Vacationizing Your Life

Would you love to have the kind of life that was so fabulous you wouldn't dream of taking a break from it?

That the only reason to travel was to enjoy new scenery or cultures, rather than escape the daily grind?

I'm back from a week in a world class resort in Maui, and as my sweetie was groaning about going back to work today it got me thinking about the appeal of the vacation.

I rarely take them, which is one reason why I wanted to do this one “right” – since I literally can't remember the last time I took an extended leave from work.

And while I loved everything about this trip away, in reflection the only thing that would have made it more enjoyable would have been time to play with my business.

I'm guessing that's because I have a good work pace at home, and also because I love what I do. My astro-biz partner Kim Falconer would add that because I'm a rising Capricorn, our idea of a good time is work. (That definitely wasn't true back when I had a corporate job.)

But there were some things about this vacation that I would like to carry over into daily life. When I saw this quote on Namaste Faustino's facebook page, I knew this was a topic worth examining. Here's the quote from liveinthegrey.com:

• Make a list of things that make you happy.
• Make a list of things you do every day.
• Compare the lists.
• Adjust accordingly.

So with that in mind, I made a list of my top five favorite things about the trip to Maui:

1. Unscheduled time – no clocks to watch, nowhere to be, no appointments to keep.

2. The beautiful view! No matter where I went – to bed, to the beach, to the balcony, to the restaurant – it was gorgeous landscape everywhere!

3. Connection with nature. I loved being the first person to put footprints on the beach every morning, and watching the sunrise from the ocean. I loved listening to the whales/dolphins underwater. I loved feeding the local feral cat and the birds that were everywhere.

4. Quality time with my sweetie. We did nothing together and loved every minute of it.

5. No urgency about anything. It was a relaxed pace – no one was trying to get anywhere or accomplish anything. It seemed like a strong focus on enjoying the present moment.

The next step is to deliberately incorporate those elements into my daily life.

When I do that, vacations hold much less appeal as my daily life becomes vacationified. Vacationized. Vacation-proof. Or whatever the word is for putting more vacation in daily life.

For example, I can make a point of scheduling less things. I've got friends willing to do things on the fly. And I can steer my business towards things that can be done anytime rather than on a pre-set schedule.

Connecting with nature is easy to do here at home – it won't be the beach or the ocean, but I've got gardens and hiking trails nearby. I've got cats to feed and dogs to play with. And if I liked the beach better (which I don't), I could always move closer.

And I can plug myself back into that slow, relaxed pace of not trying to get anywhere or accomplish anything. That's always available for me to choose.

Obviously, if I didn't love my work and one of my favorite things about a vacation was leaving it behind, then my first goal would be to change my work. (Which I did over a decade ago. Best move I ever made!)

What were your favorite parts of your last vacation? When you identify what they are, you've got a clear road map for upleveling your daily life.

Or we could accomplish this same thing with the four instructions from that facebook post. Just toss out the things that don't make you happy in favor of what does.

One way or another we'll upgrade our experience of life. Abe reminds us all the time that life is meant to be fun. Once you make the commitment to enjoying yours, I think you'll find it was within reach all along. :)

I'd love to see your list and your ideas for changing it if you care to share. Consider me your partner in vacationizing your life!

Jeannette Maw is the Good Vibe Coach and founder of Good Vibe University.  Find more of her manifesting inspiration at Good Vibe Blog.