Three Reflections I Learned During My Vacation

Ninety percent of the time, I am in the doing mode.  It’s just hard for me to take some time off. I do have Saturdays and Sundays, but weekends are still packed with activities like spiritual practices, volunteer work, coaching, and all the other stuff. And I haven’t really had the time off I needed.

I’m currently traveling for work, and fortunately the weekend came while I’m on ‘workation’. Last night, after a day of exploring, I came into a reflection that is really important in a work-life balance. 

In this episode, As I have taken some time off for myself, I want to share with you the reflections I learned during this short vacation. I realized that no matter how important our goals are, it is also equally important to have time to switch off.

Mission Of HOPE

It has always been my mission to be a changemaker. To make an impact on other people’s lives, and for me I do that through helping other parents, through my mission of HOPE. Hope stands for Help One Parent Everyday. 

I want to help one parent everyday overcome parenting challenges on a daily basis. As parents, we’re living complex lives and careers. And sometimes, we forget how to be role models to our children. But no matter how busy or complex our lives may be, we still need to understand that parenting is all about being present and conscious in modeling to our kids. Everything starts in the home, and we are their first role models and teachers.

My mission is to empower parents to make new choices. Cut the cord of generational traumas and traditional parenting.  Make peace with our past, forgive, acknowledge our own parents’ efforts, and appreciate what they've done with the resources they had, and move on.

Follow A Workday Schedule And Stick To It

Aside from coaching, I also work an 8-5 job as a quality control manager. And the most important of all, I’m a mother too. I have a lot on my plate, and most of the time, my work hours go beyond what’s needed.

My first realization is to set a limit for myself. I want to end my workday at 7 or 8pm, starting at three times a week. This would allow me to have some time for myself after 8pm to be me, to be creative, to do something I love. 

Switching off is such a hard thing for me to do, but it’s also something I have to do. To avoid exhaustion and to be able to appreciate more, I believe what I and other parents need is a time off for ourselves.

Plan Out A Vacation

Being in a different environment refreshes you. I have always been in a familiar place, may it be work or home. And being in those places just lets you do the typical routine. Even when you’re home, it would still mean work sometimes. And so, planning a vacation at least one or three times a year is really important.

When you’re on vacation, you get to leave your worries and responsibilities behind. You get to be you, enjoy, and feel recharged. As a result, you can develop ideas and be creative.

Switching off from your daily activities inspires you, motivates you, and allows you to just be you.

How Can I Empower Myself?

I have noticed that I have been struggling in being consistent on showing up lately. It’s not because I don’t want to show up, but it’s because I have so many commitments that I miss some of them sometimes. 

And being a doer, I know I have to make changes to be able to commit to everything I put my heart into, and that is through asking myself the simple question, How can I empower myself?

This question speaks volumes. Especially for a person like me, who’s always been on the go, wanting to do everything I can. However, being human, we just can’t do everything altogether. Our health is at stake, and when we’re physically spent, it’s just impossible to show up.

Empower Yourself. How? Through taking a break. For me, I’ll be asking myself every night this question, reflect on it, and be empowered in the morning to go about my day and consistently show up. 

Conclusion

We’re living in a fast-paced world. And most of the time, we are dragged into believing we have to do everything we can to reach our destinations. 

What we don’t realize is while treading this kind of life, we lose a part of ourselves. We must remember that we should take it slow sometimes, smell the flowers, and just enjoy the view.

Life is not a race. And what this vacation has taught me is really valuable, that is to take some time for ourselves.