I just returned from a glorious weeklong trip throughout the beautiful state of Oregon. 

My husband and I celebrated 11 years of marriage with a road trip through one of our favorite places on the planet. 

As we were covering hundreds of miles over the coast, valley and city regions, taking in new vistas, feeling the ocean breeze, indulging in yummy vegan fare, relaxing on a balcony overlooking ocean sunsets, I couldn’t help but think of you.

No matter how much I try to turn my business brain off, it continues to spark and flicker. 

So I turned my thoughts into the top takeaways for you from my vacation. 

1. Get out of your business bubble.

Like I mentioned earlier, my business mind is doesn’t usually find the OFF switch. 

So it was super refreshing to take time out during the trip to have dinner with two of my business besties, who also happen to live in Oregon. 

Even better, we didn’t talk shop. AT ALL. 

We spent 3 fun-filled hours over dinner talking, laughing, planning for nothing business-related. 

We are three powerhouse women who’ve built uber successful businesses and not a peep about business until later in the night. When it was simply for someone to remark how surprising it was to have zero work talk. 

We all giggled about it. 

Then one person’s spouse shared how he had recently caught a podcast interview with Gumroad founder, Sahil Lavingia, chronicling his journey from the Bay Area to Provo, UT for this exact reason – to have different conversations. Curious to hear the full story – have a listen here. 

Takeaway: Purposefully put yourself into social situations, especially with the people in your business world. (I say this as a fairly hardcore introvert.)

It allows you to have new conversations with people you already know and love. Bonus – deeper connections, too.

2. Take the vacation you most need NOW.

Throughout my entire life, I’ve found I take two types of vacations – those where you do and those were you don’t do. 

Probably no surprise that the majority of my vacations are those where I’m doing. 

Each day is planned for activity, even when that’s driving along the coastline to stop at overlooks, spot whales and walk sandy beaches. 

Like, I’m on the constant search for the elusive “relaxation” that only a vacation can bring. 

Sounds tiring, no?

So when I returned home this time, it was the same as it ever is – my soul still felt fatigued. 

As a business owner, we’re making millions of micro and macro decisions each day. And that’s in our businesses alone. Nevermind the personal decisions, like would pizza for dinner three nights in a row be too much or should you run to Target to get the baby shower gift now or tomorrow.

Decision fatigue is real, y’all.

I forgot to really listen to and honor what my soul wanted most from this precious time away from our home and dogs.

Takeaway: The way you want to feel while taking in a sunset over the ocean is entirely accessible to you right now, you don’t need to travel to obtain it. But… it’s delightful to be able to getaway. Just be clear on what you want to get out of your vacation.

Before leaving, take one hour to get quiet and listen to what your body deeply needs from the time away. Is it action and adventure? Or rest and relaxation? Somewhere in between? 

Then, plan it into your days as best you can ahead of time. 

3. Follow your heart and body – they already know the way.

This was a theme at a retreat I attended earlier this summer. It wasn’t the intended theme of the event, but something that repeatedly popped up during workshops and hot seats over three days. 

Lo and behold, one of our lodgings had this sign hanging in the lobby:

Takeaway: When the universe wants you to really hear a message, it’ll keep telling you and telling you and then finally, crack you across the face with it. Thwack.

Follow what your heart knows to be true for you. 

Traveled recently? What did you notice? What did you learn? Share it below – I’m on pins and needles waiting to hear from you. 

 

Photo by Mike Gomez