“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while … you could miss it!” – Ferris Bueller
So I am 14 days away from bliss. Vacation. Sweet Sweet Freedom.
I’m taking 12 concecutive days off work. Which is 1 weekend and 9 days out of the office.
Almost 2 weeks.
I have the vacation days. It is MY time. I’ve earned it.
So why in the HELL do I feel so guilty about it?
Like I’m doing something “wrong” for using my EARNED vacation time to take an ACTUAL vacation.
Has our work/life balance gotten so jacked up that 9 days out of the office is “too much” to ask?????
American’s work like robots. We’ve become “no vacation nation”.
Blah.
Why is it so frowned upon to take long vacation?
Guys … this is cray-cray!
And we have to stop the madness.
Germany, Finland, Brazil and France are all champs, guaranteeing 6 weeks paid time off!
And it’s about more than taking a day off here, a day off there. Or taking a long weeknd. I’m talking a REAL vacation. REAL time off.
I think taking a full 2 weeks is critical.
I’ve been doing this 3 years now.
And it’s a game changer.
You should do it too!
And guess what, I’m done feeling guilty about it. Right here … right now … on my blog … I’m over it. No more guilt. I’m going to rock this vacation and enjoy every delicious, relaxing and blissful second.
Here’s how you can kick the guilt too:
- It tricks your brain: Just booking a vacation alone can up the endorphines in your body. So book sooner than later because you start reaping those vacation benefits right away! The second I booked my trip to Hawaii in March … I immediately had something to look forward to and had an extra skip in my step just thinking about it.
- Burnout Blows: We’ve all been there. We hit burnout zone. I have just made a visit to burnout zone recently and it wasn’t pretty. We are no good to our companies, our leadership or our organizations when we don’t give a shit b/c we are burnt out. Vacation can be the antidote. If you are in burn out zone, it’s time to book that trip.
- Talk to the hand Grim Reaper: A recent study by a New York University surveyed 12,000 men and women between 35 and 57, finding that those who go on vacation every year reduce thier risk of death by 20%. HOLLA!
- It takes time: Think about it … it takes the first couple of days to adjust from travel / jet lag. So by day 3 your feeling 100% and if you only stayed a week, you’d be leaving in 3 days. No way. That’s just not enough time.
- You work hard for the money: (Que Donna Summers 80’s hit) Everytime I go on vacation it makes me MORE grateful for my job, my career and my life. It reminds me why I work so hard. To be able to travel the world and give myself life experiences. It’s super motivating. I come back ready to get my hustle on!
Do you feel guilty about taking vacation?
Be well. Be Inpsired!
Judi
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