5 Ways to Renew Yourself this Holiday

Restore, Revive, Resume, Reaffirm and Replenish!

Renew Yourself this Holiday

The holiday season is a wonderful time to renew your spirit. It is so easy to get caught up in all the hustle and bustle of the season that you can burn yourself out.

My encouragement is to follow
the 5 “R’s”:

  1. Restore
  2. Revive
  3. Resume
  4. Reaffirm
  5. Replenish.

While each of these are very closely linked, each offers a different dimension.

RESTORE:

re·store /rəˈstôr/ verb

  • to make new or as if new again; to bring back to or put back into a former or original state

Many factors in life can cause us to dull or bury some of our essential qualities. Maybe you have been in an abusive relationship and have just recently freed yourself of that situation. I invite you to think of any qualities you may need to bring back to the forefront of your life.

REVIVE:

re·vive /rəˈvīv/ verb

  • to become active or flourishing again; to restore to consciousness or life

What parts of your essential self might need to be revived? Are you creative and artistic but have tucked that part of you away? Did you get caught up in the structure of daily life and all its demands and forgot your adventurous, spontaneous sides? Sometimes we can be so serious that we forget how to play.

RESUME:

re·sume  /rəˈzo͞om/ verb

  • to return to or begin again after interruption; to take back to oneself

This is very similar to the two aforementioned; however, I am hoping each will help trigger different ideas. For example, for me this brings up my spiritual issues. For many years for various reasons my spiritual life was on the back burner so to speak. Then after while I began to focus and examine that aspect of my life and started to again claim that very important part of myself.

REAFFIRM:

re·af·firm  /rēəˈfərm/  verb
  • to assert as valid or confirmed

I would be asserting again or confirming again something of importance within myself. An example of this for me is my creative side. I had gotten so caught up in my life with children and my clinical practice and all the responsibilities that I wasn’t validating my other creative needs. Beginning to write articles and my book was a great example of me reaffirming this very important part of me.

REPLENISH:

re·plen·ish  /rəˈpleniSH/ verb

  • fill with inspiration or power; to fill or build up again

I just love this word. Who couldn’t use some replenishment? What a better time of year than the holiday season to be purposeful about participating in activities that inspire and empower you! What accomplishes that for each of us is different. Maybe what will replenish you is a weekend spiritual retreat of meditation.

The definitions for the Five R’s came from Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, copyright 1987.