Build A Life You Don’t Need A Vacation From E169
October 29, 2024
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In today’s episode, we explore how to build a life you don’t need a vacation from. Have you ever found yourself counting down the days until your next getaway? What if, instead, every day felt just as fulfilling? In this episode, we’ll dive into practical ways to enjoy your life—every single day. If you’re ready to stop living for the weekends or holidays and start thriving in your everyday moments, you’re in the right place. Let’s get started on creating a life you truly love!
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Rethinking the Purpose of Vacations
“My goal is to build a life I don’t need a vacation from.” This is a quote by Rob Hill Sr. I came across a couple of days ago when I reflected on a few realizations that came together for me this week. I talked about this in one of my earlier episodes. I don’t only want to enjoy my life when I am on holiday or travelling. I don’t want to keep looking forward to the next holiday. Instead, I want to enjoy every single day and not even need a vacation.
And the topic came up again over the last month and this week when I was away with my sister, nieces and nephew. I reflected this week on the typical holiday that I would have had in the past – either it consists of an all-inclusive holiday club for doing nothing and just relaxing or it would be travelling to a new country and exploring a new location. And I know obviously, there are a lot of other kinds of vacation out there. It means something different for everyone and it can change over time.
From Vacation Mode to Everyday Joy
I am putting more and more focus on enjoying my everyday life so I don’t need a vacation from my life. Because that’s truly what it is, right? That’s what it was for me for a long time until a few years ago. Counting the weeks and days until the next vacation where I could escape from my reality for a period of time. Then coming back and being sad that it’s over and the recovery of the holiday being completely gone by the 3rd day back at work.
Does this resonate with you? If so, ask yourself the question: Would you not like to live a life that is enjoyable, has enough variety, is a little bit adventurous and has enough space for relaxation and recovery? I do! I want to enjoy every day as much as I can – and not just the days where I can escape to a remote island or the mountains.
How to Stop Waiting for the Next Break
Obviously, in this episode, I will share with you how I go about this and what I want to do even more. But I want to first be clear that this has nothing to do with making huge changes in your life that cost a lot of money or take a lot of time. That’s not what this is about. It’s more about the inner change of your mindset and your energy towards the life you are living. I want to give you today a chance for a new perspective on life, on your life.
I mean, what is the other option? To keep going like this? Always yearning just for the weekend, the next holiday or even retirement? And in the course of it wasting so much time living a life you think is not worth enjoying, celebrating and appreciating. That cannot be the answer to life, right? This cannot be what we are supposed to be doing with life. Exactly my thought and that’s why I am turning it completely around and deciding to live an enjoyable life every day where I don’t even want to go on holiday.
Let me share with you the 3 things that contributed the most to getting me to where I am today and the one thing I want to do to have an even more enjoyable everyday life.
1 – Disrupt the cycle
I know I talked about this in last week’s episode in detail, but being more present helped me to get out of the rut of thinking that I had to escape my everyday life. This way of thinking is an automated program that keeps running and running. And if you don’t step into the present moment and disrupt that cycle you never have the chance to have a different thought or even get a new perspective.
The practice of being more present has supported me in stepping out of automated thought cycles and reflecting if these are the thoughts I want to have and if they are helpful. For example, it could be how I think about a colleague at work that triggered me in a meeting. I could stay in that triggered cycle and go on about how rude that person was, or I could disrupt the cycle and stop thinking about this. Just let it go. Get back to enjoying your day instead.
The skill of being able to get out of your own head and stop is probably the most helpful for you to be able to change your mindset and perspective about your everyday life. If you currently think that job is too stressful and demanding, then I invite you to continuously disrupt that way of thinking when you are at work and reflect on what is actually happening around you. Is it truly stressful and demanding for most of your day or is it maybe just 1 hour out of the day and the rest is actually not that stressful? And if that’s what you discover, celebrate it and change your way of thinking about your job.
2 – Stop doing what you don’t want to do
With that, I don’t mean quit your job and get yourself into debt. I want you to think smaller on the level of everyday life. There are hundreds of actions we take every day, things we do and behaviours we display. How about taking an inventory and finding the ones that make you not enjoy your day? What are things that you could actually say goodbye to, but out of habit or fear you just haven’t done it?
