‘Tis the season, right?

The season where your health is in limbo (from Halloween to New Year’s Eve, right?), the season of treating yourself more than you ‘should’ and the season of sweets (to put it mildly).

But what if we made it the season of grace instead?

What if we took the ‘shoulding’ and the shame spirals and turned them into grace and compassion for ourselves.

It’s a time of joy and giving and festivities, but on the inside we’re beating ourselves up over our health choices (or lack of) and trying to fa-la-la the shit out of the season.

So here’s my challenge…

Trust in the healthy habits you’ve been building.

Trust that a few “slips” or extra cookies won’t make or break your health.

Trust in yourself as the kind of person who makes it through the holidays without self-sabotaging.

It Doesn’t Just Sound Easy

I know words sound easy and my challenge to you may seem easier said than done. But this is where the rubber meets the road of habits.

You’ve done the work to put in the healthy habits. You have your “why” of getting healthy – those babies you’re raising or that business you’re building or those parents you’re caring so well for.

Now it’s time to trust the process and have the confidence in yourself and in your habits that one piece of pie doesn’t have to mean a month of mowing down entire dessert trays.

The whole point of getting healthy is to enjoy life – and what about a piece of delicious pecan pie isn’t enjoyable?!

But the trick is to be purposeful about it. PLAN for it. 

Yes, I said plan to eat the damn pie.

And then don’t beat yourself up about it.

Your Vote Matters

Election season is over (thank you Jesus), but you’re still voting every single day for the type of person YOU want to become.

Every action, every choice, every behavior is a vote.

And as long as you’re voting 51% of the time to become that healthier self, you’re going to get there!

Sure, it may be slower progress than if you’re voting 80% of the time.

But if you know me, you know my mantra that getting healthy doesn’t have to suck! So making it through the holidays in a healthy way doesn’t have to suck either. 

You can eat the pie and still live a healthy life.

You just can’t eat the pie for every meal and snack during this two month period. I think that goes without saying though… 

When we rack up consistent votes for the healthy person we want to become, eventually we become that person.

We become the person who picks the smallest piece of pie, or better yet, opts to share the pie with our partner. We become the person who takes all the kids outside to play (and runs around to play with them) after the big holiday meal – and gets us out of dish duty ha!

We don’t even have to think about whether or not we’ll get the run in, it’s already a given and we just have to plan when it fits into the day. 

Just because you enjoy the holidays and enjoy this season doesn’t mean you’ve switched all your previous votes. They’re still there compounding as you continue to vote today, tomorrow and even into the new year.

So have grace with yourself this holiday season. Grace to enjoy, grace to forgive, and grace to vote better next time if needed.