Life Lesson: All Stressed Up and Nowhere To Go

Stressed out? Exhausted? Need more fun?

Everyday we find ourselves presented with all sorts of challenges. From traffic jams, to trying relationships, from health issues to unemployment, we’re constantly under the gun to navigate through troubled waters. We wonder when we’ll get a chance to sit back and relax, to just breathe for once.

When we’re under stress, we become irritable. We snap at those we love. We wish we were five years old and our calendar had nothing but playdates. We begin to think the entire world is against us and we ought to either fight like hell or just give up. We feel alone, disconnected and victimized. These feelings take a toll on us physically and emotionally. Sound familiar?

There have been times in my life when that’s exactly how I’ve felt: alone, disconnected and a victim of circumstances.

Sometimes I find it difficult to carve out time and money to take a meaningful vacation away. I seem to rarely get time to relax and rejuvenate fully. But I have found that I can easily take small vacations in the middle of my day. Recently my wife and I had a lovely tea-cation. We both took time to make a cup of tea, enjoy it together, reconnect with each other and with ourselves. Sometimes I like to take a bed-cation (lying in bed later than my usual) or a walk-cation. I’ve discovered that I can turn nearly anything into some sort of vacation. And though it may not completely satisfy my need for extended down time, it definitely helps me enjoy myself along the way. Besides, it’s fun making up new words!

A vacation is really more of a mindset than anything else. As proof, ask yourself if you’ve ever had a vacation that didn’t feel like a vacation. Did you return from your time off nearly as tired, restless and unsatisfied as when you left? My guess is that nearly everyone has experienced that.

It’s our habitual thought patterns that exhaust us. Interrupt these patterns and you can create choices you couldn’t see before. Interrupt these patterns and watch your life become easier.

Creating deep and lasting change in our lives takes time. (You can read more about that here). But taking a fun-cation is a great way to take the first step toward a more peaceful and relaxed life. Every journey starts with the first step. Why not make it a fun one?

Tell me in the comments below what sort of –cation you will take today.

© 2018 Paul Boehnke