Breaking Free of Restraints: Travel Vs. Vacation
I don't have the time, money, or ability to travel right now.
Those are phrases I hear so often. In fact, I used to be one of those people saying that exact phrase. You know, an overworked woman with a little one at home with all the demands, and honestly, the cash flow wasn't enough to support some random excursion just because the things I needed to do were hard enough. I'm talking about this like it was in the distant past, but it's still a bit of the present. Life is a lot, and making time to take a little vacation is not at the forefront of most people's minds, especially when the day-to-day demands literally take over your every waking moment.
What if I told you that limiting belief was problem number 1. This constraint was what was holding you back from being able to experience the new, not the money in your pocket.
Don't stop reading! I promise there's goodness here.
I go on a vacation once a month at least. Lucky me, right?! A vacation is an "extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or go from one place to another, typically over a distance of some length." One night in a hotel away from home is a vacation. A mini escape. One day spent on the road also counts in my book if the destination you're headed to takes you far away from what you usually can encounter. A mini go.
Travel has to be something that is a priority for your mental health.
It's not about the time you're gone or the distance but about the experience and the changes in perspective it brings you. I know I've talked about this before, but once I shifted my mindset, I saw opportunities to go everywhere. That weekend camping trip to the state park? Vacation. That overnight stay at a bed and breakfast up north just a 4-hour drive away? Absolutely a getaway. Even that day trip to the next city for a museum exhibit became an adventure.
I started by planning these little mini-gos strategically, looking for deals and what was off-peak but still an excellent time to go to this fun place. I'd scour local event calendars, seeking free festivals or outdoor concerts that could turn an ordinary Saturday into something extraordinary. I learned to pack efficiently, turning even a small backpack into my little traveling gateway. I've come a long way since the beginning because I have such pure joy and passion for this lifestyle. Travel is just that, a lifestyle.
The key was making it a non-negotiable part of my routine, like exercising outside or paying bills. I'd block out time each month, even if it was just 24 hours, and protect it fiercely. This was my time to go. I want to connect with those I love the most and have a new experience. Sure, we go on longer, more adventurous escapades regularly, but that's different from how I started, and even now, those are roughly once a quarter. Something I had to seriously work up to.
Then the shift happened.
This shift in my mindset brought me to where I am as a travel advisor looking and discovering hidden gems in my backyard. Sure, in full transparency, a couple of locations have been generous enough to sponsor me as I've done some marketing for them, but mostly, the places I feature come from my sleuthing. There was the charming little artist's town just outside of a local hiking location that seemed to get virtually no marketing, with its quaint main street lined with antique shops and handmade goods, right along with the BEST place to sit in a garden and have brunch, absolutely off the map and delightful. I'd looked up the area a zillion times and never saw anything about this place, and now they are getting all the publicity they deserve for being a little slice of heaven. Those experiences make my heart soar, and I have gotten to experience a ton of them. For example, when we decided it was best to take my dog on a puppy-centered vacation, we sought out and found an entire town where every store and restaurant allowed dogs and, in fact, where we had dinner, made a whole meal just for Ms. Harper. (She's a little spoiled K, but she's my baby too; she and my human baby get all the love.)
My husband and daughter have caught on to my enthusiasm, and these mini-go's have become a tradition. When asked about an item over a place, hands down, 10 out of 10, my daughter wants to go on vacation over anything. Fun fact, we even asked her about the upcoming Sweet 16 birthday party and what she wanted. At first, she wanted a big party with all her friends at the art museum, and now she wants to take one friend on a cruise with us and wear a ball gown on a fancy night. Oh, how we have changed.
At first, my husband, being the Midwest boy he is, was all about just camping trips like he did when he was a kid, but now he's looking at flights like most people look on social media. Not a week goes by where he's like well… we could fly to wherever in the world on a direct flight for this much. He's obsessed, and I'm pulling back on the reigns. As much as I would want to, we cannot magically hop on a plane monthly on a Friday and be back for work on Monday morning. It's not how it works. Sometimes, sure, but not monthly.
I've learned to be creative and find a good deal for the well-being of my soul. Priorities matter, but life is about the journey. Even in all the doing, you have to remember to live and express your joy and abilities in all the ways you possibly can. So pack your bags and head out the door to somewhere special. Money comes and goes, but memories—those really do last forever.
