Five Reasons You Need A Vacation
The temperature is rising, the kids are out of school and you are contemplating pulling out the calendar and blocking off some days for vacation. (Unless you live here in Chandler, AZ where school starts on Monday!! I swear, it's true.)
I encourage you to pull out those calendars and help bring up the national average of only 34% of workaholic Americans taking a break from the office. Besides filling Facebook with smiling photos of yourself standing in front of the Smithsonian or in a long line for the Pirate ride at Disneyland or eating the biggest hot dog in the state of Illinois, taking a vacation is essential for your physical, emotional and spiritual wellness.
Five Reasons You Need a Vacation:
5. You will live longer.
A survey conducted by New York State University at Oswego found that people who regularly took vacations reduced their overall risk of death by 20%.
Disclaimer: being the slowest person during the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain disqualifies you for the survey. Or renting a budget parachute while sky jumping.Second
Disclaimer: If you have cancer, like I have had and many of my readers, you are not allowed to use this statistic to add to your guilt quotient. Or "if only I had done this, I wouldn't have cancer" bag that we all carry. Don't do that to yourself! Skip down to number 4.
4. You will raise your happiness quotient.
Just thinking about going on vacation will increase your positive feelings for at least eight weeks before you get on the airplane. In fact, this study found that anticipating vacation was more pronounced than continual happiness after returning home from vacation. Because of this, the researchers concluded that people benefited more from several smaller vacations throughout the year, rather than one long trip.
3. You get closer to those who join you on vacation.
In a Disney Time Survey put on by Kelton, quality time for families on vacation was listed as 82%. Parents surveyed also felt that their family was 75% more relaxed while on vacation. According to researchers at the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin, women who take vacations are happier with their marriages and less likely to suffer from depression.
2. You let others know your time is valuable.
A survey by Right Management found that 70% of employees did not use all their paid vacation time. The main reason was not that employees couldn't afford to take the time off, but because they were afraid to appear less dedicated to their jobs. "However important devotion to the job may be," says Monika Morrow, Senior vice President Career Management at Right Management, "there has to be some balance and vacation is so important to one's health and happiness."
This may seem obvious, but if you decide NOT to take paid vacation time, you are essentially working for free, sending the message that people can abuse your personal need for relaxation and time off. I have a friend that carefully keeps track of her husband's vacation time. She feels the time belongs to the family and if he doesn't use it, they are the ones who pay the price.
and the Number One Reason:
1. Only when you focus on what is NOT there, do you realize what IS.
Just like artists value white space and musicians value silence, it is in getting away from the normal routine that we can focus with clarity on what our routine involves.
Walking along the beach in California or fishing in the Boundary Water of Minnesota can rejuvenate your creativity and open your eyes to new possibilities. Taking a break from day-to-day stress can allow you to be able to formulate new goals and new priorities for when you return.
Psalm 90:12, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."Today on your journey of faith I pray you can find time for a stay-cation or a day-cation or a long vacation and there, when you focus on what is not, your eyes will be opened to what is, and you will have courage to move forward.
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