Let me guess, you do.

Me too!

Regardless of how much we love our work,
it’s so important to take time off, get away,
unplug, unwind, relax, rejuvenate and enjoy
whatever it is that our hearts desire.

Interestingly, I recently read a study about
people who left their job to start their
own business.

When asked why they made the leap, having
more free time and being more in control of
their schedule was one of the top two reasons.
(The other: to make more money.)

Anyway, despite free time being such a priority,
when asked about their actual schedule as a
business owner, the majority stated that they
feel like they have a lot less time off now and that
they took more actual vacations when they had a job.

Sound familiar?

Wanna know how to remedy the situation?

Plan a vacation!

Do this with me right now.

Open up your calendar and then close your eyes,
take a deep breath and think about a vacation
that you’d love to take this year.

(If all you can think about are reasons why
you can’t take a vacation this year, stand up,
walk into the bathroom and flush those down
the toilet. Seriously. It works.)

Okay, back to imagining a vacation you’d love
to take this year.

Really visualize it. Where will you go?
What will you do? Who will you be with?
How long will you be away?

Take another deep breath. Imagine you are there
in this very moment. Feel your body start to
relax and a smile come across your face.

Now look at your calendar and pick a time to
block out for your vacation. Don’t worry about
how it’s going to happen, just look at your
calendar and say, “If things could work out
exactly the way I want them to I would take
my vacation here,” and then write it in.

Deep breath.

So, how did that go for you?

If you did this little exercise with me, I’m
guessing you’re either feeling kind of excited
or a little depressed. Either way, you’ve
taken the first step and planted that first seed
towards the vacation you deserve. Here’s
to having that blossom.

xo,
Michelle

P.S.

In November, around our 2 year wedding anniversary,
my husband and I realized that while we did a lot
of travel together for business and to visit family,
we hadn’t taken a “real” vacation since our honeymoon.

I know 2 years isn’t a super long time, but it was
a good awakening for us, so we decided that we would
take some type of big, international trip in 2010.

Well, the other day we emptied out our frequent
flyer accounts and booked 2 round trip business class
tickets from San Francisco to Bangalore, India and
we’re going for the entire month of December!!

Although we haven’t figured out how all the logistics
will work (i.e.: how my husband will get all that
time off from his job), we took the leap anyway
and are trusting that it’s all going to work out
and be totally great.

P.P.S.
I’d love to read your vacation ideas and plans.
Post your comments here on my blog!