As you’re reading this, I am on vacation. Perhaps you are as well. Like many, the few weeks before a vacation are spent rushing around trying to clear the desk, empty the email box and remove as much work – not just off our plate but out of our mind. As part of that process, it means that I write two of these weekly posts in advance. I hope they both age well.
The self-induced stress prior to a vacation is in anticipation of being able to feel free while on one. But depending upon where you go and what your sensibilities are, a vacation can come with its own different stressors.
For example, on one hand, many go on vacation to “get away” and to relax. It is an opportunity to recharge your proverbial batteries. As a result, you may prefer to sit by a soothing body of water (pool, beach or lake – whatever your preference), maybe read a good book while enjoying a cool beverage.
On the other hand, you may be going to a place you’ve never been before and perhaps you’ll never return. So the impetus is to see and do as much as possible. To take in all the sights, to try activities you’ve never had the opportunity to do before. It’s one thrill after another.
Sometimes, as I’m doing now, you go to a place that offers the ability to do both, so the hope is to strike the right balance. Not just for yourself but for everyone you’re traveling with – who may have different ideas of what a good vacation is. This is where the potential stress lies, in that tension between competing ideas of what a vacation really is.
The trick – which I have yet to master – is allowing the space and grace to appreciate that you are at the same time going on one vacation and also going on five different vacations (in our case one for my wife and I and our three daughters.) There are no right and wrong ways to go on vacation as long as everyone has a good time and returns both a little more relaxed than when they left and with a handful of memories that hopefully will last a lifetime.
Check back with me in two weeks and I’ll let you know how I did 🙂
Recommendation: Take a day-cation for yourself. Occasionally, I’ve chosen to put all devices away and just spend the day with myself. Sometimes this has included a movie, a show, a massage, reading a good book, going on a hike or some collection of activities that have no strings attached. No before or after. Just an opportunity to be present with my own thoughts. Which is one of the best presents we can give ourselves.