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The Permission Slip You Need Before December Arrives
- Nat Creasy
- Nov 24
- 4 min read
Inside Nat's Notebook - Real Reflections for Real Change
I'm sitting here with my tea (and yes, still on the hunt for that perfect dunking biscuit), genuinely excited about December. I love this time of year. The lights, the music, the permission to eat mince pies for breakfast.
But I've been noticing something in the women I work with.
The ones who are already exhausted. The ones who've given everything to November and now December is looming with its expectations and to-do lists, and demands for joy-on-command.
I see that tightening. That mental list writing itself without permission. That heaviness when they look at the calendar.
And here's what I've learned: December doesn't care that you're already running on empty. It doesn't care that November took everything you had. It arrives anyway, full of demands for perfection and presence.
So before we get there, before the madness begins, I'm writing you a permission slip.
Actually, I'm writing you several.
Permission to Say No Before You're Even Asked
You know what's coming. The invitations. The expectations. The "it wouldn't be the same without you" guilt trips.
This year, you don't have to wait until you're asked. You can decide now what you have the capacity for. And what you absolutely do not.
Your nervous system already knows. It's been trying to tell you for weeks. That heaviness when you think about certain gatherings? That's not you being difficult. That's your body being honest.
Listen to it.
Permission to Rest Before You Collapse
Here's the thing about high-functioning, exhausted women: we wait until we break before we stop. We think rest is something we earn after we've done everything.
But what if rest is the thing that helps us do everything?
Your body doesn't care about your to-do list. It runs on biology, not willpower. And right now, it's probably begging you to stop before December even starts.
That's not weakness. That's wisdom.
Permission to Feel However You Feel About the Holidays
Not everyone loves this time of year. And that's allowed.
Maybe the holidays remind you of people you've lost. Maybe they highlight relationships that hurt. Maybe you just find the whole thing exhausting and overstimulating and would rather skip straight to January.
All of that is valid.
You don't have to perform joy. You don't have to fake the festive spirit. You're allowed to feel what you feel and still show up as yourself.
Permission to Lower the Bar (It Was Always Too High Anyway)
The perfect tree. The perfect presents. The perfect everything.
Who decided this? And more importantly, who actually benefits from you trying to achieve it?
Not you. Not your nervous system. Not the people who love you and just want you to be present, not perfect.
This year, what if good enough was actually good enough?
Why December Hits Different
Let me get a bit nerdy for a moment, because understanding this helps.
December is a sensory and social overload for your nervous system. There's more noise, more people, more expectations, more stimulation. Your system is already managing the year's accumulated stress, and now it's being asked to perform joy while navigating crowded shops, financial pressure, and family dynamics.
For women who are already stressed, sleepless, and running on empty? December can tip you straight into dysregulation.
Your body isn't being difficult. It's being honest about its capacity.
And here's the radical bit: you're allowed to listen to it.
A Different Kind of December
What if this year, instead of waiting to collapse in January, you started differently in November?
What if you gave yourself permission now, before the chaos hits, to:
Do less
Feel more
Rest without guilt
Say no without explanation
Lower the bar without shame
What if you anchored yourself before the storm, instead of trying to hold on once you're already spinning?
Your nervous system will thank you. Your body will thank you. Your future self will definitely thank you.
#Rebel Moment
Before this week ends, write yourself an actual permission slip. Grab a piece of paper (or your phone notes if that's more your style) and complete this sentence:
"This December, I give myself permission to..."
Write whatever comes up. No one else needs to see it. This is between you and your nervous system.
Then, put it somewhere you'll see it when December starts testing you. Your mirror. Your wallet. Your kitchen. Wherever you need the reminder that you're allowed to do this differently.
The doors to Soul Sessions close this week.
If you've been thinking about joining us, this is your moment. Jump in before December hits. Before the overwhelm takes over. Before you promise yourself you'll sort it out in January (again).
Inside Soul Sessions, you'll find your calm before the Christmas chaos. You'll learn simple body-first tools to regulate your nervous system. You'll breathe with us, laugh with us, and remember what it feels like when your body feels safe again.
And you'll set yourself up for next year, not from a place of exhaustion and "I should," but from ease and "I actually want to."
We'd love to have you with us.
Join Soul Sessions now - doors close soon
Stay Blessed!
Nat x 🧡
Exhausted but still brilliant? You bet you are.
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It’s lighter on the other side, I promise. 🌟
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