getting plenty of rest. In fact, the holidays make it even more important to keep up your routine so that you don’t have extra pounds to lose come January or lose your mind with all the chaotic stress.
How you incorporate all of the elements into your busy life is up to you. A one-size-fits-all approach never works. What your husband loves to do probably doesn’t jazz you and vice versa. The key is knowing yourself, finding what works and then sticking with it.
In my book, Finally FIT: Customizing Fitness to Your Personality Type, I identify four styles: Fast, Fun, Friendly and Factual. I bet you have a good idea who you are already, but the book offers an assessment should you want to go deeper. The point of the book is to make fitness FIT you! Don’t do things that work against who you are naturally…it never ends well.
I’m a Fast/Fun with a close Factual for a third. This means I like to challenge myself but have fun doing it. I love a variety of things, and I schedule them out to block out the time. If you are a friendly, you might struggle doing things for yourself since you tend to focus more on other’s needs. That’s where a close-knit class can help you find friendship that makes you want to come back.
Your unique wiring helps you stay engaged and motivated with the right routine, and when you keep at it, you will get results. Don’t set a goal to lose weight this month but instead “maintain.” Come January, you will be glad you haven’t lost ground.
Be merry but wise. Have fun with moderation.
YOUR LIFE
I hope you took my advice and got ahead of Christmas so that you can actually enjoy the season. If you did, bravo! Enjoy the season. If you did not heed my warnings and find yourself behind the eight ball and stressed out, you may want to use your regrets to prevent this from happening again next year. Throwing up your arms and deciding not to give to others shouldn’t be an option. This was your doing, not theirs.
We have all been taught the slogan, “No regrets.” I’ve blogged about it, but I did appreciate a unique twist on the subject in the book, The Power of Regrets by Daniel H. Pink. I wouldn’t recommend the book as it is 90 percent research from Meta and is very biased, dry, and keeps saying the same thing over and over again.
However, like anything, I got out of it what I could, and the author’s point of learning from our mistakes stuck with me. His point is how regrets can be strong, emotional anchors that can be significant enough to force us to change. Perhaps the pain of not planning ahead has caused you to regret lost time with family and friends. Remember that regret so that you don’t repeat the same mistake next year. Start earlier!
Regret isn’t a place we want to live. Regret can be a trap that prevents us from living and moving forward. We must intentionally decide to use it as a teaching tool. Grow and learn from it! So write down your holiday regrets now and commit to doing things differently next year. You, your family, and your friends will benefit from it. It’s too beautiful of a season to be wigged out.
YOUR CAREER
December is not only the Christmas season, but it is also the end of the business calendar for many companies. In year’s past, holiday parties and gifts would be given to employees in appreciation. Out of political correctness, many celebrations have been canceled.
Yet, everyone wants to feel appreciated. When employees feel they matter, they are more engaged, and that results in dynamic and cohesive teams who provide better customer care. When your customers are happy, your profits increase.
It isn’t too late to do something that shows your employees you care. Each department head should know their teams, and appreciation should be shown in a manner that works for them. Many do not like public displays of attention (PDAs) but rather receive a gift card to their favorite restaurant or store. Others rather see a bump in pay or a bonus. It isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and when the time is taken to say thank you in a way that works for them, they appreciate the gesture that much more.
Have you taken a poll of what your employees would like to see in 2023? Consider investing in some trainings like conflict resolution, team building or productivity. Or how about a wellness series to help them feel better and reduce their stress? Should you be interested in bringing these great benefits to your employees, give me a call! I have a variety of programs we can discuss.
Just know doing nothing won’t fly. Employees are much more likely to quit and then find another job these days instead of leaving you for a job they found. Have great people? Let them know! Don’t be a grinch.
MONTHLY FEATURE
As mentioned above, my Finally FIT book helps you discover your unique fitness type and provides you strategies for how YOU should be exercising and creating a healthy style. When it fits you, you stick with it and get results. Chock full of helpful information, photos and descriptions, it is a great tool for anyone wanting to improve their health. Want to make 2023 your best year yet? Get a copy today!
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