This is another skill that you can practise to enjoy your day more: Letting go of things that don’t serve you. What could these things look like? Let me give you a few examples: It could be drinking decaf coffee instead of normal coffee so your tummy doesn’t hurt. You could stop texting with a friend who is only complaining, judging and talking behind people’s backs and zapping all of your energy. Before you are already fully stressed and rushing into the office in the morning, how about you take 2 minutes for yourself and just breathe. 2 minutes of calming down your nervous system can change the complete trajectory of your day.
You could let go of a voluntary position you have been doing for 3 years as your heart is not in it anymore. Get over your guilt and start believing that you have given enough of your time and energy over the last years and you deserve to start doing something you actually enjoy. You don’t have to know what that is yet. But you know what? You have to let go first before something better can come into your life. It doesn’t work the other way around. Trust and let go and you will be rewarded with something so much better and more enjoyable.
3 – Make your enjoyment a priority
Really what I meant to say was, make yourself a priority. In a non-selfish and self-absorbed way, you need to come first in your life for you to be able to enjoy it more. It’s as simple as that. If you put everyone and everything before you, there will never be the time, space or energy for you to even reflect if you are enjoying your life. You couldn’t because that would mean you are not people-pleasing but being selfish.
I tell you that it’s important for you and everyone around you that you are putting yourself and your enjoyment first. Is it nicer to live with a person who is stressed out, miserable and always complains about how exhausted they are or with a person who is taking time for themselves and comes back full of energy and laughter? Which person would you like to share a house with? So do you not think it would be better for the people in your life if you take your time and energy back and focus on what brings you enjoyment? Don’t they deserve to have this role model in their life, so they learn how to put their enjoyment first, too?
If we would all just focus more on ourselves and not on others, we would live in a much happier and more relaxed place. And like I mentioned this does not need a lot of time or money. But what it does from you is the courage to set some new boundaries. So the question is: Are you worth that effort? Obviously, the answer is yes, in case you were wondering.
Revamping My Evening Routine: More Fun, Less TV
Next I am going to share with you my new intention to build an even better everyday life for me not to need or want a vacation. It’s about mixing up my evening routine. For decades I have the routine of watching TV nearly every evening. If I am not out of the house, I will always end up on the sofa watching some show or movie. And for years I have been telling myself that I am wasting my time.
Don’t get me wrong, I love watching good shows and movies, but it truly does not have to be every free evening. So, I am going to change that. I will still keep a couple of nights in the week for watching movies, but on other nights I want to do things that I would do more of on holiday, like reading a book, creating some art, or playing a game.
Bringing Vacation Vibes into Everyday Life
These are all things that seem to only be fun once you are on a holiday. Why? Why can you not make them fun as well at home? Like with reading a book. It doesn’t only have to be the reading of the book. I can make it more special and make myself a really yummy hot chocolate and put the fireplace on. Or in the summer, make myself a mocktail and sit out on the terrasse.
I know that I will be enjoying myself once I get over the habit of just turning on the TV. I just have to get over myself and do things that I enjoy when I am travelling. These are not just fun in far locations, no you can make them fun at home, too. Bring the fun you usually just have on holiday into your every day life.
And if you want more support in how to change your thinking, your habits and your perspective, then I invite you to join us inside Energy Academy. This is an online self-paced program where you learn everything you need to know about transformational change and get all the tools to make it happen. And in addition, you get to hang out with me and ask me anything on a monthly basis. I am here for you if you are ready.
Head over to lindalange.com/energyacademy for more information and to sign up. Thank you so much for tuning in today! Remember, life isn’t just about those vacation moments—it’s about making each day a little more vibrant, joyful, and true to who you are. Take small steps, embrace change, and build a life you don’t need to escape from. You’ve got this!
Two easy ways to show your appreciation!
If you found value in today’s episode, here’s what you can do to show your support:
First, consider making a donation to the podcast. Every little bit helps to cover the costs of producing and hosting the show. And ensures that I can continue to bring you the latest insights and opinions on the topic of energy and improving your life.
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So whether you choose to donate, leave a rating and review, or both, know that you’re an integral part of my vision. You are helping everyone who struggles with burnout or high-stress levels to experience how awesome their life can be. So, thank you for your support!
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