Dearest readers, yes I went to Vegas recently, stayed there for four days. It was (thoroughly) enjoyable- not my first visit, but by far the best one ever. I have to admit that I've been very busy this year, both with work and my own personal development and growth (there's no such thing as status quo for me lol). In fact, I've been so busy that I almost started to think that vacations are unnecessary siestas in the lifelong pursuit if achieving one's goals (yes, I'm a borderline workaholic). However, for all of you who feel the same way as I did just before my trip, I'd like to share some things I relearned about the value of vacations that goes beyond the few obvious things that make them special.
First, I relearned that the good old saying "you need to spend money to make money" fully applies to vacations as well. For all of us who are self-employed, vacations are very expensive; we don't get vacation pay etc. like employees do. If we don't work, we don't get paid so for my vacation I spend my lost earnings plus the cost of vacation plus spending money once I'm there. Sure, a girl can get free drinks and so on on a night out, but hey you still have to get there out of pocket haha. Nevertheless, not being able to work and being forced to have fun, see new things, talk to new people and hear their life perspectives did a lot of good for me. Even though I partied a lot and slept less than usual, once I got back my sleep cycle was fixed once again. Chatting with business people from the States gave me some new ideas and a new, more efficient perspective on business in general- something I find very beneficial. The local boutiques and stores had brands we don't have here in Canada; a lot of them had clothes that look beyond amazing on me ;) Finally, and this is most refreshing of all, I had others to completely take care of me for a change (and US customer service and hospitality are, dollar for dollar, miles ahead of their Canadian counterparts). I pride myself on being fairly self-reliant, but it gets tiresome at some point and it's nice to just outsource everything for a few days.
Another major thing I relearned about vacations is how important it is to prioritize proper vacations in one's annual budget. Yes, I do run a very strict budget (I have a business/accounting background after all). However, looking at my last year's budget vs reality, I realized that 2016 was a year of long weekend and even regular weekend getaways to such an extent that it was ridiculous. To be honest, I could have gone on multiple vacations to far away snapshots of paradise with the resources I put into little trips, parties and so on close by. This year, I did things differently. I made a firm decision that lavish weekend getaways and lavish vacations do not go well together, and believe that I have to choose one or the other if I want to have the resources needed to make something out of myself in the long run. So, I cut back on the little getaways, and suddenly I had enough to truly pamper during my big trip. Nothing I have access to locally should ever take resources away from my vacation experiences ever again! :) Seeing how delaying gratification until my vacation came around has yielded amazing results, I will remain disciplined enough to do it again and again.
Finally, I relearned a really cool thing about vacations that makes me smile even as I'm typing this; when on a vacation, you can be whoever you want to be. If you're a good and convincing story teller, or if you always wanted to try on for size a personality type different from your own, you can totally go for it on a vacation. If you're shy, just get out there and talk to strangers. If you're an extrovert, hang back and listen to what people have to say (you'll learn quite a bit). If you always wanted to own coffee shop and know everything about it (but haven't had a chance to open one yet), just tell people you own and run one. Hmm, or something more glamorous you can fake haha. Even if you're perfectly satisfied with being yourself in a new environment- come on- there must be something you wanted to be or say that you really can't back home. So, go for it :) One good thing about it is that by doing this, you may find someone who connects with you on a level that no one back home can. Back home, you live in your shell, in your routines and chores and tasks and goals, so it's difficult to break out of that. Do yourself a favor and make sure you use your vacation to do just that- you'll thank yourself later.
Phew, hope I didn't make this long-winded and that you've enjoyed reading about my sorta philosophical takeaway from my Vegas vacation. Until next time, take care everyone and plan a vacation if you haven't yet :)
First, I relearned that the good old saying "you need to spend money to make money" fully applies to vacations as well. For all of us who are self-employed, vacations are very expensive; we don't get vacation pay etc. like employees do. If we don't work, we don't get paid so for my vacation I spend my lost earnings plus the cost of vacation plus spending money once I'm there. Sure, a girl can get free drinks and so on on a night out, but hey you still have to get there out of pocket haha. Nevertheless, not being able to work and being forced to have fun, see new things, talk to new people and hear their life perspectives did a lot of good for me. Even though I partied a lot and slept less than usual, once I got back my sleep cycle was fixed once again. Chatting with business people from the States gave me some new ideas and a new, more efficient perspective on business in general- something I find very beneficial. The local boutiques and stores had brands we don't have here in Canada; a lot of them had clothes that look beyond amazing on me ;) Finally, and this is most refreshing of all, I had others to completely take care of me for a change (and US customer service and hospitality are, dollar for dollar, miles ahead of their Canadian counterparts). I pride myself on being fairly self-reliant, but it gets tiresome at some point and it's nice to just outsource everything for a few days.
Another major thing I relearned about vacations is how important it is to prioritize proper vacations in one's annual budget. Yes, I do run a very strict budget (I have a business/accounting background after all). However, looking at my last year's budget vs reality, I realized that 2016 was a year of long weekend and even regular weekend getaways to such an extent that it was ridiculous. To be honest, I could have gone on multiple vacations to far away snapshots of paradise with the resources I put into little trips, parties and so on close by. This year, I did things differently. I made a firm decision that lavish weekend getaways and lavish vacations do not go well together, and believe that I have to choose one or the other if I want to have the resources needed to make something out of myself in the long run. So, I cut back on the little getaways, and suddenly I had enough to truly pamper during my big trip. Nothing I have access to locally should ever take resources away from my vacation experiences ever again! :) Seeing how delaying gratification until my vacation came around has yielded amazing results, I will remain disciplined enough to do it again and again.
Finally, I relearned a really cool thing about vacations that makes me smile even as I'm typing this; when on a vacation, you can be whoever you want to be. If you're a good and convincing story teller, or if you always wanted to try on for size a personality type different from your own, you can totally go for it on a vacation. If you're shy, just get out there and talk to strangers. If you're an extrovert, hang back and listen to what people have to say (you'll learn quite a bit). If you always wanted to own coffee shop and know everything about it (but haven't had a chance to open one yet), just tell people you own and run one. Hmm, or something more glamorous you can fake haha. Even if you're perfectly satisfied with being yourself in a new environment- come on- there must be something you wanted to be or say that you really can't back home. So, go for it :) One good thing about it is that by doing this, you may find someone who connects with you on a level that no one back home can. Back home, you live in your shell, in your routines and chores and tasks and goals, so it's difficult to break out of that. Do yourself a favor and make sure you use your vacation to do just that- you'll thank yourself later.
Phew, hope I didn't make this long-winded and that you've enjoyed reading about my sorta philosophical takeaway from my Vegas vacation. Until next time, take care everyone and plan a vacation if you haven't yet :)