As the holiday of giving draws closer, I am frequently reminded how much every act of kindness means, even when we think something is so small it barely feels like giving at all.  

Over the weekend my Mom asked me and my sisters to go to the Christmas play at her church.  My Mom has done a lot for all of us over the years and is always willing to help whenever she can so it was really not a very big request.  She was also going to be cooking us dinner before the play so to me it was her doing the giving.  After the play, I dropped her off at home and she said that all we had to do was say “Merry Christmas” because that was the best gift she could have received (her daughters and grandsons going to the play with her).  It was so easy, we all had dinner together, she did all the cooking, and we sat through a Christmas show - how was it SHE was thanking US?  

Another day this past week, while I was running around, my husband asked if there was anything he could do to help me and I half-jokingly said he could hang the outside Christmas lights up.  Later that night, guess what, the lights were up and sparkling bright to welcome me home!  When I came home from a very long day, it was so wonderful to see the lights and they really helped me to swing into the Christmas season.  I sat in my car for a moment and let myself experience the feeling of love and gratitude for such a wonderful husband.  Then I went into the house and gave him a hug and kiss and thanked him.

On Saturday I watched the movie “I Am”.  One of the scientific findings they talked about is how feelings of love and kindness can be extremely “contagious”, meaning that the more we share and express these emotions with others, the more we, and the others we are interacting with, will experience them.  It is a domino effect!  I’ve witnessed this first hand in multiple relationships.  The more love and gratitude I had for people in my life the more loving experiences I’ve had with them.  It is completely amazing and thrilling!  

We often think of giving as one-sided or something we have to go out of our way to do, especially when we have a hectic schedule and feel as if we hardly have a chance to breath.  But the amazing thing about all three of these stories is that they show how the giver actually experiences as much or even more positive emotions than the recipient.  What  has been proven in multiple studies is the fact that giving can actually increase “good” feelings and improve our immune system!  Acts of kindness physically increase the levels of “feel-good” hormones such as serotonin.  Many studies also show the giver actually experiences MORE physical and emotional benefit than the recipient.  Taking the time in our busy lives to do for others while feeling love and gratitude actually REDUCES STRESS and IMPROVES OUR IMMUNITY...so everyone benefits!  

I frequently experience this while working with clients.  While I feel it is my job to support them and provide the tools they need to reach their health goals, after 99% of the sessions I leave with a feeling of exhilaration and excitement because the people I’m working with are truly thankful for my help.  It is the very reason I absolutely LOVE my job as a health coach.  (sometimes I even do a little dance afterwards because I am so happy for the progress my clients have had in a session!)

Just like small acts of love and kindness have BIG impacts on all people involved, small acts of self-care can have HUGE impacts to our health.  This is also true for taking care of our bodies.  Every little action or choice we make has either a negative or positive impact to our health.  Here are a few common things to remember when our minds conjure up reasons not to take care of ourselves ....

EXCUSE:

“I don’t have time to exercise at lunch because I only have an hour”...

DISPUTE:

Even a 10-20 minute walk will increase serotonin, increase blood flow, reduce blood pressure and increase immunity.  

EXCUSE:

“I didn’t eat any greens yesterday so I might as well just give up until next week...”

DISPUTE:

One day of not eating healthy is not detrimental, however, multiple consecutive days will start to cause damage such as inflammation, cholesterol, blood sugar and more.

EXCUSE:

“If I cannot eat right all the time then I am a failure and I’ll never be able to reach my health goals”

DISPUTE:

This is something that many of us - including myself - are challenged with.  It is the perfection syndrome.  It has to be perfect or not at all.  This is SO, VERY BAD for us.  I frequently remind my clients that health and happiness is actually a journey, NOT a destination.  There is no such thing as perfection.  There will always be something we can improve, be better at, feel better about, do for ourselves etc...if people like Einstein or Hippocrates refused to study science theories where would be today?  Hippocrates paved the way for us to understand how the body is a whole and how food is medicine and medicine is food.  Einstein paved the way to modern physics.  Could you imagine one of them saying “well, if I cannot find a way to cure everything or solve everything then why bother doing any research at all?”....of course not!  Every individual choice we make to nurture and love our bodies is one step closer to where we want to be.  Whether that is a LEAP or a nudge forward, the point is that it is forward.  When you make a small choice like adding some dark leafy greens to your salad or walking around the building for 5 minutes on your lunch break, you are that much closer to reducing the stress on your body.  That will make you feel good.  That will lead to more positive choices. 

This holiday season, try not to spend it either stressing out about everything you eat or giving up because you had one or two bad things.  If you have something you know is not great for you but you love, ENJOY IT THOROUGHLY!  If you are not going to enjoy it, then it totally defeats the purpose of having it at all!  Beating yourself up over eating a piece of cake is a double-whammy!  You not only consume something that could potentially sabotage your health, but you also induce a flood of stress hormones which spike inflammation, reduce immunity and WILL CAUSE YOU TO SPIRAL DOWNWARD!

I hope you all embrace the feeling of gratitude, giving and pure enjoyment throughout the holidays.  Treat yourself and others with love and compassion and enjoy the journey.  

Health and Harmony!

P.S.  If you want to find more ways that little changes can make a big difference in your life, start the new year with the Veg Out 90-Day Intensive.  Click here for more information and to register.  Price increases January 1st!