E39 Why Vacation is Essential for Your Well-Being: The Benefits of Getting Away

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:

Jen Cudmore (00:00) Do vacations even matter? Is it truly important to take time away from normal routine or daily life? Do we actually need extended breaks? I didn’t used to think so, but now vacations are a huge priority for me and my family. If you’ve ever wondered if taking a vacation is actually beneficial, then you’re in the right place.

Today, I’m sharing the benefits of taking trips and leaving your normal environment. Why vacation matters. So let’s dive in. Welcome to Into the Depths podcast. This is where we go below the surface. We dive into who we are and we break free of who we’ve been. So today I’m discussing a topic that maybe doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of depth to it or it doesn’t seem like it’s something that we would need to dig into and explore. But I have found that the topic of taking trips, of getting away, of ⁓ vacations is a little bit controversial. And so I want to debunk some lies around the concept of getting away and talk about the benefits and why it’s important and why I recommend that you definitely get away multiple times a year. whether it’s short or long or a combination of both.

There are so many health benefits. We’re talking physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. It’s so valuable. So let me explain why. And this is on my mind because every year, ⁓ tradition now, is my husband likes to take me to the beach for my birthday. So the end of October, we typically plan a trip. Lately, we’ve been going to Florida a lot because I love the beach. and that’s just kind of a close option for us.

So when I got back and I was sorting through my vacation. photos and just be just feeling all that gratitude of how refreshed I feel and I had so many great memories. I always do. I mean always come away just so rejuvenated and I was ⁓ remembering a blog post that I had written several years ago when I was still part of Alaska Christian Women’s Ministry. And it was around the idea of why we need to get away, why it’s important to leave your normal daily life in your typical environments and to get out to other places.

And so that’s been on my mind for a couple of days and I thought, well, why don’t I go ahead and I feel like I have a lot to say about this. So I’ll go ahead and do an episode on it. So why do we need to get away?

There’s this quote that I’ve seen a couple of times on a graphic that says something along the lines of build a life that you don’t need a vacation from. And that has always bothered me because while I agree with the premise, you want to intentionally build a life that you love, it also implies that you should never take trips or that it’s not a good idea to take a vacation or even that vacation is bad. And so the phrase always felt a little judgy to me. yes, it’s true.

You do want to intentionally create your home environment, your sphere of influence to be a place where you feel safe, secure, that you love it, your home should be your sanctuary, all those things. But there’s actually a lot of health benefits to getting away and taking breaks. And so that’s what I wanna go into today is to discuss that.

So let’s just dive in. The first one is rest. The point of vacation is to relax. So it’s about leisure. It’s about peace and quiet. It’s about slowing down. It’s about intentionally relaxing, not just physically. It’s not just relaxing your body, but it’s about slowing down and relaxing your mind, your soul and your spirit. So all of those body, mind, soul and spirit, it’s about resting and relaxing your entire being.

And so Physically, you don’t want to do anything that’s super taxing or draining you definitely need to get some sort of some form of exercise So like walking or hiking or even like a little bit of swimming You got to move your body God made our bodies to be moved You can’t just lay on the couch for seven days straight and think you’re gonna feel well That’s just not how it works But you definitely need to find ways to slow down so that you’re not very active and so That can look a lot of different ways

I would also recommend that you get extra sleep where you can because while technically you can’t catch up on sleep, the experts say there’s some sort of science behind that. There’s just something refreshing about being able to linger in bed and stay longer. ⁓ Tim and I like to go to bed early, like at seven or eight, and we’ll just read for like three or four hours before we fall asleep.

So it’s about relaxing and resting, being in a physically restful state for your body, but then on top of that, what are some things that you can do that are restful to your mind, your soul, and your spirit?

So a huge recommendation is going to be getting out into nature in some way. There’s just something about God’s creation that brings peace to our hearts. And so the more often that you’re able to do that, whatever works best for you, I mean, I’ve said a million times, the beach is my happy place. That is always going to be my first choice. I just feel such a connection to the Lord there and just there’s so much so much beauty.

The soothing sound of the ocean. mean, seriously, there’s just nothing more soothing to my heart than that that sound. ⁓ And then there’s just something about having the sand between your toes or feeling the waves come up over your feet. And I know there has something to do with electrical grounding. I don’t know much about that. It’s on my list of things to learn, but it’s really important to get barefoot ⁓ in different environments. So look into that, because I don’t have all the facts around that, but there’s something about that that’s important. ⁓ And then like trees for me, I grew up in the woods. So the smell of pine is like just so soothing. It just feels like home to me. And so I love to get out in a forest and just smell the smell of pine trees.

