For most people, summer is prime vacation time, but no matter when you choose to go on vacation, one thing is certain: vacation is always a time to break away from your stressful life and enjoy some rest and relaxation. But maybe we’re getting it all wrong. Maybe instead of building a stressful life that we desperately need to escape from, why not create a life you don’t need to take a vacation from at all?
The idea of creating a life you don’t need a vacation from probably seems like pie in the sky.
After all, we need to work, and that can be stressful and mundane, making our Monday-through-Friday routine anything but inspiring.
That’s life, right? Right?!
We could keep defending the current status quo pointing out that we humans like (and need) routine and regularity.
But this isn’t an argument to live life as though it were a 24/7 vacation, 365 days a year.
It’s also not an argument to skip vacations. It’s good to get out of dodge and visit new places – it’s a wonderful way to boost creativity, get inspired and stretch yourself.
But the truth is, after your brief vacation, you have to return to the stressful and mundane life you left behind.
So, why not take (easy) steps to create a life you don’t need to run away from? Why not create a life you can live with – where a vacation is the cherry on top and not the entire cake?
Tips to create a life you don’t need a vacation
- Meditate: Your mindset is everything, and when you can live with present moment awareness, you will stop wanting to escape from life as it is.
- Make self-care a priority: Don’t wait until vacation to do something nice for yourself. Schedule it in on a weekly and monthly basis.
- Identify the problem: When you hear yourself saying, “I need a break/vacation”, ask yourself why. Then, figure out how you can improve the situation right where you are.
- Make happiness a priority: Don’t put happiness off until vacation. If you do, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to find happiness even there. Instead, choose to create happiness right now.
- Practice gratitude: When you focus on vacation, you don’t pay attention to what you have right where you are. So, practice being grateful for all the beauty in your life. This helps dissolve discontentment and resentment, and also make you less desperate for a vacation.
