The holidays are just around the corner — and while most people are bracing themselves for the chaos, Claudia Schwarz wants you to take a different approach: start planning now. In this episode, Claudia joins me to talk about why waiting until January 1st to make your New Year’s resolutions is a recipe for disappointment. From holiday stress, financial strain, and family tension to business delays and recovery setbacks — we dive into how preemptive planning, starting small, and prioritizing your well-being before the calendar flips can be the game-changer you need. Whether it’s walking your way to better health, preparing your practice for success, or avoiding the holiday crash altogether, Claudia brings real-world insight, practical tips, and just the right dose of motivation to help you finish the year strong — and start the next one ahead of the game.
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Finish Strong: Beating Holiday Stress And Starting The New Year Ahead With Claudia Schwarz
Welcome to the show. I’m honored to have Claudia Schwarz.
Thank you. I’m so glad to be here.
Thanks for taking the time because I know we were talking a few minutes ago, and you were booked back-to-back as you are almost every day. Thanks for taking a few minutes out of your day to do this with me.
I’m excited.
Beat Holiday Stress: Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail
What Claudia and I wanted to talk about, and Claudia wrote a wonderful article for our newsletter about preemptively planning for holiday and New Year’s resolutions and not just waiting for the New Year until January 1st to say, “I’m going to have a New Year’s resolution like 99% of the world does.” They fell within a few weeks. Gyms are packed and all of that. What brought you to write that article and talk about these New Year’s resolutions preemptively and early planning for those resolutions?
What got me started was hearing people talk about things happening during the holidays that were already stressing them out. Much stress with family and finances. People are eating and drinking more than ever because of holiday parties and things. They know what happens at the end of the year. After New Year’s comes the crash. You have all the fun, but then comes the reality of the fallout.
Sometimes January is very depressing too, because the holidays are over and suddenly you’re faced with the reality of a new year, where are we going from here? That’s when people make New Year’s resolutions. I’m going to eat better. The top ones are always fitness, diet, and losing weight. Also finances. “I’m going to get my finances in check because I spent too much money over the holidays.”
Maybe family issues that they want to deal with now because of the holidays. I feel like with my background and the people that we talk to every day, you’re setting yourself up for failure if you’re waiting until that time because it’s already a difficult time. Why not start now to preemptively look at what are the issues I’m facing?
If you’re already feeling like, “I know I’m going to need to lose some weight. I need to lose weight now. It’s going to be that much harder or I’m going to be that much further along in January.” Why not set some goals now? Why not set some financial goals now? Also, when it comes to family relations and things, preparing so you’re over-prepared and ready for things that may happen that you can already predict so that you’re not just dealing with the fallout later.
Business Brilliance: Planning Ahead For Success
I’m talking about business-wise here because we’re talking about both personal and business. From a business perspective, I think this applies as well because it seems like in mid-October, you start hearing people say, “We’re going to take care of that and look at that in the new year.” People will be planning for meetings, and they’ll say, “We’re going to put that off until January. New contracts. We’re going to look at that in January.”
Businesses tend to do exactly the same thing. I think that as a business person and as a practice owner and as therapists, when we’re looking at our own private practice or even our treatment center practices, let’s not wait until January. Let’s start doing things now, during the holiday season, and actively participate in getting ready for the new year ahead of time, just like you said.
I agree with that so much, especially when it comes to businesses. One of the reasons they put things off is because things do get busy during the holidays. When you put all that off until January, suddenly, it’s overwhelming. It’s completely daunting by all the tasks you put off, the people that you put off, and now you’re scrambling and you’re frenzied again. You just came off of a frenzied holiday season. If you’re planning ahead, I think businesses do need to look at things like budgeting, things they might put off till January for the year to look at now so that you can roll into January with some of the things in place and feeling more confident and therefore less stressed. What’s happening is you’re creating more stress and anxiety by putting everything off until January.
Recovery Ready – Prioritizing Wellness During the Holidays
Another thing I see and have seen for 30 years, which I know you’ve seen the same thing in this business and world that you and I live in is families and people who are going into recovery or feel like they need to have a family member help a family member get into recovery often say, “I’ll do that in January. I’ll put that off until January.” They’ll start that way back in October. As November comes around, they continue to drink or use their substances or misuse their substances. December, they get stressed even more, and it gets even more. In January, they may say, “I’m just going to wait.” Why not do it while the iron’s hot, and why put off our personal health and wellness until January?