So figure out what works for you, but definitely you want to get in some sort of environment out in nature. that’s, God made us to enjoy nature.

So the next. benefit of vacation is having fun, doing things that bring you joy, do activities that you love. There’s no rules here. What works for you? Some things that I love to do, you’re not going to love to do. know, my husband and I are very different. Tim loves to go golfing. When we take a vacation, he goes golfing usually two to four times. It depends on how long we’re gone, but that is one of his hobbies. It’s very restful for him. He enjoys it so much. I really don’t care for golf, so I hardly ever go with him. ⁓

My preference is always gonna be to wait in the ocean, sit around reading a novel, things of that nature. I love to take walks too, especially on the beach. it’s important that you’re doing activities that… bring you enjoyment. know, another one could be binge watching your favorite show. And I know that’s something that you can do at home. So my recommendation is going to be do some things that you can’t necessarily do at home. Like you can take walks at home, but can you take walks on the beach, on the sand, right? Splashing your feet in the ocean. So figure out ⁓ in the environment where you choose, what are some things that you can’t normally do?

like hey let’s face it there was one night where we were in Florida and it was raining so we couldn’t go outside and do much so hey we decided to throw on ⁓ a new show that had came out we’re really enjoying House of David I feel like they’ve done a pretty good job of sticking to the biblical narrative and so we threw that on I think we watched three episodes that night so we did I think we did leave the door cracked so we could hear the storm but yeah there’s gonna be times where you might be stuck inside so it’s ⁓

There’s no rules again. Just find what works for you that you find really restful, but do activities that you love. ⁓ for me, I learned, I love really getting out on a boat. I did not know that was important to me. I tend to get motion sick. So I used to like stay far, far away from boats. And I just, the more I had experiences around it, the more I was like, my gosh, I love being out on the water. And so of course now I know the right combination of bonine so that I don’t get sick.

But learn again, learn yourself, figure out what works for you. What brings you joy? What do you love? I mean, the sky’s the limit, honestly. ⁓ And I will throw this out to like there’s science behind the whole concept of smiling and laughing and why it’s extremely beneficial and that people who do that more often tend to live longer. I don’t know all the facts behind that, but I will say this. laughing and smiling is so good for your health, be intentional about doing that on vacation. Get rest and enjoy yourself. Those are so good for your health on many levels.

The next thing I would say that’s a benefit is adventure, opportunity, new experiences, because seeing sites that you’ve never seen before, it so enriches your life. And I was trying to figure out like, how do I explain this in a way that makes sense? I don’t know that I can, I just know that every time I visit a place I’ve never been, every time I see a sight I have never seen or I do an experience that I have never done before, I always come away with so much joy and it feels, it just really enriches my life. And so I there’s value there, I’m just not sure the best way to put it into words,

but like for example, When we were going, because we lived in Alaska so long, the easiest place to go to vacation was down to Hawaii. So we went to Hawaii a lot with the kids. And so I remember, you know, trying things like snorkeling and surfing and things that you would never do in Alaska. well, I guess maybe you could be a little cold. But anyway. It was really fun to try all these things that were not available, that I didn’t have the opportunity to do where I lived. And it was super fun. I mean, I found that I didn’t really enjoy surfing. Who cares? I gave it a try. The kids sure loved it. ⁓ My son really picked it up and really enjoyed it. And for me, was just fun watching him do something that he discovered he really loved. So you just never know. You got to try some new things. You might end up, you know, stumbling on something that’s just so ⁓ such a sweet, wonderful memory.

I remember when we visited some friends in Florida when we first moved to the East Coast and they recommended that we try ⁓ alligator bites, I think is what they were called. And at my first. Response was no way. I’m not gonna. I’m not gonna taste it and I thought why not? Why would I not take a risk like? You know Adventure is part of vacation. It’s part of taking a trip and so to play it small and play it safe It’s just not I have learned it’s just not a great way to live and so I was like I’m Definitely gonna taste it and I was surprised it kind of taste with like chicken and I didn’t mind it So I think I ate a couple pieces of it But and so that makes me laugh because never in a million years what I have thought that I would enjoy eating alligator meat. mean, just saying it out loud, even now, it just sounds awful to me, but I didn’t mind it. So the point is you never know what you might end up enjoying. So when you take trips and try new things, again, it can really enrich your life. ⁓

I’ve talked about Australia a lot. my gosh. There was just so many amazing things about that trip when Tim and I celebrated 20 years of marriage and we went two weeks down to Australia. petting a tiger, petting a cheetah that was purring so much my hand was vibrating. mean, incredible experience that I would have never been able to have in another time. ⁓

You have to be intentional about going and doing some of these things because they’re not gonna be right next to you necessarily in the same town. You will find some things obviously. But like cuddling a koala bear, I mean, that was just so sweet. I really enjoyed that. I couldn’t believe how much he was like. clinging onto me while I held him. I mean, it was just really, really cool feeding a kangaroo, like being able to see a kangaroo like live in front of me was just so much fun.

