We get so excited about our vacations because it is a change, it is (Usually) relaxing and it is a break from the monotony of life in general. Why? Well, there are many factors, including the obvious, we are not at work and we are seeing brand new things…relaxing

Well, I want you to think about one thing that goes along with that thought process and that is planning. Yes, planning. We plan our vacations usually down to the minute, or at least many of us do. The last trip we took was for my sons’ wedding last August. We went to Positano, Italy and it was incredible. We had an absolute blast.

In preparation for the trip, we searched out all of the items needed, well in advance. We researched hotels, connecting transportation, places to visit, amenities that we wanted…we looked at schedules, pictures, and even language barriers. We knew that we had some hard deadlines that must be made, so we planned the day before the trip and the day after the trip. We made sure that there were not any items that we had forgotten. We checked the status of all passports, did the money exchange much in advance and asked plenty of questions of people that had traveled there before just to make sure we had every T crossed and I dotted. We looked at all of the venues that we wanted to visit and planned out each meal and where we wanted to eat. Researched restaurants, hotels and travel times. With each item researched our excitement for the upcoming trip grew stronger and stronger.

When travel day came, our anticipation was at a peak level that was totally engaging and even with all of this planning, we still had our small hiccups. Things got behind, the weather changed plans, we didn’t count on the weariness of our bodies.

All of this was done for one week of our lives, one week of travel, vacation, family, and memories. Yes, we created some incredible memories and have the pictures to prove it…one week in a year of 52 and it was awesome!

So tell me, why do we not plan the rest of our lives in the same manner? Our family time? Our work schedule? The calls that we make? The career path that we choose? The workout regimen we all need? Our worship schedule? Our diet each and every day? Time for ourselves? Time for our loved ones? Our education and continuing education? Our daily journey through life?

If a one week trip of memories can be planned so much down to the tiniest details and we still forget things, what is happening in our daily lives? Carers? Families? Health?

I tell you what is happening, we are deteriorating on a daily basis. Let’s look at that for just a short moment.

Health – Do we plan out what we eat? Do we set goals? Do we look at what the process is? Do you know how food is broken down in your system? What certain foods do to your heart, your blood, your mind? Do we understand what happens when we workout, should we eat before? After? Carbs? Sugars? Fruit? We eat cereal, what is the size of a serving? How does what we eat effect this. What foods can be coupled together? How often can we splurge? Maybe you know the answers to these questions and others, maybe you are not interested. What would happen if you approached your health the same way I approached that vacation? What might you find? What changes might you make?

Career – How did you get to where you are in your career? Is this what you set out to do when you first started? Is it the right place for you? Do you have a larger earning potential someplace else? Are you living the life that you could be living? If not, why? If so, why? What can you do to be more effective today? Tomorrow? Next year? Are you making the impact that you want? Why not? What would happen if you approached your career the same way I did that vacation? What would add the excitement that you are seeking? What are the little things that are missing? That you are missing? What changes would you make, not if you could, because you can?

Family – Oh, family! So is your family life as vibrant as you wish it was? If not, why? Are you approaching your family life the way the above vacation was? Are you committed to making your family life, in planning and activities, as you would the planning out and committing to a vacation? The same planning? The same details? Why? Why not? What are you afraid of?

We could go on and on, I believe that you see the direction of this writing. It is true, we tend to plan out a simple (Or complex) vacation with more detail that we plan some of the most important parts of our lives. Why is that? How did we get into these bad habits?

Imagine, since birth, you are bombarded and stimulated with an opinion, advertising, and other people’s insecurities. So much, that over time we begin to believe that that is what, who and why we are like we are. Our looks, our weight, our status in the world all developed from birth by other people. By the time our little minds kick in and start making decisions for ourselves, we have been subjected to some of the most incredible marketing minds on earth…from Hollywood, Wall Street, Teachers, Parents and many others who should or should not be influencing us. We ask in later life why we are so screwed up!

I for one, believe that we can break these habits, we can cast away the stones of trouble in our worlds and make our lives better. It is not easy, there are many steps and the first one is planning. To spend as much time, each day, planning our lives. Searching the world for answers and asking the questions that we need answers to. If we spend the time caring and nurturing the details of our careers, our health, and our family, the same way we plan a vacation…we will eventually be leading the life we could be and not the one we settled for.

There is more to it, yes, and I will share that also in the future…