Give Yourself the Gift of Grace

“I've been searching for ways to heal myself, and I've found that kindness is the best way.” — Lady Gaga

This holiday season, give yourself the gift of grace.

Give yourself a dose of kindness.

Let go of self-criticism, pity and shame.

Too often, we’re just too freaking hard on ourselves.

2020 has been hard enough, we don't need to make it harder by holding ourselves to unreasonable standards and expectations.

Now is not the time to beat yourself up over that extra glass of wine or that third cookie.

It's not the time to punish yourself for missing a workout because you had to finish your holiday shopping.

It's not the time to pretend like everything is hunky dory when you are actually pretty disappointed that you won't be spending the holidays with your family.

You don't need to be perfect.

You can make a mistake.

And instead of chastising yourself over it, you can actively work on doing better next time.

You can have negative self talk.

And instead of focusing on it, you can actively work on building more positive thought patterns.

You can let yourself be sad.

And instead of feeling guilty about it, you can actively work on feeling better again.

When you hold yourself to a standard of grace, not perfection, you create the opportunity for real change to happen.

It is what we focus on that determines our emotional and mental well being.

So this holiday season, focus on kindness.

On compassion.

And on grace.

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and healthy holiday season!