I agree. I don’t think people are doing themselves favors by putting off their health and wellness. I know it’s hard during the holidays because, especially if they’re thinking about going to treatment, it’s hard to leave your family and things like that. What is the alternative, especially if you have substance use issues and you’re acting a fool in front of your family or some big blow-up happens?
People are not doing themselves favors by putting off their health and wellness.
You’re trying to prevent that. Your family will thank you so much more that you’re seeking the help than if you’re there at Christmas time or Hanukkah time and things are exploding. The same even starting with a therapist, even if it’s just you can start small. I think that’s also daunting for people they think they have to change everything at once. Starting small, let’s go talk to a therapist or see a psychiatrist.
If you’re trying to lose weight, let’s start walking every day if you’re doing nothing or 30 minutes a day or just something that you can achieve because the smaller goals will help you achieve that. If you try to go completely, “I’m going to go to the gym seven days a week and an hour.” It’s very difficult to maintain that. You’re setting yourself up for failure again. The goal is to keep going so that when January rolls around, now you’ve got a big, huge head start, and you just keep going with it as opposed to starting over again.
Fitness Fuel – Staying Active Amidst Holiday Chaos
Anybody who knows Claudia and looks at your social media knows that you and your husband, Paul, are already physically fit because you guys are always on the beach riding your bikes or riding your bikes somewhere and exercising. You’re out in the snow up at your cabin and doing physical activity. You guys do that now. You are busy as you are, and you travel the world constantly. How do you and Paul maintain your physical level of health that you maintain without getting bogged down in the stress of the holidays?
That’s a great question because I get asked that a lot, too. I don’t have a lot of time to go to the gym or to work out the way I would like to, especially with traveling, but don’t ever discount walking. Walking is a great source of exercise. I try to walk everywhere I can whenever I’m out somewhere, and I try to take the mornings early and walk for at least four miles. If you cannot do that as a person, you think, “Four miles, I could never do that.” You’d be surprised how quickly you could reach up to 4 miles. It’s less than an hour that it takes me now to do a nice brisk hilly walk, which is exercise.
You burn calories, you’re strengthening your body. For me, that’s what saves me. I do have other colleagues that do utilize gyms and things like that when they travel because, for them, that’s important to do strength training and things like that. I think everybody’s different. You don’t have to follow someone else’s protocol, but do what fits into your schedule, because walking also, particularly if I’m by myself, helps. That’s my me time. I can sing. I can listen to music. I missed a podcast. These are things I don’t typically get to do. You need to nurture and fulfill yourself in ways that keep you going and make you want to do that every morning.
I remember when I was running marathons during the fall, and the holiday season was my favorite time because, in Texas, of course, the weather starts to cool down a little bit. Thanksgiving rolls around, and just the beauty of the trees is finally turning here. In late November, early December is always so therapeutic to me, and that isolation time of running and exercising early in the morning and just appreciating the beauty.
Not putting off that activity because of our busy lives. I remember recently the last time you and I happened to be in London, I was by myself one day walking to different places to meetings and what have you. At the end of the day, I said, “I wonder how far I walked today. It feels like I walked 10 miles.” I looked at my phone, and I had walked 6 miles in one day. I was like, “It’s easy to walk 6 miles in London before it.
It’s true. They can be easy like that. Try walking those 6 miles in heels.
I cannot imagine.
It’s all good, and it’s nice to be outside. I think that’s something too for people to remember is try to get outside if possible. Fresh air, nature, all of that. Even if it’s just in your neighborhood, you don’t have to go to the woods or not. Everybody has the luxury of the mountains and things like that. You can enjoy your own backyard and be able to walk and see things and appreciate things for what they are.
Start Small, Be Kind: Practical Tips For Achieving Your Goals
For people who are just starting, you came up with some ideas, and a couple of them are practical and start small. I know you’ve talked about it a little bit, but talk about both of those being practical, starting small, and also don’t procrastinate.
Don’t procrastinate, don’t wait. Decide you’re going to set this goal. This is what I’m going to do. I want to start tomorrow, and here’s how I’m going to start. By starting small, I just mean that if exercise is your goal or losing weight, start by walking each day. If you’re not doing anything, that’s a great start. If you’re already walking and you’re not seeing results, maybe you should make an appointment to go see a doctor to talk about, “I’ve already been doing these things, I’m not losing weight.”
Starting off small, setting little goals, not setting a giant goal of I’m going to lose 20 pounds this month because unrealistic goals aren’t going to be resolved. If they are, you’re probably not doing it in a healthy way, either. It’s really important to do it healthy. The same with finances, whether it be financial goals for your business or in your personal life, make it realistic. It is holiday time, and we want to spend more on people we love and colleagues we admire, things like that. You also have to do it within your means, and it’s okay to do that.
