5 Tips to making your relaxing vacation last!

Waiting for our next vacation has become a ritual that we cherish dearly. Anticipating some respite from the grind, we look forward to stepping out of the pressure cooker, playing hard, staying up late and sleeping in the next morning.  On some primal level we all know that breaking the daily routine of everyday life is essential to maintaining our sanity. 

However vacations are not perfect, let’s admit it, most of the times they are too short and far between.  That is why we need to make the most of every opportunity that we can, to get away from it all.  We should not only insure that we get a total break from “the grind” but that we also plant seeds to insure that when we return we are not only rested but more mentally resilient to the pressures at work and home. This resiliency is not a result of being more “relaxed” but rather more “empowered” to look at your stressors from a totally different prospective.

When you’re ready to plan your next vacation here are 5 tips to keep in mind so that you will have a wonderful restful vacation and also be ready to tackle the issues that are waiting for you when you get home.

No reminders of work or home
Leave your projects at work/home and all those tools that remind you of those stressful paradigms.  If you must bring your phone then turn off your email account.  Sure you could work on vacation, but then it’s not really a vacation but a modified work situation.  If you understand this point then you won’t have to go to the ends of the earth to get off the grid to feel free for awhile.

Use time differently
Time really defines us, so leave your wristwatch home.  Now change the way you use time!  Don’t let the clock tell you when to eat, sleep, play, or anything else.  When you follow this tip your sense of time will shift and you will truly feel carried off into a timeless adventure where you will feel free and unencumbered.

Try something new and challenging
Do something new on every trip.  This can be challenging but very rewarding. Trying new adventures will initiate two very profound processes for change within you.  First it will be exciting and you will discover the inner you which has been waiting for such an experience.  Secondly, your sense of enjoyment, empowerment and confidence will blossom, leaving you with a lasting impression on your sense of self.

Reflect on what is important to you
From this perspective you will remember, once again, what is important to you; your joy!  The challenge now is finding a way to maintain this experience long after you return home to the challenges of your dynamic life. This is not as hard as you might think, and will provide you with stress relief without any effort on your part.

Observe – Remember – Choose
Take some quiet moments close to your departure home, to observe how you are preparing yourself for “re-entry” into the grind.  Observe what your mind is telling you.  See the two qualities of your life objectively; you have your busy stressful life on one hand, and the peaceful joyous self on the other.  The choice is yours.  When you find yourself  lost in the stress of life,  you have to handle the problems.   It doesn’t mean that you have to lose your joyous self in return.

One my dearest mentors would often tell me “practice makes the master.”  I would like to pass that on to you.

Have Fun creating a dream vacation and shoot me an email and let me know how it worked out.

My Best

Ed