You Might Not Need a Vacation After All
I've been back in the full swing of day-to-day life after returning home from a vacation at the lake and spending some time at home. Ryan was also traveling for work for the better part of this week so it forced me to be uber-organized and didn’t leave much time to spare. When I was on vacation I felt so at ease. I am pretty laid-back to begin with, but I had to figure out how to make this feeling more a part of my daily existence.When I was on vacation I felt so at ease. I'm pretty laid back to begin with, but I had to figure out how to make this feeling more a part of my daily existence.
When you go on vacation do you find yourself trying to ‘soak-in’ or absorb as much pleasure as possible in an attempt to bring some pleasure back with you to your day-to-day life? When I was out on the lake I'd look around, close my eyes and try to commit the smells and sounds of the lake to memory. I did the same thing when relaxing on the deck at sundown, drinking wine by the fire and when I was soaking up the sun reading a book. Why is it we find an easier time deriving pleasure out of the small things while on vacation? What I want to know is how do I have more ‘vacation’ feelings when I am at home?
Why is it we find an easier time getting pleasure out of the small things while on vacation?
What I want to know is how do I have more ‘vacation’ feelings when I am at home?
I think the answer is stupidly simple; just have those feel-good vacation feelings.
When on vacation, I'm not rushed, there's no schedule and no clocks (I already stopped wearing a watch years ago). Because there's nowhere else to be but right there, in the moment I'm more apt to notice things like the smell of the lake, a blue jay perched on a tree or how the sun feels when it hits my face. In an effort to bring that vacation feeling home and have a lake-state of mind long after returning home (especially if I won’t be returning to vacation anytime soon) here are some ways I am going to continue the feeling.
In an effort to bring that vacation feeling home and have a lake state of mind long after returning home (especially if I won’t be going on vacation anytime soon) here are some ways to continue the feeling:
Feel more. Notice how you're feeling at any given moment
Close your eyes to hear and feel more
Listen. Be aware of sounds you may not normally hear
Look around, soak it in
Think less. Especially when listening.
Slow down
Be present. Be where you are now, be somewhere else later
Cook unfussy food
Dine al fresco
Get outside. Commit to spending at least an hour outside daily.
Smile more, especially if you notice a frown coming on. It really is contagious.
I learned I don’t enjoy the feeling of needing a vacation. I discovered what I really need is to regularly shake up routines, change the scenery or just shift my thinking.