It’s more thought into something that maybe is not quite as expensive or breaks your bank. By starting small, it just means if last year you gave out some huge gift to some certain people and you cannot do it this year, that’s okay. That’s cutting back little by little. It’s okay to start that way. If you jump in it too much and then cut everything off and don’t go forward, then it won’t sit well with you. It’s also not going to help you in the long run because you may revert right back to where you started.
I love what you said about starting small because it especially relates to myself about running. When someone tries to say, “I haven’t worked out in two years or a year. I’m going to go to the gym five days this week.” You go to the gym, and you’re tired on day 3 and day 4. It’s even worse than day five. It’s even worse. You say, “I’ll wait till Monday to go back.” On Monday, you’re like, “I’m still sore. I’m not going to go.” You pull a muscle running, or you pull a muscle at the gym, and you just stop because you overexerted yourself too hard. That’s a great thought. Don’t procrastinate. Get started now, but start small.
I always tell people to pace themselves. I work with a lot of chronic pain patients, and chronic pain patients are like, “How am I ever going to go out and work in my garden?” I always say, “You go out and you pull weeds, or you get your tools and you do one row on one day and stop. No matter how good you feel, just do that one row in the garden or do 10 feet of it and stop for the day. Go inside and stretch and be proud of what you did. The next morning, get out and do another 10 feet. The next day, do 15 feet, but pace yourself and get started again and set goals for the new year.” Another thing you talk about is being kind to yourself.
Yes. You just said it by setting that small goal, accomplishing it and feeling good about what you just did, because what you did was something, even if it wasn’t maybe the goal that you have in mind that you want to do something much bigger, you still did it. Give yourself some validation for that, but then also punish yourself that you cannot do more than that.
Also, holding yourself accountable because so many of us, including me, don’t hold ourselves accountable sometimes, and that can get away. I have to catch myself and say, “Why didn’t you go to the gym today? Why did you cancel that personal training appointment yesterday?” “It’s because I did Monday. Tuesday, I canceled my training because I was too busy at the office.” My trainer sent me a message this morning and held me accountable and said, “You better be here at 12:00.” I said, “I will, I promise.”
I think that’s beautiful what you said about being kind for yourself and also being accountable because you do need to have someone or something that does hold you accountable. Sometimes, people don’t have a buddy or a significant other or a trainer, somebody to do that. It’s so easy now with phones to have apps and things like that. We’re reminders, and in a kind way. They’re not punishing you for not doing something. They’re saying, “Wait, you haven’t had your subs in today.” That should be a reminder. Again, set the goals small so that they’re not daunting each day. You want to just throw your phone because it’s giving you so many reminders because of what you said you were going to do.
That’s right. When you’re kind to yourself, when you started small, you’ve been practical. You’ve not procrastinated, and you’re doing everything the recipe, as I call it, calls for. All of a sudden, in that first month, you’re like, “I don’t notice bigger muscles, or I don’t notice more toning or anything.” Don’t give up is another recommendation you have.
I think so. Don’t give up because things take time. It took a long time to get to where you were at, and it will take time to get to a place where you’re happier or feel better about yourself. Sometimes, things like weight loss or fitness, especially as we’re getting older, just take more time. Just remind yourself that all that you’re doing is just building strength and building that resilience. It absolutely will come.
Don’t give up because things take time. It took a long time to get to where you were at, and it will take time to get to a place where you’re happier or feel better about yourself.
If after a month you’re feeling like you saw no results, then maybe it’s time to talk to somebody about, “What should the results look like, or what’s my body doing?” Financially, if you’ve got goals that you’re setting and it’s just not working out, then maybe it’s time to reach out to a professional or someone who can help you. Just like mental health or physical health or chronic pain, the things that we do to help people with. If starting off small hasn’t helped, but you’re in a direction you want to keep going, then maybe it’s time to reach out to some professionals who can help you get to the next step.
Navigating Holiday Gatherings: Recovery & Stress Management
Let’s talk a little bit about stress and the holidays when you’re in recovery, especially newly in recovery. Just stress and wellness and how to handle yourself when you’re in recovery and you’re invited to so many Christmas events and Christmas parties and things like that. What are some tips that you talk to people about staying healthy and in recovery?
