Vacation practice — amplify the impact
The grand escape you have planned — it does not have to vanish… as soon as you come back from a vacation.
Here is how to make the recharge stick. Recover a long-forgotten well-being baseline and migrate it from the holiday sandbox to the “daily grind.”
Step 1: Stabilize
This is the easy one – all of the conducive conditions are there for you. You can virtually bathe in endorphins and pleasant distractions… Wash away the chemical trail of stress and regain relative clarity.
Step 2: Restore perspective
Leonardo da Vinci, “Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation … because then the work appears smaller… and lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.”
Go big: who you are, what makes you happy, where do you want to go?
The full checklist you denied yourself Yesterday because you had no time, no energy, and no motivation… The bird-eye view of your life, the “solitaire” (card game) spread of things to do and goals to achieve.
Step 3: Train the mind
Now switch your self-awareness on and make sure your mind engages with every “card” constructively. If not – process as per your practice toolbox (label, reappraise, etc.).
If you can – go deeper – do the inventory of every obstacle and process them too.
Adding closures and realizations to your normal baking at the beach — what can compete with that?! 😉
No destructive states – no energy drain when you are back. Plus, rewarding and productive engagements. But you can only get those if you intentionally practice. So train the mind/build desired habits (in a safe vacation sandbox).
No practice toolbox yet? Start learning (you may check the RechargeLane roadmap to know where to start).
Post-retreat tips:
1. Watch for the old/residual habits when you are back in your usual context. Stop “the old you” if needed. It is now “the new you” — with new responses and perceptions.
2. Allow for the buffer time. Do not be seduced by the full battery and jump into doing as much work as you can. Give yourself time for the integration of new skills. If you are successful, the new reality and habits will set in.
3. Different interactions. The new you may experience different responses from people around you. If you see them differently, they may start treating you differently.
4. New opportunities. You are no longer in a box. You can see beyond the limitations you have cleared on the vacation. Be open to new opportunities that were not available to you before.
Photo: La Digue island, Seychelles.
