It's that time of the year when we are reminded of the beauty of giving, receiving, and practicing gratitude for what we have. However, for many people, the holidays are also one of the most stressful times of the year.
As the year draws to a close, it can bring extra work pressure, anxiety about family or work Christmas gatherings, and perhaps even nagging thoughts about New Year resolutions. On top of that, there is holiday planning, crowded malls, and the need to go shopping.
If you have attended our Resilience training, you know that decision fatigue is real. Therefore, we have decided to make holiday shopping easier. In this article, we have created a list of gifts that will make someone you care about happy while also boosting their resilience.
While this list is perfect for employees, we are sure that you can find inspiration here for friends and family too.
Workshops and classes
Adding a new skill to your toolbox of skills is always a good idea, and what is a better way to do that than learning from the experts. A masterful workshop inspires people to start new habits and focus on what matters.
If it's a workshop that the whole team can attend, it will also serve as a great bonding experience, especially if some of your team is remote and they don't get a chance to spend time together in person. Some of the workshop ideas could be:
- Meditation class—while many of us are aware of the benefits of meditation, we find it hard to make it a habit. A meditation class could be a great encouragement to start practicing.
- Resilience booster—contact us to run a research-based and super-engaging resilience workshop for your team. Prepare to bounce, grow, connect and flow in the New Year!
- Breathwork class—breathwork offers many health benefits and can be used to optimise our mental and physical performance.
- Creative workshops—anything that requires people to create something from scratch, like cooking, ceramics, or painting.
- Micro-habits workshop—instead of resolutions, start with tiny habits. Improving your lifestyle doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, it only takes 9.6 minutes each day. Contact us to book a micro-habits webinar.
Books
The holiday season is a perfect time to pick up an inspiring book. These days, screen time exceeds the limits for many of us, negatively influencing our sleep and self-image—especially if we spend a lot of time scrolling on social media. Therefore, a book is a great gift to motivate us to spend less time on our devices and to learn something that will benefit us in the long run. Some of our favourite books are:
- Assertive Humility: Emerging from the ego trap by Stuart Taylor
- Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
- Glucose Revolution: The Life-Changing Power of Balancing Your Blood Sugar by Jessie Inchauspe
- The Expectation Effect by David Robson
- Rhythm: 64 Drills to Live, Lead and Laugh by Sven Hansen
- Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dream by Mathew Walker
- Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
- The Resilience Quotient by Alexia Michiels
Wearable devices
Various tools on the market can help people improve their mental and physical wellbeing by showing them how to track daily progress, improve rhythms and increase readiness. Some of our favourite picks are
- Oura ring: to improve how we live our lives by improving sleep quality;
- TouchPoint: wearables that use gentle vibrations to reduce the negative impacts of stress;
- Fitbit: helps to track a variety of activities like sleep, exercise, water and food intake, weight, and menstrual health.
Experiences
Trying something new gives us a dopamine hit, which is a feel-good chemical and makes us feel rewarded. Sometimes, all we need to try something new is a little encouragement, and a Christmas present is a perfect opportunity for that. Think about something that will also get the body moving, which is great for reducing stress and anxiety, such as:
- Surf lesson
- Guided mountain climb
- Yoga class
- Salsa dance class
- Kickboxing class
Donation to a charity
Holidays are about caring, and donating money or goods to a charity is a great way to support those who need it most. It is important to choose the right organisation; therefore, we recommend choosing a local group, which will provide the opportunity to connect with your community and so you can witness the results. Even though a charity donation is a great gift, if you are donating on behalf of someone, ask for their opinion about charity donations in advance. It is possible that they would prefer a personal gift, and managing expectations is a great way to avoid disappointment and resentment.
Volunteer your time
The act of giving feels even more significant when it is your time and attention that you give. Research your local area to figure out where your community needs you the most, like animal shelters, food banks, local community centres or homeless shelters. Volunteering is known to improve one's well-being, purpose and self-esteem. Some of us can feel especially lonely during the holiday season, and volunteering is a perfect activity to increase the sense of connection. Can you organise volunteering as a team activity for your office? Even better!
Gift of self-care
Self-care=self-love and the holiday season is a great time to turn inwards and see which part of our body or mind needs more attention. Encourage this act of mindfulness by choosing an individual gift or creating a self-care kit. Some ideas of gifts that nourish the soul and body include:
- Beauty Disrupted Soap Bar
- Skipping rope
- Aromatic candle
- Gratitude Journal
Small acts of kindness
In our busy daily lives, it is easy to forget to show attention to those around us. Use this period to offer 'presence' rather than presents—give your full attention to those you care about. Is there someone who has been waiting for your call for a while now? Would your colleague, employee or family member appreciate a note highlighting things you are grateful for about them? Are you proud of someone or inspired by someone, and they should know about it?
Our words and attention can do miracles, and it does not have to cost us anything.
Keep well.
Please note: This article is republished with the permission of Karolina Petrauskaite from the Resilience Institute—our global research partner.