So I mean, I think it’s the first time that I got to ride the airboat and go into the Everglades. I would have never thought the Everglades were interesting, but man, I found that so fascinating. I mean, the time went so fast. I thought what in the world we’re already done. Like it just, it’s amazing all the different things that God has created for us to enjoy, but we have to go out and do them. We have to go take those trips, go find the things, go do the things. so definitely adventure, opportunity and new experiences, just so important to do those things.

And then another important aspect of taking a trip or getting away is relationships. So I know that getting alone is super beneficial. There’s lots of various ways that that’s good for your health. Definitely you need to do that on a regular basis. ⁓ But when it comes to taking trips, like God made us to be relational beings. We need each other. We need connection. We need to have conversation. We need to hang out with other people. That’s just the way that God set up the world.

And so vacation, or getting away, taking trips, It’s a way that you can connect with others, enjoying their company, speaking life into each other. And now, of course, be careful who you choose because if you go on vacation with a super negative person, you’re not going to find it quite as enjoyable. So obviously there’s wisdom in that.

what Tim and I like to do when we take a trip, we don’t do this every time, but we like to either meet up with somebody or take somebody with us. And for us, it’s always fun to bless them with an experience that they’ve never had before. I remember we got to take some friends to Hawaii one time and it was just so much fun for us to watch them, you know, ooh and ⁓ over everything because they had never been to Hawaii and we had been a few times. And so that can be really fun too, is helping other people have new experiences and watching them, you know, see the joy on their faces and just see the peace and the relaxation as they learn to rest.

We always like to connect with people whether sometimes it’s older people where you glean wisdom from them Sometimes it’s you know younger people or where you get to kind of pour into them There’s so many different scenarios,

but even just like Tim and I being together alone for a week, it’s so good for our marriage just to be devoted and focused only on each other. And I heard a pastor say one time that it’s really important for a marriage for you to devote one night a week. Let’s see if I can remember one night a week, one day a month. And then at least one trip a year where you’re taking a week. just the two of you. And I definitely, after 26 years of marriage, see like how valuable that is that the two of us are able to spend time alone together doing something with just being able to focus on the two of us. So it’s really good for your marriage to take a trip, even if it’s just like an overnighter or something like that.

But there’s just so many sweet memories. A huge thing for us, my kids, because my mother passed away, the year after I was married, she didn’t get to have a relationship with my children, but Tim’s mom ⁓ even though she lived in a different state and we would bring her up ⁓ to visit us, when we took vacations, we would take her with us because we were trying to have opportunities for the kids to build a relationship with their grandmother that they only got to see a couple of times a year. And so just one of the sweetest things for us, and for our children is looking back at all those memories of all the vacations where we got to spend this time with grandma and build sweet memories and you know that bonding and that connection that comes with just hanging out together. And so I mean that is one of the smartest things Tim and I ever did was making sure that we took his mom with us when we took a trip because that was so valuable to our children and to us as well but more for our children. So definitely When you’re taking a trip, consider who you’re going with and how that can enrich your life, their life,

And then part of that being intentionally build happy memories. And I want to point out the fact that vacations are not perfect, that ⁓ negative things are going to happen, problems are going to arise. That’s just normal. But the thing is that you can choose to not let it ruin your trip. You can choose. to not worry, you can choose to let it go. mean, whatever the situation is.

Like one thing that I like to do when something bad happens on vacation, like for example, I remember we were driving somewhere in Hawaii, we got lost. The Google map thing wasn’t working and it kept directing us to the wrong place. We were so frustrated, we were on a time limit. I mean, there was a lot of emotion going on in that car. And so, you know, I can choose to look back on that seven days and focus on that one hour that we were miserable and we were arguing, or I can, you know, let that go, brush that off. Obviously we got where we needed to go. Everything was fine. It was just really stressful for about an hour.

