The Holiday Pep Talk: Maintain Your Center Through the Season

The days are shorter, the holiday lights are twinkling, and the scent of homemade goodies is in the air. The holiday season and the close of 2025 have officially arrived.

This time of year is undeniably complex. While the holiday season can bring profound warmth and connection for some, it can intensify feelings of grief, isolation, or stress for others. In either case, the sheer volume of holiday demands—from parties and spending to travel and socializing—can quickly sideline the healthy habits that help us maintain our center. This month, let's prioritize grounding and consistent habits over the hustle.

The Push-Pull: Navigating the Seasonal Contradiction

To stay grounded, we must first acknowledge the strong, opposing forces acting on us during December. Without this awareness, this dynamic can create a powerful push-pull energy, leaving us feeling drained and conflicted:

• The Inner Pull (Winter's Invitation): The natural and seasonal pull toward quiet, rest, and introspection. This energy invites us to slow down, turn inward, reflect, and recharge during the darkest days.
• The Outer Pull (Holiday Energy): The cultural and social push toward outward activity. This includes the demands of holiday events, socializing, spending, traveling, and navigating often tricky relational dynamics (family, friends, and work).

It is completely normal to feel this internal conflict. December doesn’t just bring joy—it also brings memories, absence, expectations, and comparisons.

Helpful truths to remember:

• The presence of festive, celebratory energy and joy can exist alongside feelings of grief, loss, or emptiness.
• The tension between desperately wanting to participate and needing to retreat is real.
• You are not alone in feeling this contrast, and the way you navigate it is unique to you.

Finding Your Clarity: Two Intentional Steps

Given the dynamic of December, it is incredibly helpful to pause and define your personal relationship with the holiday season this year. This clarity shifts you from reacting to choosing how you want to experience the final weeks of the year.

Step 1: Define Your Personal Meaning

What does this holiday season or the close of 2025 truly mean to you?

• Is it about quiet reflection and processing the year?
• Is it about deep connection with loved people?
• Is it about celebration and joy?
• Is it about giving back or expressing gratitude?

Step 2: Set an Intention for the Season

Based on your meaning, set a single intention—a north star for how you spend your energy and time.

What do I want to bring to this season? 

• Connection: Focus energy on quality, not quantity of interactions.
• Reflection: Create space for stillness and honor what comes up emotionally.
• Celebration: Allow yourself joy and presence without guilt.
• Gratitude: Notice and acknowledge what you feel grateful for.

Knowing your intention makes it easier to say yes to what truly serves you and no—or to limit commitments—that drain you.

Keep the Focus: Honoring Your Intention

Once you have defined your meaning and set your intention, the real challenge begins: honoring that intention amidst the invitations, stress, obligations, and expectations of others. Since this season is stressful for most (emotionally, financially, and physically), just acknowledging you may feel challenged can help bring perspective.

Your intention is your north star. Use it to guide your commitments and decisions.

1. Filter Commitments with Your Intention

Before accepting an invitation or taking on more (like hosting or overspending), ask yourself: "Does saying 'yes' to this support my intention?" If the answer is yes, go for it!  If it is no, it's a clear signal to pause or politely decline.

2. Fuel Your Intention with Your Daily Habits

When we take care of ourselves physically, emotionally, and mentally, we show up with greater capacity and energy with the people in our lives. Connect to the simple daily habits that help you the most. Here are a few ideas of how a simple habit or choice can make a big impact:

• Prioritize Your Sleep: Everything is better with a good night's sleep. Remember, poor sleep reduces your capacity to handle emotional stress and can also lead to overeating.
• Hydrate and Mind Your Alcohol Intake: Prioritize water every day and at gatherings. Drinking alcohol negatively impacts your sleep quality and leads to decreased tolerance to stress in the days that follow. Consider making a mocktail or bringing a non alcoholic spritzer to share.
• Prioritize Nutrient-Dense Fuel: Focus on nutrient-dense veggies and protein at most meals. You need fuel to navigate this month. Avoid skipping meals and bring snacks (like yogurt, nuts, or protein shakes) with you as you travel or do errands. If you go overboard on dessert or alcohol, just pick right back up the next meal and get back to food that fuels you best.
• Tend to Your Emotional Self: Set aside some time to check in with yourself or to journal and bring love and compassion to what is coming up.
• Block Off Time for Movement: Even if you don't have as much time, block off dedicated time to move, walk, or stick with your weight routine. This off-loads stress and helps to maintain the gains you have worked hard for this year.
• Honor Your Financial Boundaries: If you set a budget for how much you want to spend, stick to it. Financial stress impacts your physical, mental, and relational health. Find creative ways to celebrate without going overboard.

I hope you found this Holiday Pep Talk helpful. It can be so powerful to pause and remember that we have the agency to make supportive choices—physically, mentally, and emotionally—to stay in alignment with ourseves as we engage in the celebrations and the demands of life. 

I wish you awonderful holiday season and a meaningful end to 2025!