Have you ever found yourself anticipating joy and fun for an upcoming holiday trip, only to find yourself pre-occupied with thoughts or issues pre-holiday? The entire trip seems like a blur and you realize you are no more rested or refreshed than before you left.
Despite our best efforts, it is all too easy to feel short changed after a holiday usually because we spend more time planning the doing (see this, visit that, spend time with x) versus little to no planning on the quality of how we want to experience and feel during our time away.
The good news is that with a few minor tweaks you can set yourself up for a blockbuster holiday by strategizing how and what you plan in three simple steps:
- Create your vision
- Set your intention
- Create your plan
Step 1: Create your vision
What’s your vision for your well-earned time away? Vision comes from a place of possibilities and openness. It’s not about sticking to the same old. Envision your quality of life as the person you want to be. Use the first person. Keep it simple. It can be one sentence you can orient to in any moment on your holiday. It could be “I enjoy myself” or “I disconnect and recharge” or “I feel relaxed and find the joy in any moment.” Write it down on a piece of paper. Create a vision for your family or the group you are with.
Step 2: Set your intention
If vision is orienting you to how you want to be on the trip, setting intention is the how of your holiday pause. It is an easy way to tap into what you really want, adds meaning, and helps you focus on a specific outcome. Ask yourself, “What do I want to get out of this moment, meal, or [insert what your activity is]?”
Ideas:
- Pick a word for the day. One couple I know took turns each day picking a word of the day such as “play,” “connect” and even “intention” to orient towards.
- Journal about how you came to plan a meaningful holiday pause. Was it reading this article? Was it allowing yourself a few minutes to be and not do?
- Have a morning ritual you practice that describes the quality of your experience.
Step 3: Create your Holiday Pause Plan
It’s
important to know how you want to
spend your holiday time. It doesn’t need to be detailed. Instead it’s ok to be
vague and open. This could be journaling about your ideal holiday – your
vision, intention and actions you will take to get there. Be careful if you
notice you start planning to do so much that it may not be realistic. Aim for a
balance of BEING and DOING. This is an opportunity to change your routine of
what you typically do and the quality of
how you do it. One fun way to do this is to write a letter to yourself from
your inner voice on what you will experience as a result of this trip. Or
imagine you are a dear friend writing what he or she recommends for your time
away. What is the quality of your experiences? How will your life be different
as a result of your holiday pause?!
Additional Tips for a blockbuster holiday:
- Create boundaries. Create a few rules you want to have for structure and / or behaviors you want to create.
- Savor the really good stuff. When good things happen, don’t just take a selfie and move on. Stop and savor how you feel.
- Create new habits you can take home. Keep the holiday alive long after you return home by creating an IF/THEN statement that can help you do something different. IF I think about work, THEN I pause for 3 deep belly breaths.
Rejuvenate without going anywhere
You don’t need to go anywhere. Take a day, weekend, or week off and stay exactly where you are and notice the quality of what you do. You may surprise yourself how things change with a few mindset tweaks to notice quality.