Taking a vacation from yourself

Flying Squirrel


 

 

It’s nearly summer, a time when many of us go on vacation. We travel with our spouse, our family or friends. But there’s one other person who will go on vacation this summer.

Most of us may not give very much thought to this particular person. We take them for granted.

The person I’m talking about? You!

Often when we travel, we do, in fact, take ourselves on the trip. That sounds absurd, doesn’t it?

If I go on a vacation, of course I’m the one going. I can’t go without me. Duh! So yes, this is true in the physical sense. If you go somewhere, you go somewhere.

But each of us has more than one version of ourselves. By default, most of us take the “home” version when we travel.

Whoever I am at home, I am on vacation. Whatever habits and patterns and ways of doing things I have at home, I take on vacation.

The way I behave toward others, the way I engage in relationships— these are likely the same ways I’ll behave when I go on vacation.

 

 

I suggest you consider an alternative.

What if, and I know this may sound slightly radical, but what if you could be a slightly different person on vacation this summer? What if you choose to do things a bit differently than you do at home? What would that look like?

You could discover new things about yourself and others.

You could deepen relationships.

You could try new or different things.

Right about now, you might be thinking that sounds like a lot of work. After all, you are sooooo looking forward to relaxing in your recliner by the pool or beach, drinking your piña colada and reading your James Patterson thriller. Hey, I’m with you. I like my piña coladas and beach reads just as much as the next person. Most of the time.

If you’re on vacation, why not consider it a real vacation? Why not take time off from being exactly who you are at home?

You could start with your relationships.

Before you leave, there’s the home version of you that interacts with people in a certain way. Maybe that person is tired, overwhelmed or a little stressed out. Why can’t there be a vacation version of you that’s different?

Again, you might think, I just want to relax without having to think about who I am and without having to talk to people all the time. Can’t I save that for when I get home? Well, you can. But chances are you won’t.

Most of us are on autopilot when we’re at home. We’re busy. We have packed schedules. We rush from one thing to another.

We’re going in multiple directions

12 to 18 hours a day, and the others in our life are going in their own directions. So if you think you’re more likely to find the time to deepen your relationships when you get home, think again.

On vacation, you have as much time as you want.

Well, maybe you don’t have unlimited time. But however much time you do have, consider it a perfect opportunity to deepen the connections you have with your fellow travelers. And if you’re traveling solo, deepen the knowledge you have about yourself.

So this summer, I encourage you to think about the relationships you’re in and be open to ways you can deepen those bonds.

Have conversations. Get curious and ask questions. Learn about each other.

If you’re traveling with multiple people—like a spouse and your kids, or friends and a parent— perhaps focus on one key relationship you’ll work on for this summer vacation week.

Whichever relationship you focus on, challenge yourself to open up more to those people. Learn from them, have fun with this experience, try new things.

Who knows? You may actually discover the new person you become on vacation may just be the person who returns home with you.

Thor Challgren is a travel writer who lives in Thousand Oaks. For more info, visit www.loveyourvacation.com. Email questions to thor@theacorn.com.