3 Lessons From a Work/Vacation Clarity Break #42
Though I will likely write more about Pearl Harbor and the Memorials, I thought it would be too heavy and for those uninterested, would alienate you entirely. As I like to say, when you create the space, you have the space to create.
Lesson #1 – When you are ready to be more productive, take time off.
You can’t keep working and be at your peak performance. Athletes don’t do it, musicians don’t do it, artists don’t do it, NO one who is masterful at anything works non-stop at it. There is cross training and time away or you won’t be intentionally great.
Lesson #2 – When you want to enjoy yourself, let go of your expectations.
The more expectations you have, the less present you are. Expectations live in the future and there’s only two things that typically happen with them. You don’t reach them and have some level of anger and disappointment or you exceed them and you’re happy. Rarely do any of us predict exactly what’s going to happen. This is where we lose flexibility and spontaneity – by getting too rigid about the plan. You’ll do better when you focus on the “what” instead of the “how” every time.
Lesson #3 – Be where you are.
Duh. And, at one point or another during the second of two work days (which were sandwiched in the middle of the fun on either side of our time away), I completely lost sight of the fun and started working into the future of all I had to do when I returned. I hijacked myself into the following weeks so badly I lost about 3 hours of precious time with family in Hawaii. It was a hard return for me. Mentally I had to work myself over as I was thinking of taking my laptop and working on the beach in order to get “back on track” – what?! I was living in the future and feeling behind; and that wasn’t the first time. Thankfully, a ride in a helicopter with no doors brought me back to the fun. I almost left Hawaii two days early while I was still there.