Recharge Your Life by Taking Breaks and Enjoying Vacations
"They say money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy you a trip to Disneyland, and it’s pretty much the same thing." -Unknown
We all love recreation. There is something very special in traveling and experiencing things around the world with friends and family. Making these moments special is critical. Time is our most precious possession, once it is gone, it’s gone forever; we can never get time back. This is why it is so important to make every moment count. When you are going to spend time doing fun things, do it with your whole heart. Some of my best memories growing up are those spent on experiences with family and friends.
Focus on the Moment
When you go on a vacation this is your time to rest. It is your time to recoup from the energy you expended in your labor. You should always be able to separate work from rest time. When you are with your family or relaxing, put the office or your work in back of your mind. When you are in the office or working, put your recreation in back of your mind. Focus on the moment because all we have is right now and the most successful and fulfilled people are those that can make every moment count. It is important to make time to rest. You have to recharge your batteries every so often. Even God himself rested on the 7th day after creating the universe.
The people that have stamina to go much further in their lives and in their careers are those that know how to take breaks. They take breaks when necessary and work when necessary. Stephen Covey described the importance of taking breaks and taking time to "Sharpen the Saw" in his best-selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Click here to purchase a copy of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People on Amazon (Affiliate Link). You will find that when you take sufficient amounts of rest during your days, weeks, months, and years you will come back refreshed and energetic. You will be able to perform even better than ever before. Something magical happens when you hit the reset button. It allows everything you are involved in to soak in a little deeper and your understanding grows.
I know many pastors that take a month to even three months completely off. They spend that time with their wives and kids. They do recreational things. I even know one pastor who reads and relaxes during his extended breaks. He has been known to read a hundred books during a three month break. When he comes back to the Church he is filled with tons of new knowledge and new ways to teach scripture and spread the gospel. This pastor has definitely had stamina in his field and has been able to endure his lifestyle to an incredible degree.
Schedule Your Time Off
Your time off should be scheduled. There is a rule called the 10/90 rule which describes that every minute spent in planning will save you close to nine minutes of execution. Therefore, ten minutes of planning enables you to save about 90 minutes during the execution of your vacation. Having a plan for everything, even for your down time, will allow you to do more of the stuff that you want to do with the time that you have available. If you go into a rest cycle with no real direction, you will get no real results. The saying goes, “if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit exactly that.” Take a little time to plan your time off and you will be rewarded. Mark your calendar so nothing else will fill that time and then come up with a plan for each day of your vacation. Consult with friends and family and come to an agreement about what everyone wants to do and when and where you are going to spend your time.
Get Your Priorities Straight
The years go by very fast. Life on this earth is like a blink of an eye compared to eternity. Billy Graham said that the biggest surprise in all of his years was the brevity of life. It happens so fast so it is very important for you to spend your life doing what truly matters to you. Many people spend years at work and everything else passes them by. They never took time to stop and appreciate the small little moments that mean more than career advancement. I know men who have put work in front of their children’s birth. I also know colleagues that chose to spend time with friends and go out and party instead of comforting their loved ones when a family member had passed away.
Many people have their priorities mixed up. Once you have made a certain decision that you regret, there is no going back, you can’t change the past. Only your future is what you can get control over, and sometimes not even that. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so live every moment as if it’s your last. Take each day and make the most out of it. When you start living like that, the brevity of life will still be surprising, but you can look back and say you did it right with no regrets.
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