Can you feel grateful even when life feels heavy, messy, or nothing like the Hallmark version of the holidays? In this Thanksgiving-week episode of How to Lose the ‘WAIT’, Holly Toscanini explores what it means to practice imperfect gratitude—the kind that can sit next to grief, frustration, and disappointment without pretending everything is fine.
Instead of weaponizing gratitude as “it could be worse,” Holly unpacks the difference between genuine appreciation and toxic positivity, and offers grounded, compassionate practices to help midlife women notice joy and meaning without denying their reality. If you’re tired of feeling like you “should” be more grateful, this episode is your permission slip to feel it all—and still find small moments of truth and tenderness.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- Why traditional Thanksgiving gratitude can feel like emotional performance art when life isn’t going as planned
- The key difference between real gratitude and toxic positivity—and how to spot when you’re using “gratitude” to gaslight yourself
- How grief, frustration, and gratitude can coexist (and why forcing a smile makes everything worse)
- What “glimmers” are and how to find tiny moments of ease, joy, or beauty in the middle of a hard day
- Three simple practices for imperfect, honest gratitude that don’t require you to ignore your very real feelings
- How to approach the holidays with more presence and less pressure as a midlife woman juggling aging, changing bodies, family dynamics, and expectations
If you’re ready to end the year with more care, not more pressure, I’d love to invite you to grab the:
✨ 2025 Self-Care Advent Calendar
A gentle, supportive way to move through December with small, meaningful daily practices—designed to help you reconnect to yourself, not perform for anyone else.
👉 Get it here: https://subscribepage.io/adventcalendar2025
Use my code HOLLY5 at checkout to receive $5 off the calendar price—my little gift to you. 💜
Offer ends December 30, 2025.
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