Vacationing and Prosperity

Thought for today:

As underearners, some of us find it hard to take vacations.  The time off seems like a waste.  It costs too much money and time.  It feels extravagant.

Some of us preferred vacations separated from family.  Guilt, rooted in a childhood where time off was never enjoyed, sets today’s agenda.

Circumstances leave us exhausted and unable to enjoy time off.  We can’t even think about it.  Why is that?

Members share:

“I run a retail shop.  How can I take a vacation if my business stops when I’m not there?  I send my wife and kids away each summer.  Sure I miss them, but work takes my mind off of them.”

“I don’t trust my employees to work while I’m away.”

“I can’t afford a vacation.”

“I don’t deserve a vacation. My creditors deserve the money more than I do.”

“My family never took vacations, and in a way I’m glad, because it would have been too violent.  I was afraid of my father growing up, and it was a vacation when we were anywhere else but where he was”

“Sometimes I ask myself, ‘Why do I work, if I can’t enjoy my money?’  I don’t have an answer to that question.”

“My life is my business, not the other way around”:

Why do we work?  Is it for money only?  Will there ever be a time for us to enjoy life?

There is usually a way to take some time, get away somehow.  Some of us had to “act as if” – “fake it till we make it” – and take time off even if it didn’t feel comfortable.  Being gentle with ourselves, in time we learned how to enjoy time off again.  It became an acquired skill.

When we take time off, we get the awareness that no one is indispensable. We return refreshed from a vacation.  We gain much-needed perspective on ourselves and our surroundings.  Adventure vacations can inspire fresh perspective on the rest of our life.  We feel mentally recharged.  We can take our Higher Power with us on vacation too!

Ask:

Have I gotten over the idea that my business can’t get along without me?

Meditation for today:

After you are gone, what will your family, friends or colleagues say meant the most to you?  Are you living in a way that supports what you’d like them to say?

Affirmation for today:

“When I am on vacation I will unplug from work.”

For in-depth insights into finding your inner values, read “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change“, by Steven Covey.

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