That’s a difficult thing for some people, especially newly in recovery. If you’ve been in recovery a long time, it’s a lot easier to navigate. I would say, first of all, just be mindful of the situations you’re putting yourself into. If it’s something where there’ll be a lot of alcohol and people will be drinking a lot and that’s difficult for you and can trigger you, you should have someone with you who that you can talk it through or you can leave if you need to. Be prepared for alternatives for yourself so that you can feel good.
I always tell people that one of the things that people in recovery say to me a lot is, “It’s sad when all these cool cocktails are going around and I cannot partake in.” I tell them to make you the exact same thing without alcohol. You can still have an infestive drink in your hand, and it doesn’t have to have alcohol in it. Things that make you feel happier in the moment and feel more included, but also be careful about things that are not good situations for yourself and don’t put yourself in them.
I always also talk about going to parties with a buddy. Having a colleague or having a friend or a buddy system there so that when you are stressed, you can have someone to talk to. Also, when you go to a party, if you’re feeling like everybody is getting out of control and you’re in recovery and you’re starting to feel stressed, what do you do? There’s no problem with leaving.
No problem.
No pressure to stay.
Even people who are not in recovery should have no pressure to stay in that situation.
We can all leave at any time.
Such a point.
That’s right. I know. I want to wrap it up just a little bit, but I’d love to know, Claudia, give me two of your early ideas of what you’re going to do for the New Year’s resolution, or if you have any.
I do. I’ve started with a couple of them. One is family. Family is stressful. There’s a lot of family in town. We have some people who are not going to be here for the first time for the holidays. That creates some stress and anxiety. Thinking of creative ways to navigate all of that so that everybody’s in check and that we’ll have a good time and try to mitigate as much of any issues that could arise. I’m trying to think of that ahead of time. For myself, some personal goals for fitness and just strength training.
Last year, I had a major surgery that I couldn’t ski at all. I’m a big skier, and for people who know me, but I want to do it safely after having not skied for almost two years. I already started with strength training, walking more, doing more Hills, and things like that so that I can prepare myself because it’s coming up. I want to have a good time and no broken bones or anything like that. I think that will just be better for my overall health. I’ve already started doing that.
Please don’t break any bones.
No, I don’t plan to.
That’s right. I know. Claudia Schwarz, thank you for being here. I appreciate you so much. Claudia and I just really want to encourage all of our readers and viewers and family of J.Flowers. Just take it easy. Be good to yourself, start small, and don’t procrastinate. Start now and do things for yourself that make you feel better, and don’t feel the pressure to do something that you don’t feel better with, right, Claudia?
Well said, yes. Thank you so much for having me.
You bet. Go have a good day. I know you’re booked, and you’re like, “I have to go.”
Thank you so much.
Thanks, Claudia. Bye.
Important Links
- Claudia Schwarz on LinkedIn
- Claudia@JFlowersHealth.com
- Claudia Schwarz on Instagram
- Flowers Health Institute
About Claudia Schwarz
Claudia Schwarz is a Board Certified, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with decades of experience in various mental health settings, improving health and wellness outcomes and creating organizational growth.
She has managed successful and diverse therapy practices, held key leadership roles directing initiatives to support mental health nationwide, has been committed to educating other leaders in the field, and continues to work tirelessly to create change in how mental health is stigmatized and governed.
As a professional clinical member of IECA, she has used her expertise as a Therapeutic and Educational Consultant to promote the mission of delivering world class healthcare options for people in need.
Claudia earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Psychology at Willamette University in Salem, Ore., and her Graduate Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at California State University, Sacramento.
She is dedicated to advancing healthcare innovation and client care on a global scale. She is committed to leading her team to focus on strengthening and supporting individuals with therapeutic needs, while also bridging the gap between therapeutic support professionals across various sectors.
Claudia formerly held the role as Chief Clinical Development Officer at J. Flowers Health Institute, leading the Business Development Team both in the United States and internationally.
She has well established professional relationships that include executive leadership teams, consultants, admissions and outreach teams, attorneys, therapists, psychiatrists, and physicians. She has extensive program knowledge and expertise in appropriate diagnostic and clinical referrals.
Claudia has had additional training and certifications in Cognitive Behavioral and Family Systems specialties, as well as Custody Evaluations, Child Interviews, Child Reunification and Parenting Coordination. She is highly skilled in working with a wide range of therapeutic issues as well as adapting to diverse populations.
She has taught continuing education to professionals nationwide in understanding the different levels of care in mental health treatment, parenting coordination, child interviews, pathogenic parenting, reunification and custody evaluations.
Claudia is active in the community and has been seen regularly over the years on news, podcasts and radio programs as an expert on behavioral health issues.
