Paris Heinen
- Mar 11, 2023
- 3 min read

Prioritize yourself......take time to just Breathe 💜

Updated: Mar 12, 2023

Just Breathe

Have you ever been so stressed out you found yourself at the bottom of a Fritos bag or at the bottom of a 1/2 gallon of ice cream? Are your smiling right now? Been there? We are so self destructive when we do not feel like we have control of a situation. Guess what? While every decade has had its stressors we are officially in the most stressful. Not for the reasons you may think. It is because so much is expected of us. Especially during the holiday season we feel responsible for making everyones holiday perfect . Plus we have all these things that don't stop just because it is Christmas, Mandatory Overtime, working the jobs of 2 or 3 people, and kids in 10 activities. Keeping up with the house, the healthy eating and activities, answering every email and text within minutes or someone may think you are mad at them or even worse something happened to you.

So what do we do?

We need to recognize we can not be everything to everyone. You don't have to say Yes to everything. You don't have to make everyones favorites foods or have the perfectly decorated home.

Have you ever eaten something and the problem went away? How about drank too much? Maxed out the credit cards? Whatever your vice did it ever make the problem go away. Or was it just worse and you have a new emotion to deal with? Guilt? Sometimes we need to just sit with it. Feel your feelings and ask yourself is this something I can “fix” or “change”? My favorite question is how can I make this easier for me? So I can have less on my "to do list".

Starting with a TO DO list.

Write everything you need to get done during this season of your life. Now go back over it and see: Are there things you can delegate or cut out all together? It is OK to hang onto some traditions but not all need to stay. What about move to another time of year? We used to make fudge at Christmas every year, but with all the other temptations we decided it was the perfect Valentines day gift. Also why fill up your December calendar when January and February are such dreary months. Schedule some of those coffee dates or lunches so you will have more time be more present and attentive.