4 Benefits of Planning Your Next Vacation

Ah, yes! A topic that we all daydream about. Vacation Time. Where will we go next? When will we have the chance to do it?

Shockingly, last year 768 million vacation days went unused! Let's hear that number again... 768 million!!! Say, what?!?! This can't be real? Unfortunately, it is. 236 million days completely forfeited. $65.5 Billion in lost benefits. (Statistics courtesy of www.ustravel.org).

Since it's the beginning of the year, now is a great time to reflect on that and ensure that you'll be using the vacation time that you have so deservedly earned. Need to hear that again?... that you have earned!

When I first read this statistic, I was floored. Like, jaw-dropping, thoughts racing through my mind kind of disbelief! A few minutes later I started to get sad. Sad that so many think they just can't use their vacation days.

Knowing that there are this many Americans who opt to forego vacation time, I just cannot imagine NOT taking time off to decompress, disconnect, reconnect and recharge. It's so crucial to our well-being, our mental health, and our relationships, to allow ourselves this time. I'm going to be repeating myself a lot here. Keywords: crucial, well-being, health, relationships, allow.

After becoming aware of this statistic, I immediately thought, "how can I help change this?" I am surely in the right profession to have an impact and make a difference. To bring about awareness and then change. I need your help to do this, please read on.

Today! Today is the first step, awareness. Here I am sharing a message of how important it is, and how much of an impact taking even one vacation a year can have on your life. Heck, it could actually save your life!

I'm here sharing inspiration and spark a little bit of adventure and wanderlust in you. We all have those traits. For some of us, they are buried a little deeper than others and need more coaxing to be released, and let them take over for us!

Tuesday, January 28th, was National Plan For Vacation Day. What better week to start sharing than right now! Be sure to check on your family and friends who may not have heard of it. Ask them if they have planned the use of their vacation days too.

My simple tip for you? It's very simple. Plan and take a vacation. Every. Single. Year. Leave no days unused. Give yourself that time, that joy, that opportunity to expand more, and I promise you'll be hooked. Go celebrate something! A birthday, anniversary, graduation, promotion, retirement, LIFE! There is always something to celebrate! So what is National Plan For Vacation Day? It's a day celebrated yearly, on the last Tuesday in January, designed to strongly encourage Americans to plan their vacation days for the rest of the year. It's designed to emphasize the importance of planning for a vacation. Use those days you have.

I think we can all relate in that we LOVE the thought of going on vacation. You wouldn't be following me if you didn't, right? The anticipation, the dreaming, looking forward to exploring a new destination, disconnecting from the every day and most importantly making memories with those we love most. Memories to cherish forever!

I may be a bit biased... hear me out. To me, vacation time is not just a privilege, it's a necessity. An essential part of life! This goes beyond what statistics and research tell us. Your gut and heart never steer you wrong. That's why I'm sharing this with you today.

The simple fact that so many Americans are letting unused vacation days slip away. Why? I know the answer is a complex one. Nothing is a one-size-fits-all. I am completely aware that not everyone is equipped to take an elaborate vacation every year, for a variety reasons. And that's OK. There is no written rule that you have to take a major vacation each time. No one said the vacation had to be elaborate or expensive... There are many activities, day trips, staycations that can take place close to home, or at home. The act of simply stepping away from the stresses of work and doing whatever it is that brings you joy!

My primary point for today is to take the time you need! Wherever that may take you. To relax, reset, recharge and reconnect.

Here are the top 4 benefits to know before you start planning your next vacation.

One - Vacation is essential to strengthening your personal relationships, inspiring creative thinking, improving professional performance and promoting better health. Speaking from experience here, I find that some of my most creative thoughts and ideas come when I am traveling. I am excited to head somewhere new, inspired by the beauty of the destination, and the people I am traveling with. I bet you are too.

Two - Taking time off is associated with higher productivity, performance, a more positive attitude toward work, increased happiness, improved mental and physical health, better relationships and social life. We could ALL use a little bit of this. Positive attitude. Increased happiness. Improved health. Better relationships.

Three - Employees who take their vacation time are more likely than forfeiters to have been promoted within the last year and to have received a raise or bonus in the last three years. Great news right?

While the 3 above are proven by research, I have added my own below.

Four - Just as I state on my website. "You can't reschedule the moments that matter. The celebrations that mark the passage of time — our birthdays, our anniversaries, our big wins, our weddings. These are the moments that remind us that there’s so much more to life than our day-to-day to-do lists. Instead, you must make the most of these moments, carving out time from your hectic schedule to hit pause and say, 'wow, life IS really special.'"

Over the last 13+ years, I have worked with many clients that really, desperately, needed that vacation. Beyond the stresses of work.

For example. The couple on the verge of divorce, wanting to save, reconcile and strengthen their marriage. Anything to rebuild what they once had. The person who lost a precious family member and needs time away from all the distractions to mourn and heal. The family who lost a wife and mother to cancer, not wanting to spend a major holiday in their home. I have so many of these stories that have just touched my heart deeply. And these are actual clients I've helped... hoping and praying that the experience I created for them was just what they needed, lifechanging and transformational.

My hope in posting this is that I have reached at least one person and helped you to see how truly, truly important vacations are. That I have inspired you to use the days you have, not let them slip away, never to be seen again. To be an example for your kids demonstrating how important it is to celebrate what we have in life while we have it. And how strengthening personal relationships are a key and vital component to a happy and healthy life.

In celebration of 2020's National Plan a Vacation Day, I invite you to get started with your next vacation, today. If you need help, click here and let's can get started.