An Important Perspective
YOLO.
FOMO.
Treat Yo Self.
All words and phrases that have never described me... haha.
I have always been more conservative, more focused on school and work and saving my money than relaxing, vacationing, and spending money. My dad has always said it takes a crowbar to get into my wallet when it comes to spending money on wants. Don't get me wrong I love helping people and charities, but it's hard for me to spend money on myself. I've always been a 'saver' so that when rainy days come and I need money, I know I have it. It's an interesting perspective looking back on it--and being married to someone with more life experience and a healthy view that spending money on wants isn't always a bad thing. Yep, I just said healthy; now it's written and must be true.
I enjoy working. I enjoy earning money in return for my hard work. I enjoy putting others and their needs in front of my own.
Here's an important lesson I have learned:
You've got to be stable and grounded in order to help others, and yourself. I used to work through so many lunch breaks, thinking it was admirable and I was doing good work. I went into work early and left late. I did work for my job at home. The honest truth? Even if it helps somebody somewhere temporarily, it's not worth it in the long run. You burn out faster, and you end up not doing your best work in the moment. That type of work and effort given is not sustainable if you don't make time for self care and vacations. Vacations can be little! Sometimes I enjoy a day off to literally be at home and do nothing productive--but if that's rest for you and it helps to refresh you, make sure you take those days sometimes! Take advantage of holidays and PTO offered.
Another thing I have learned recently is the importance of experiencing new things. These experiences can come from travel and vacations if that is something you are able to do. You don't need to travel far to experience something new, and I think that's important to remember. I've never been to Hawaii, or Italy, or Bora Bora, but those aren't the only vacation spots. A little 'staycation' can bring needed renewal. I simply hope to remember that life is not a race, neither is it a competition to see who can visit the most places and experience the most exotic things. No; life is a journey to be enjoyed and there are a vast amount of things to enjoy for each of us.
As I'm trying to break my habit of saving every penny and feeling guilty about any money spent, I want to note you can plan and be smart about things as well. This past weekend Patrick and I did a weekend getaway to Las Vegas. 1) We planned this a couple months in advance, so that way you can save a little money in preparation. 2) The credit card we use gives us points, and we had earned enough for one free hotel night, giving us the opportunity to splurge a little (YOLO 😉) 3) We opened up a new bank account and after depositing a certain amount, were given some bonus money. Spending less money for this vacation helped my stress a little ;) All in all, even if we hadn't had all of the perks we did, for us it was important to get away for a few days. There's a lot going on in life right now, a lot we are stressed about and as we've handled each day as it comes the best we can, we recognized the importance of taking a step back and relaxing to improve our focus.
It's ok to take a break. It's ok to take time for yourself. It's ok to spend some money on your wants. It's important to be smart about how you do so, but it's ok to simply live and enjoy life.
Don't stress so much 😊
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