For those of y’all who know me, I come from a background in international travel.
So when I say that this trip to Mexico was LONG overdue, I’m not joking—it was my first trip leaving the U.S. since 2019! Thanks to COVID and other personal matters that have made it difficult to get away, my passport was collecting mucho dust.
So my partner Chris and I treated ourselves to a tropical resort vacation.
As you can see, it was SPLENDID.
I have two confessions to make though.
I’ve become a lazy AF traveler. The kind of traveler who doesn’t research anything before showing up.
Even though I spent my former career drilling into college students’ heads the notion that you MUST do lots and lots of research before studying abroad… I don’t follow my own advice anymore! Lord knows we don’t need more ignorant Americans fumbling around abroad.
Embarrassing!
But having spent several years living abroad, studying abroad, and advising others on how to do so, I certainly know how to navigate unfamiliar places respectfully, safely, and with relative ease.
Maybe I just trust myself more.
My other confession is that I realized on this trip that I had forgotten about the importance of travel.
Though I don’t really talk about travel here as a Life Coach, I am a firm believer that everyone needs to get out of their house and their default routines regularly, so that they can get lost and uncomfortable in new places that stretch their worldview and their idea of who they are.
We’re creatures of habit with brains that get stuck in ruts.
Expanding your capacity to think differently and meet new challenges is necessary and healthy!
If you’re on the fence about jetting off somewhere, I understand why you might choose to save your money or time instead. But remember that a vacation can bring you other kinds of riches.
Appreciation.
Inspiration.
Creative insights.
Connections.
Skills in navigating unfamiliarity.
AND yes, we all need more self-indulgent vacations from time to time too! Maybe even often.
Bulletproof Self-Love
In other news, my newest article on self-love was just released this week!
It was a total coincidence (naw, it was fate!) that this story come out close to Valentine’s Day. I wrote this piece because I was noticing that there’s lots and lots of advice out there that we need more self-love, but the practical, how-to steps are missing from the conversation.
Self-love is SO MUCH MORE than taking candle-lit baths and getting massages. You can’t escape your inner critic drill sergeant even in the world’s best jacuzzi.
True self-love is a practice that must harness the adaptive power of your nervous system. If your nervous system isn’t shaped for receiving self-love, then just treating yourself to nice things isn’t going to make much of a difference.
There’s a better, smarter way.
Check it out now on Tiny Buddha.
