It’s that time of year that we all love: summer, otherwise known as vacation season. Often we spend hours upon hours searching for just the right hotels, planning our itineraries, buying things we’ll need for the trip, packing and getting everything “just right” for the big trip. We plan every last detail of the trip in excited anticipation for how great it’s going to be.
Vacations are opportunities to create lasting memories, when we can let go of our busy lives and to-do lists and just let ourselves relax. But if you’re not happy about the life you’ll return to after your vacation, the second half of your vacation is just not going to be as fun.
Most people put more time, money, and energy into planning their vacations than they do in planning their lives, which can make for a rough return to reality after the vacation glow wears off.
To avoid this, I’d like to suggest that you invest at least as much in designing and planning your everyday life as you do in planning your vacation.
- What would your workweek look like if you spent some time each week deliberately planning and thinking about what you want to accomplish and how to do that?
- What would your days look like if you spent 15 minutes each day examining your own thoughts about your current circumstances and deciding how you want to think, feel, and act in those circumstances?
- What would your life look like if you sat down with someone else and spent an hour intensely focusing on what results you want and how to get there?
I can tell you from my own experience that I’ve been able to 10x my results by doing these things.
- When I take the time to plan my weeks, my weeks go better.
- When I intentionally look at what results I want to create each day and what feelings are keeping me from accomplishing those results, I get much better results.
- And when I sit down with another person to really examine what’s not working, I have powerful breakthroughs that allow me to move past my limiting beliefs and create better results.
We’re not taught to invest in ourselves. We’re taught to invest in our vacations, which can act like a band-aid if the rest of your life isn’t working. But vacations don’t really fix anything. They’re not supposed to. That’s not their job.
The way to fix something that isn’t working is by “looking under the hood” of your own mind, getting to the root of the problem, and learning how to get your brain to work for you, rather than against you.
Before you go on vacation this summer, ask yourself this: What do I want my life to look like when I get back from my vacation?
- Do I want my house to be more organized?
- Do I want to have a plan for the basics, like meals and laundry, so that I don’t miss a beat when we get back?
- Do I want to have systems in place to help me manage my to-do lists, avoid overwhelm, and take care of my own health?
- Do I want to have a job that I love returning to, without stress or guilt?
- Do I want to return to a life that is in alignment with what really matters most to me?
All of this is available to you, but you have to deliberately plan for it by investing in yourself.
Think about what you want for your life and ask yourself what’s getting in the way and what you can do about it.
Often, it’s just simply to change the thought “I don’t have enough time” to the thought “I can figure out how to make time for what’s important to me.”
Whatever your circumstance may be, it’s always possible to find a solution if you’re willing to open yourself up to that possibility. “I don’t know how” can become “I’m going to figure out how.”
Just like you found the time to design and plan the vacation, you can find time to design and plan your life. When you do that, you’ll be thrilled at the life you return to after your vacation. And knowing that you’re returning to a life you love will make your vacation that much sweeter.
Have a beautiful week.
XO,
Charise