Lessons Learned From My Vacation

The adventure awaits. Our recent family and friends Disney World vacation was a joyous celebration of family bonding time. A few things learned while I was reflecting on the trip that I would like to share with you. This applies to other aspects of life too.

First, have the end in mind. Why did I book the family trip in the first place? What was I trying to achieve? For me, I wanted a few days away from our routine lives, to create wonderful memories, to cherish the precious moments. I kept that in mind before and during the vacation.

Second, prepare for the vacation. This is a very important step, and it is based on the previous step. I surrounded the planning with purpose, with a goal in mind. Once there is a focus, there is a direction. As it is impossible to do everything – in my case, to visit all the Disney World Parks and fully experience each of them in 3 days, I prioritized the things to do with strategic planning. So I could maximize our experience as a family. Outline each day with an idea of what to do, where to do. Then, plan each day in more details, such as what time to get up, when to eat breakfast, what shuttle bus to take, followed by what attraction point to visit first.

Third, know your tools and use all the tools available to you. Be familiar with your resources. The Disney App on my phone has information on individual parks. It also has shuttle bus hours, wait times for each park attraction, maps, dining options and more other things. Tools are available to help you and to enhance your performance. Take advantage of them. If we can do something with less effort and in a more simple fashion, why not?

Fourth, be present. What is the point of preparing for a trip to spend quality time with the family, only to find that you shifted your attention to answering work calls? I believe we can maximize our adventure or our family vacation by being present. Pause and be in the moment. Pay full attention to our surroundings.

Fifth, be flexible. Expect the unexpected. When I was told that one of the most popular shows in the Animal Kingdom was cancelled that day, my friends and I quickly came up with alternative ideas, other rides and other shows to go to. This is also a good time to reflect and be reminded why we went on vacation in the first place.

Sixth, do not let any obstacles hinder you from achieving your goal (as determined in the first step). The humid weather and temperatures up to 90 F might stop at your path. Realize that they win by blocking you, by discouraging you, by making it painful at times. If you are determined to have a great time, would you let the rain pour down and not doing anything about it? Yes, we cannot change the rain, but you can choose to be grumpy and blame whoever is “responsible” for the rain. Or, you get to decide to be curious. Is there a lesson to be learned from this obstacle or detour?

I do not have to travel to another state or country only to generate despair from having any hindrance to our achievement. Just as no one needs to be disappointed because there are obstacles. This is part of life. There are always surprises, positive or negative ones. Everything is a learning experience. Remind ourselves what the ultimate goal is. Plan with details, using all the tools you learned to be familiar with. Be present, immerse ourselves in the moment to fully experience life. Be flexible, playful, and do not let anything negative take over our sea of thoughts.