Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I’m not sure if I love it because it represents gratitude, getting together with loved ones, and cherishing relationships, or if I love it because it also happens to be smack dab in the middle of my birthday week. It’s probably a combination of both! Regardless, it’s a special time for many of us that can also test our patience and be a tad stressful if we let it. 

But it doesn’t have to be that way if we choose to bring our very best tools to the Thanksgiving table! We break these tools into three main categories–and three core pillars of our podcast–which are leadership, nutrition, and fitness.

To see why this can be so valuable, let’s look first at how things could play out without intentionality on our part in these three categories.

Bad leadership might look like someone who turns a tiny disagreement into a full-blown argument, someone who is mean and insensitive, or maybe someone who is intent on being the center of attention the entire evening.

Poor nutrition could look like the family plopped on the couch experiencing belly aches because of overeating. It could also be a long nap after dinner, because of sugar-rush and carb overload. It could even look like not allowing yourself to be present and enjoy the moment, even if that means indulging in a few sweets!

Lousy fitness could also look like being a couch potato and not moving your body at all the whole day. You don’t have to have completed an Ironman that morning, but a little movement goes a long way for digestion and circulation.

Now that we know the kind of holiday we don’t want to necessarily experience, where do leadership, nutrition, and fitness fit into Thanksgiving?

9 SIMPLE AND EASY-TO-ACHIEVE GOALS FOR THANKSGIVING

(MAKING IT BETTER FOR YOU AND THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU):

#1 Prioritize your quiet time.

If you are (and I honestly think most of us are whether we realize it or not) the type of person who needs just a little time each day to collect your thoughts, center yourself on the day, reflect, journal, read, or set your intention for the day, try not to skip that. If you have family in town or if you are visiting with family, this can be challenging, because you are in a new routine or a different environment, but try hard to prioritize that.

#2 Be a good listener and mediator

I hear phrase thrown around often that we are given one mouth to speak less and two ears to listen more. Challenge yourself on lending your ears to someone who is speaking and be genuinely interested. Ask questions and seek to be more interested than more interesting. This doesn’t mean, however, that you need to keep from speaking up when you feel the conversation is getting too heated. If that happens, by all means: Encourage everyone to lighten the mood!

#3 Gratitude

Have you ever been around someone who is so positive or thankful that it starts to rub off on you and make you feel the same way?

I find it almost impossible to keep pouting and being down in the dumps if you’re in close proximity to someone who is shining a light and overflowing with heartfelt thanks and appreciation. It’s almost like the people you see who are walking through something unimaginably difficult and saddening, and yet they still have a hope-filled smile on their face and they’re thankful for what they have instead of bitter about what they’ve lost. 

Aim to be the intentionally grateful, glass-half-full person at your thanksgiving gathering and you will help everyone else leave with their glass-half-full too.

Be grateful. Be grateful. Be grateful! It can be so easy to grumble about what we don’t have instead of what we do have, but try it and you might just end up inspiring gratitude in others.

#4 Hydrate

Usually, Thanksgiving revolves around food and drinks, many of which are not hydrating. Start your morning with a tall glass of water and sip from it throughout the day!  To add color and flavor, you can float some slices of lemon and cucumber, and I also recommend drinking room-temperature water.

#5 Stick to your routine

Thanksgiving should be a treat and it should be delicious, but it is incredibly unhealthy to skip meals all day just to prepare for one massive meal during dinner. Try to remind yourself that there will be leftovers for a great post-holiday lunch to enjoy, and stick to your usual eating pattern. For me, this means starting my morning with a yummy, blood-sugar balancing smoothie, and then I’ll probably have a light lunch and a normal dinner! My pants will still fit just fine, there won’t be any bloating or tummy aches or needing a nap, and I’ll feel great the next morning. You and your stomach will be grateful because you made the choice to stick to your routine.

#6 Balance your plate

Avoid heavy carbohydrates, by asking yourself one simple question: Is this nutrient dense? Or, in other words: Does this food have a lot in it that is beneficial for me? When in doubt, choose something that is real.

If you have your eye on a dessert, I suggest just intentionally getting good quality fat and protein in with your meal to offset the blood sugar spike from the dessert.

#7 Holiday Workout!

To bring fitness into a generally sedentary holiday, workout the day of! Do a turkey trot with a friend or just go outside and enjoy the leaves if you get them where you live.

#8 Post Holiday Workout

Give yourself some time to move the day after Thanksgiving even if it’s just a 20-minute body weight workout or a walk outside.

#9 Detox and Cleanse

If you do end up eating too much and get a stomach ache, our natural instinct is usually to sleep it off or curl up on the couch feeling miserable. Instead, I’d suggest taking a ten or fifteen minute break and looking up a video of yoga for digestion. Believe it or not, you can stimulate and soothe digestion through gentle movement! Then, try some soothing tea: Tea with ginger, licorice, chamomile, peppermint, or spearmint. A lot of teas can help alleviate bloating and discomfort.

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These are 9 things you can consider taking towards the right direction.

Tell me yours and share your best Thanksgiving experience!