Holiday over
Back to base. School’s starting soon. The kids miss their cousins already. One can actually have a wonderful holiday even without traveling to an exotic location.
After our getaway, my husband and I joined the kids at my sister’s home. They had fun bonding and playing with their cousins and I particularly enjoyed waking up late some days, watching very entertaining and inspiring movies, watching CNN, and sometimes doing nothing – I really can’t account for some of the hours spent. In all, we had the most fulfilling and refreshing holiday.
I remember when all the planning started for this vacation. Many thanks to my sister and my husband who took the time to synergize the vacation plans for both families. Good planning paid off especially because tickets were cheaper when purchased earlier.
There were some setbacks which we had to work around and some opportunities that showed up which we took advantage of. But if we didn’t have a plan, it may have been just another holiday. So, inspired by the success of a properly planned holiday, I’m refocusing on good planning as I return to everyday life and work.
Best wishes to you too as you take the time to plan your tomorrow.
Spoil Yourself
One can easily be tempted to keep working, keep saving, keep investing, keep spending money on the basic necessities of life and never allocate any time or money to rest, to relax and to enjoy one’s life.
But it’s necessary to take a break. Breathe in and breathe out. Stop and smell the roses. Have fun! Experience the beauty of nature, visit important places, listen to historic accounts, take in new knowledge about the world, marvel at the achievements of others, and just be happy.
An Arabian sweet. Some pineapple, some coconut… and packed with delightful flavours.
During a morning run, I saw this cute car. The other vehicles were parked on a tarred portion in front of the house but this one clearly had preferential treatment. Interesting.
Hot chocolate from Carmine’s finished with cheese that just melted into the drink. Delicious!
I touched a piece of the moon at The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution. Awesome!
No vacation would be complete without a little pampering. Timeless, a Marilyn Monroe Spa was just perfect.
Enjoying life is an essential part of living fully. Don’t miss out on the fun.
1 over 7
It’s so important to ensure that you rest. Sometimes things just come up and you find yourself going from one task to the other, one meeting to the next, driven by whatever drives you. Then before you know it, you realize the weekend – or whatever time you were meant to use for rest and relaxation – is over and you have not rested.
It’s so easy to turn what should have been a restful day to a stressful day. Waking up with that list in your head is enough stress already and sometimes it feels like there are just too many things to do, simply because we have it all in our heads. When I observe that this is happening to me, I just pick up a pen and transfer all that tension to my journal. That’s part one of the stress reduction.
Part 2 – If I find that the list is really long, I arrange them in order of priority, cross off the ones that don’t need to be done, delegate some, move others that are not urgent to a later date, and develop my strategy for accomplishing the important and urgent ones.
But we can even go further and reassess the “importance” of some items on our list. Are they really that important? What would go wrong if we dumped, delegated or deferred them? Also, what’s their rating when compared to the importance of our REST? Or could it be you haven’t yet taken time to analyse the criticality of your rest?
Well, I have found that this is one analysis we need to be proactive about because if you neglect this, you may soon have your doctor reading you a list of things you should no longer do if you want to retain your planet earth residence permit (PERP) – I mean your body. Then the question comes to mind ‘how could I have jeopardized my vitality with all that activity?’
God worked for six days and rested on Day seven. Let’s assume you’re a super hero… okay… just try, at least one day a week. Seriously, REST!
Picture Credit: https://missboansi.com/2015/12/27/well-deserved-rest/
Self Check
What happens to drivers who are in too much of a hurry to stop and refuel their vehicles? How about cyclers who are bent on getting to the finish line first so they refuse to slow down to collect vital supplies along the way? Ever imagined what the outcome would be if someone wanted to get to point B, a place they’ve never been before, but they’re unwilling to slow down to consult a map?
On this journey of life, it’s easy to run full speed ahead to ensure you accomplish all you’ve determined to accomplish. Sometimes you find yourself going so fast that you don’t even notice important things happening around you. You find yourself managing issues that you could have easily resolved, and soon enough you begin to trip on pieces of your life that have fallen apart in your rush. But are you going to go on like this?
It is unwise to live life without introducing breaks, rests, time outs, and so on. Even nature has its sequence to enable rest and evaluation.
Take time out every now and then and have a good look at your life. How’s it going? What aspects are you pleased with? What areas need improvement? What adjustments should you make? What strategies do you need to change completely? These reviews will help you better position yourself to maximize your resources.
Take at least one hour every month to reflect on your life. You’ll be amazed at the difference this simple activity will make.