So, I asked the Lord that when bad things happen to me on vacation, ⁓ that he would just help me forget those kinds of things and help me just focus on the good, focus on the happy memories, the positive moments. And that has been very helpful too. I’m deliberately choosing not to, when I think of that vacation, highlight the negative or the bad, but I’m choosing to highlight all the good, all the happy moments, all the sweetness. ⁓ then you’re not carrying that stress you’re not carrying that burden because that will cause you to not be able to relax and not be able to rest and not get the most out of your vacation so if you want the most out of your vacation be careful where you set your expectations it will not be perfect there will be things that go wrong

There will be arguments or getting lost or maybe you lost a bag. I mean, there’s so many different things that can go wrong in a vacation, but we get to choose. Are we going to let that make us miserable or are we gonna make the most of it?

if you don’t come back refreshed, I’m gonna say two things. Number one, it’s because you were too busy. You did too many activities, you did not balance. I remember the first couple times Tim and I took the kids to Hawaii, we were way too busy and we came home super tired. And so that is not what you want. You need to have a really good balance.

What we decided to do is we… when we took family vacations, we set a rule of you will have one day of an activity and one day of rest, and then one day of an activity and then one day of rest where we don’t go anywhere, we don’t do anything. And so that has been a really good balance for us. So be thinking about what would be a really good balance for you. And ⁓ I know that sometimes you’re going with a large group of people and you don’t necessarily have control over the schedule, but just try to find ways where you can have that balance. so that you are getting what you need so that you are able to come back refreshed. So find the balance that works for you.

The other thing is if you’re not coming back refreshed, I would say it’s because you didn’t pull back enough. You continued to work, you continued to focus on ⁓ areas of stress in your life, you never truly turned off. I don’t know if that’s the best way to say it, but you know,

I actually have a vacation mode on my phone because I don’t want to get interrupted when I’m trying to rest and relax. And so I have, what do you call it? I have an app that does a focus to where I can set it up to only allow certain notifications to come through and it blocks everything from my job and it blocks calls from people who are not in my contacts and I can even set it up to only allow certain contacts to come through. And so what I do is I kind of check it in the morning and then in the evening depending on the day and what activities I have going on so that I get to have bliss all day long. I’m not thinking about anything that might cause me stress and that stuff can wait. That’s why you’re on vacation.

There’s nothing so urgent that you have to ⁓ answer it right away. And I would say this, if you’re giving the entire world access to you while you’re on vacation, you’re doing it wrong. I know that’s a really bold statement, but I have learned that you have to unplug if you’re going to get adequate rest, if you’re going to relax, you have to block out a lot of what’s going on in the world.

I mean, I know people who have totally unplugged and don’t even look at their phone for several days and then they miss out on some important world news. Personally, I still… ⁓ Kind of check things in the morning and in in the evening. That’s just what works for me You can figure out what is the best way for you, but you have to learn how

The whole the whole idea of FOMO the fear of missing out is a huge problem and you’re have to figure out how to Handle that so that you can have the peace of mind that you need in order to truly get all the benefits of your vacation so Figure out how to block The things that are not necessary the things that are not urgent and I would say also you need to make sure everybody knows you’re on vacation People typically will not bother you when you are out of town unless you let them you have to set up your boundaries or People are not gonna know

and so I tell people at my job. Hey On this trip, I’m gonna take my work laptop So if you have an issue, let me know and when I get a chance, I will jump on and help you And there’s other times where I’ll be like, nope, I am 10 days at the beach. I will not answer any phone calls. So if you have an emergency, you need to call the other bosses.

So you have to train people. some people may not like it, and it might take you a little while to kind of set up those boundaries so that they work for you and figure it out. But if you are giving people access to you 24 seven, you will not get the rest that you need. So figure out how to set up that boundary.

vacation is priority and it’s extremely beneficial, And so I would throw that out as a challenge to you. Where are you a couple times a year taking s stepping away and making sure that you put boundaries on any kind of work?

know for me, it wasn’t just the work I did for the clinic. ⁓ When I take vacation, I I don’t do anything for the podcast I have learned to be very careful about not checking my personal emails either because I don’t want to be tempted to do something that can wait

So anyhow, I feel like I’ve given you a lot of information and a lot of things to think about. This is just what I’ve learned, why it is so valuable to get away. You’ve got to take some trips. You’ve got to get out of your normal environment and clear your head and just get with the Lord and spend some time with him in a new way, in a new place. You’ll be amazed if this isn’t a regular… part of your life, if this isn’t a priority, I really challenge you to figure out how to do that.

So as you go about this week, explore the depths of this final thought. Where do you need to rearrange your mindset around vacation? Where do you maybe have some lies and limitations when you think of taking a trip and getting away? What do you need to challenge and reframe? so that you can get the health benefits of getting away.

So bless you, friend. Have a great week.