Mind Your Mindfulness Over the Holidays
This week’s episode of Dope Ass Podcast is your spirituality spiel for December. Waking up on January 1st exhausted, bloated, and burned out is not a good look. Start taking steps now to ensure the holidays don’t stress you out to the point that you’re lagging when the new year starts. Andrea talks you through steps she’s taking to take care of herself this winter, tune in!
December is a month of running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Not a good look. Instead of falling into the holiday stress trap, this year, opt for mindfulness, self-care, and serenity. On this week’s episode of Dope Ass Podcast, Andrea offers up tips on how to make the most of December so that you can wake up on January 1st feeling recharged and motivated instead of like an extra from The Walking Dead.
Listen to the episode for advice on saying no to all the extra things, creating the feelings you want, and getting your meditation on.
[00:10] - Mindfulness
[01:15] - Doing less in December
[03:53] - Planning for January 1st
[04:48] - Family & relationships
[07:47] - Health
[09:11] - Work
[10:35] - Meditation
[11:49] - Emma from Surrey
[13:57] - Start off the new year with a bang
[15:08] - Self-care
MINDFULNESS ON THE MIND
The holidays, for me, typically feel like a sprint to January 1st. And by the time the New Year hits, so does the fatigue and emotional depletion that comes from weeks of party hopping, going out and constantly being “on.” And while all of that is fun, this year I wanted to get ahead of the post-holiday slump, and start off this new DECADE bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Coming up with an intentional plan to achieve this is what I like to think of as mindfulness. The key point being that there is a plan in place. I think too often, mindfulness is confused with awareness. Noticing there’s something in your life that you want to improve upon is important, but it isn’t enough. If you want to change, you have to put in the effort and work to make it happen.
Which is where my dope planning skills come in.
Let me tell you what’s up. This season, I’m only going to events that I want to go to. I know, even just in saying this, that a not-so tiny part of me is afraid that if I stop going out people will be disappointed. Being the entertainer of your friend group is often a thankless job (please reference my British-impersonating and pick-pocketing days) but people definitely notice when you’re gone, and I would hate for anyone to think I’ve lost my edge! But alas, I’ve put a plan in place to assuage these fears — reminding myself that I’m more fun when I am energized and ready to be somewhere, than when I’m barely hanging on. And so far, this season, that’s proven to be true. No one has come banging on my door asking where the “Fun Andrea” has gone and when I do show up to events, I really bring the heat.
And a little bonus is that when I’m there, the people I’m with know that they’re extra special to me. Which is great, because that’s a whole other facet of my mindfulness journey. I’m homing in on getting exactly what I want out of relationships. I want to be with people who make me feel seen and accepted and not judged. And I’m lucky enough to have so many people who make me feel this way, it’s just a matter of putting in the effort to grow our relationships. Whether that’s a coffee date or planning a trip with an old friend I happened to run into in New York City (S/O to Anna for having a ~moment~ at the perfect time) or spending time journaling with my kids before they get to high school and hate me — I know it’s coming, it’s OK — these relationships require attention and commitment, which I am willing to give because they fill me with so much joy.
That’s the whole point of being mindful: to find joy, even if it might take a little extra work to get there. Part of mindfulness is the practice of self care, which sure, sometimes just means taking a bath. But usually it’s more than that. It’s reading through your credit card statement and realizing that your money is split between Uber Eats, Uber, Postmates and Caviar, and resolving to clean up your diet and start taking your lunch at home, no matter how hard McDonalds is calling your name. It’s focusing on keeping your side of the street clean, without telling others what to do with theirs. Self care is having a good cathartic cry, or that difficult, but much needed, conversation. And truthfully, a lot of the work that goes into mindfulness and self-care is hard and not that fun. But the results are, and in hindsight, the journey is, too.
I’ve learned a lot about myself as I’ve approached this holiday season differently, and I’m more excited than ever for January 1st to hit—which is a pretty dope thing to be able to say.
On the Dope Ass Podcast, Andrea Levoff and her roster of hilarious, inspirational, and always-opinionated guests are tackling everything from motherhood to fashion to travel and spirituality---with a seriously dope ass lens. But don’t take our word for it. Learn more about your dope ass host and her mission to make everyone see the world through hot pink-colored glasses at https://www.andrealevoff.com/.
This podcast episode was produced by Dante32.