I’ve been mulling over vacations for the last month. When we typically think of a vacation, we think about laying on a beach with a book or if you are my husband, sleeping on the beach. We think about exploring a new city we have never been to before and finding a hidden gem of a restaurant. We think about learning about a new culture right immersed in the culture. We think about adventure. Mountains to climb. Waters to dive.
However, with most of the world on lockdown from being able to enjoy our typical vacations, I’ve been looking at vacations in a different way. What I realized is that vacations are just a mindset. Something we get to choose, each and every day.
It’s a choice we make when we take time off from work to explore the world and truly unplug from work.
It’s a choice we make when we take time off for a staycation with no to-do lists filled with projects we’ve been wanting to get done around the house.
It’s a choice we can make today even working a full day of work! Choosing a vacation mindset might actually make you more productive and a bit more creative.
What does it look like to have a vacation mindset?
It means being open to experiencing the world around you with a lens of curiosity and openness. Exploring things that we wouldn’t necessarily do on a daily basis, but because we chose a vacation mindset, we are going to anyway. We allow ourselves to relax into the day so that moments of laughter happen naturally. We are willing to put down our work, our phones and look around us, even for just a moment.
I’ve been embracing a vacation mindset more and more the last month. As a result, I’ve experienced more moments of laughter like the one with my husband and parents. We had a simple night planned, a bit of dinner and a game. We all allowed ourselves to be fully present with each other and not distracted by the news of the day. Naturally, we found ourselves laughing through out the night and a few times so hard tears were coming down our faces.
Those are the moments when you know you have embraced a vacation mindset. When it’s easy to laugh even at yourself. When you have forgotten about the worries in your world, even just for a moment.
Today, you can choose to embrace it! Give yourself permission to be curious, laugh and explore. You’ll be surprised at what you can explore even when you aren’t able to leave the comfort of your own home.
The ultimate question is:
Are you willing to choose to have a vacation mindset?