Vacation: Take it for yourself, not from yourself

After a long weekend of relaxation, I have a lot of vacation options on my mind. This weekend (Memorial Day) was a good example of what I like to do on vacation. Now, I didn’t go anywhere, but I was able to relax and take time for some of my favorite things. My absolute favorite thing, above and beyond any activity in particular is doing what helps me feel my best.

There are a number of things that I do to help my feel my best and exercise just happens to be one of them. I’m not sharing this to imply that everyone should exercise just because I like it. What I am saying is that the reasons for my exercise are the real drivers for me. I exercise, not because I should, but because of how I feel when I do.

This comes to mind after vacation because I’ve heard many people from a trip or even just time off at home with less than desired results. They did not like the results of their actions. I have heard many of the following sentences:

“I didn’t exercise because I was on vacation.”
“I ate way too much on vacation.”
“Now that I am back from vacation, I will change my habits.”

There are many more, but these are the ones that jump out at me. They jump out because they suggest that exercise or choosing healthy eating habits are part of “real life” and when we are on vacation, we do not want any aspect of “real life” to interfere with our trip.

I understand the concept, but I don’t understand the thought process of not wanting to feel good. I guess I don’t understand that as it relates to vacation or regular everyday life. I would think that we would want to feel as good as possible…all the time.

The moral of the story is that when on vacation, do what makes you feel good. If a walk will help you clear your head, go for a walk. If fruit will help you feel light and healthy, eat it. If a vacation means getting away from the mundane and the tedious, don’t do those things. The point is, taking a vacation should be you getting away from the day to day, not you getting away from you.

More importantly: If your goals are based solely on depriving yourself, you should reassess your goals. If you are doing things you dislike and have to fight to stay with it, you should reassess your goals. If you can’t wait to stop doing something in your routine, maybe it shouldn’t be in your routine. The whole idea behind truly living healthy is making it part of your lifestyle. When you are on vacation, you don’t stop brushing your teeth, do you? No, brushing your teeth is part of your daily routine because of the results it gives you. No one wants to walk around with bad breath and teeth that are falling out…no matter how much they dislike brushing. So, when you take time for yourself, remember that it is for you and not from you. YOU will enjoy yourself and won’t feel guilty afterward.