It’s morning in Cabo. Not early morning, but morning enough. Day three of vacation. It hasn’t gone perfectly. We’re changing rooms later today. But so far so good. Everyone is getting along, and a tan has begun.
So why am I blogging? Why am I not down at the spa, or packing a bag for the beach? Or getting ready to swap out our room for a better one?
Because I had the worst dream last night. It was vivid, and probably filled with every dread I have been holding onto since my last vacation.
Back home it feels as if I spend every waking moment wondering about the next moment. On vacation, I am present in this one.
Yesterday felt like a detox. I had the worst headache I’ve ever had, leading to what the Sports Dude told me was about a 4-hour nap, and then another eight hours or so of sleep, with that lovely dream, and then lots of thoughts upon awakening.
Slowing Down
I like at least one beach vacation each summer. The heat and the humidity slow me down and give me time to catch my breath. It’s like meditating without meditating.
So with that vivid dream and the dread comes opportunity. I am reminded of my passions. I am reminded of my dreams and aspirations. I am reminded of where I see myself. I am reminded that today is just today, and tomorrow can wait.
Leaders need time to reflect and recharge
As a leader, and we are all leaders, we need to take the time for reflection, self-reflection, rejuvenation, and recharging. We need to self-care, meditate, get to the gym, make that spa appointment, take that class, eat healthy, and rest.
I know I can feel it to my core when I am in desperate need of self-care.
It doesn’t have to be huge: picking an apple v. a bag of chips at 3:00 p.m.
It can be huge: packing up the family and heading off to vacation.
Or the hardest of all: staying home and turning off all the in-bound messaging, or taking a technology Sabbath.
Here’s the irony in it all: I appear to rediscover this discovery every year, and seem to write about it frequently, as if it were something new:
Intuitive v. Intentional
One of my “truths” is to turn my actions from intuitive into intentions. I “discovered” this during my leadership training.
For the next six days, while we’re in Mexico, my intention is to turn towards my truth. I know what it is, but I have fears surrounding it.
So what’s keeping me from my truth? What is causing my fear? What can I do to find my courage to walk through that fear to my truth?
As a leader, how can I do better? How can I bring this intention home with me, and not forget about it for the next 364 days?
It’s a paradox, really. I am exactly where I need to be, in this heat and humidity, in the sleepy part of Cabo. I know that by stepping away from my questions, I will find my answers.
Take your break
Have a great week. If you are grappling with your own questions or your own nightmares, take a break, whatever that break means to you. A daily meditation. A lunch outside the office alone. A weekend get-away. A vacation. A technology sabbath?
In the meantime, I just heard our new room is ready … ocean view, here we come.
* Cover photo from 2017 vacation.