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Take A Vacation To Better Your Life
By Joe Fier | December 19, 2007
When was the last time you’ve been able to get away from work and have a really good vacation? I’m not talking about a simple weekend out of town, but more like a week or two where you can completely release all worries of work and normal day-to-day life. If this sounds like something you’re in desperate need of, please read on…
Our lives are all made of routines that we do everyday. Sure, sometimes these routines can be very simple, but a combination of them each day can begin to weigh on you very heavily. Without a simple break from the action, our minds become bogged down and slow our normal performance in everyday life. These are the times that we feel overwhelmed and lose the love and passion for what we have centered out lives around. These sorts of situations can occur in our work-life, spousal and friend relationships, and our inner-selves. None of these parts of our lives are lost causes, it just might mean that we need to step away from the action for a little bit and rekindle the thoughts and mindset that we previously had.
Vacations are key
As stress builds throughout the work-year, a lot of us look forward to taking time off during the holiday season. Unfortunately, there are many out there (including numerous people at my work) that insist that they work all the way through. The need for money is normally a cause for such a decision. Sure, this might seem like a very understanding statement, but how could money overvalue the feeling of your body? Without taking these key moments to go on a vacation and release our built up tension, our emotional and physical well-being turns very detrimental.
Those who take regular vacations more often:
- Have less strain on the heart, which leads to a lessened chance of heart disease
- Are much less stressed and have a clearer mind emotionally
- Have much more energy
- Spend much more time with spouses and are happier with their relationships
- Have a much better relationship with their children
- Are more interested and productive when they return to work
Try mini-vacations
A thought that my girlfriend and I have had is to take mini-vacations or getaways on the weekends. Our thought is to take a trip out of town once a month to wherever. This doesn’t need to be anything expensive or elaborate, just something that will get you out of town to free your mind from your typical everyday life. If it’s simply a one night’s stay camping in the mountains, or in a motel, or wherever else, as long you can getaway to release the week’s built-up worries. These trips can be easily saved up for just by putting in about $20 a week by both of you; that shouldn’t break the bank.
On the weekends that you aren’t traveling out of town, try to take a day adventure of your choice. A passion that we both have is to go hiking. Since there are various trails in San Diego, we have a large disposal of day hikes to spend our weekends on. Other good ideas are day drives to a different part of town and then eating lunch, or heading down to the beach to spend a lazy afternoon. The point here is to get you out of your element to experience something new and exciting. Each of these should prove to help any anxiety and hardships that you might experience at work or in your personal life.
Some scary statistics
- In 2005, Americans threw away or sold back nearly 415 million vacation days. This equates to 1.6 million years of unused vacation time!
- Strokes, heart disease, and early mortality have all been linked to overworking and stressing out while on the job.
- Americans put in more hours than the rest of the world. This is a huge hint to start spending those vacation days. For example, the French work 35-hour workweeks, and actually stick to that number.
- Germans work roughly 500 hours over the year. That’s nearly 12-and-a-half weeks less than us in America. They have the right idea!
Try and make vacations a part of your life. Many of us forget about our own time because we’re so used to dedicating the time we have to work for others. There’s a time and place for everything, so choose yours wisely, it will greatly affect your life.
Photo credit: januszbc
Topics: Relaxation, Stress Management | 5 Comments »
February 11th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Hello,
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