It is officially holiday season. What do these words stir up for you? For most of us, it unfortunately brings up feelings of anxiety, stress and even depression. How can we course correct and turn this time of year back into what it was intended to be: a time of love, connection, gratitude, and renewal?
Let’s start with some of the top reasons that cause negative emotions: over commercialization of gift giving and financial pressure, family drama, over committing to events, growing to-do lists, congested travel…all when everyone seems to be getting sick! Is this a coincidence? Is it the weather? Or is it that we are all over stressed and under-slept and trying to cope using food and alcohol or whatever your drug of choice might be? We absolutely have the ability and the responsibility to take control of our lives. We owe it to ourselves and to the people we care about to take the lead and make a change. Here are some of the things that I am absolutely committed to this season. I hope you will take what you need and spread it to the people you love!
1. Commit to the long term!
“Do what is easy and your life will be hard. Do what is hard and your life will become easy.” ~ Les Brown
Basically do what feels hard in the right-here, right-now: maybe going for a walk rather than heading straight to the couch after work, not reaching for your phone, or sugar, or alcohol or whatever your escape is when what you really need is movement, connection, or rest? Decide now that you are going to investigate first. Ask what it is that you are truly looking for and if the method you are about to choose is going to make it better or worse, not in the next few minutes but in the long term.
2. Be realistic, and try to let go of expectations.
A secret to happiness is letting every situation be what it is, instead of what you think it should be.
So many of us have an idealized version of what the holidays “should” be like from movies and social media. When you can let go of expectations or needing a situation to turn out a particular way you are opening yourself up to the reality that life is messy, we are all human and therefore imperfect, and that things almost never go exactly as expected. This is a practice but I promise your whole life will change if you can let go of trying to create perfection and can embrace this wild and wonderful ride.
3. Eat, sleep, move.
Exercise should be a celebration of what your body can do, not a punishment for something you ate.
As much as we all like to think that we are the exception, humans are all very much the same. We all need nutrient dense food, adequate sleep every night and to sweat every day. While we may get away with periods of slacking in one or more areas from time to time when the inevitable situation arises (new baby, new job, traveling, etc), deficiencies in the way we eat, sleep and move will eventually cause major breakdown in the machine that is our human body. What’s different is the way breakdown presents in your body; maybe it’s illness, agitation, sadness, physical pain, injury…it will eventually show up and let you know. It’s your own personal “check engine” light. Pay attention to the way your body whispers and you may never have to deal with the eventual yell for help. Get back to the basics: eat whole foods, sleep 7-8 hours every night, and sweat at least once a day!
4. Keep your focus on the big picture.
Watch your thoughts, for they become your words.
Watch your words, for they become your actions.
Watch your actions, for they become your habits.
Watch your habits, for they become your character.
It all starts with our thoughts. Again this is a practice so don’t expect perfection. Start by bookending your days with reflection (looking back) and intention (looking forward) and then as many times as you can remember, throughout the day, be in the present moment. Take just a few moments to remember that there will be a very last one of all the things in our lives. Remembering our impermanence is one of the most powerful ways to change our state of mind. There will be a last time waking up with your littles, with a house full of crazy kids, with relatives visiting…all the things. Set an intention to cherish the chaos, even for moments. Try to see the scene from an outside perspective, like you’re watching a movie, then decide what role you want to play. Remember that depression stems from being lost in the past and anxiety from obsessing about the future. In the present moment everything is usually exactly as it is supposed to be.
5. Forgive yourself
“I have found in my research that the biggest reason people aren’t more self compassionate is that they are afraid they’ll become self-indulgent. They believe self-criticism is what keeps them in line. Most people have gotten it wrong because our culture says being hard on yourself is the way to be”. ~ Kristen Neff, Ph.D.
A common misconception about self-compassion is that it undermines motivation. Science says that self blame and self judgment do not equate to more success. In actuality self judgment increases adrenaline and cortisol, causes anxiety, stress, and shame.
Self-compassion is actually linked to greater motivation. Self-compassion does not mean lower personal standards, but that we are not as devastated when we don’t meet them. Studies show that it lessens our fear of failure, and that we are more likely to try again and persist in efforts after failure. Self compassion consistently results in an increase in Oxytocin and natural opiates, increases sleep quality, reduces physical ailments (aches, colds, etc.) and creates positive mind-states. If you want to look into the science behind this in more depth check out www.SelfCompassion.org.
Again don’t take my word with any of this. Test all of it out for yourself. Take what resonates with you and pass along what you think might help the people in your circle. We are a community. We are all in this together and we can all learn from each other. It truly does take a village and the more we can connect, learn from and lean on each other, the healthier and happier our lives will be in every season.
OUR MARKET THIS WEEK
We had no new condos and no new homes come onto the market this week. We currently have 34 active condos ranging from $325,000 to $2,700,000; the median condo price is $627,000. We currently have 42 active homes on the East Shore ranging from $1,025,000 to $64,500,000 with the median price of $3,124,500. Here’s a year-to-date local update:
Local East Shore Lake Tahoe, Nevada Stats – All Year-to-Date
Total Sales YTD:
Condos: 82 (↓13% YOY) | Homes: 82 (↓45% YOY)
The Median Sales Price:
Condos: $687,500 (↓2% YOY) | Homes: $1,560,000 (↑8% YOY)
Number of Sales Over $1 Million:
Condos: 17 = 20% (↑6% YOY) | Homes: 69 = 84% (↑9% YOY)
Highest Priced Sale:
Condos: $5,665,500 (↓5% YOY) | Homes: $32,000,000 (↓33% YOY)
Median Price Per Square Foot:
Condos: $595.68 (↑10% YOY) | Homes: $663.27 (↑9% YOY)
Median Days on the Market:
Condos: 78 (↑42% YOY) | Homes: 76 (↑12% YOY)
List to Sell Price:
Condos: 98% (↓2% YOY) | Homes: 95% (↓2% YOY)
Price Reductions this Week:
Condos: 1 | Homes: 2
If someone you care about needs guidance or recommendations, please share our contact information as we are honored to be able to help! If you would like to receive our in-depth market update or would like an evaluation of your property’s value we would love to hear from you! We’ve put together some information below that we think you’ll find useful. If you have anything you want to share with our community please let us know so that it can be included in future newsletters.
Happiest Holidays,
Craig Zager & The Zager Group