Take the Trip: 9 Underrated Benefits of Getting Away

Far from being frivolous, vacations offer opportunities to refresh, reflect, deepen relationships, and move forward stronger than before.

Stepping outside of daily routines helps families and friends reconnect. G-Stock Studio/Shutterstock

Vacations are often considered luxuries—not necessities—in life. While a vacation may not make it onto the food-shelter-clothing list of human needs, it should not be seen as a totally unnecessary extravagance, either.

There are many benefits to prioritizing regular vacations in life. You may want to rethink where they fall on your list of essentials.

Delightful Anticipation

When there’s a vacation on your calendar, life takes on a little extra sparkle and delight. You can count down the days. You can learn about your destination. You can strategize the best things to do, the best things to eat, and the best things to see on your trip. You can enjoy having this fun, joyful, life-giving project on the horizon.

Valuable Preparation

Preparing for an upcoming vacation can benefit not only your experience but also your life, long after you’ve gone on your trip. It can spark significant motivation, enriching your life in lasting ways. You might update your wardrobe, lock in your fitness habits, make progress on a project you’ve been putting off, step up your game at work, invest in new luggage, improve your financial situation, or increase your knowledge of a certain location or culture.

All of these activities will not only make your vacation a great one, but will enhance your life for the long haul.

Clearing the Decks

The week or two before a vacation, you might find yourself kicking preparation into high gear—making sure all the loose ends are tied and that you’ve set yourself up to enjoy your vacation without worry and to come back to order, not chaos.

Activities during this time might include cleaning and tidying your home, wrapping up work obligations, setting up out-of-office strategies, clearing out perishable items from your kitchen, pre-ordering groceries to be delivered upon your return, automating or outsourcing tasks to be done while you’re away, organizing your finances, and taking extra good care of your health and well-being.

Shared Experiences

Traveling with loved ones fosters profound bonding experiences that are hard to replicate. Few moments in life match the deep connection and focused presence of a shared adventure.

Having thoroughly prepared for your trip, you can forget about the obligations and pressures of day-to-day living and fully immerse yourself in the experiences you’re sharing with the important people in your life. On vacation, it’s much easier to avoid unhealthy distractions and stay fully present, appreciating the people you’re with and the wonder and beauty around you.

Modern life tends to pull people away from one another. Vacations bring them back together. This is an essential part of life for families and a great one to experience with friends as well.

No matter what the experience—whether you followed your careful plans to a T or tossed them aside for something better; whether the food was disappointing or your rental car reservation was lost; whether every moment was better than you had ever imagined it could be or it rained almost every day—it’s all a shared experience that strengthens relationships. You’re all in this together.

Even when things go wrong on vacation, they tend to become entertaining stories rather than terrible tragedies. When you take vacations with the people in your life, you receive the fruit of deepened connection.

Inspiration

When you step out of your comfort zone and head to a new location, beware: Inspiration has a way of sneaking up on you. Whether it’s the setting down of daily responsibilities, the heightened awareness of what you’re seeing and experiencing, the improved state of mind, or simply a different setting and environment, it’s not uncommon to experience a sense of awe, gratitude, and appreciation. You might even be struck by inspiration to do something, create something, or become something new when you’re on vacation. Stay open to the muse as you head out on your next adventure.

Rest and Reset

Depending on the type of vacation you take, hopefully you’ll find at least some time to enjoy rest and relaxation. Even an active and busy vacation can be restful. You might also feel, as your trip winds down, a desire to reset some aspects of your life going forward. Take home with you the inspiration and lessons learned, a renewed perspective, and strengthened connections with your loved ones.

No Place Like Home

When you do return home, though you might be a bit sad that your vacation has ended, you might also notice a renewed appreciation for coming home. Returning refreshed, with new perspectives and to the benefits of the preparations you made before you left, is a wonderful feeling in its own right.

Memories to Cherish

Though you can’t stay on vacation forever, you can forever cherish the memories you’ve made. Display special souvenirs you’ve returned with in your home. Frame the best pictures from your trip. Take a moment while they’re fresh in your mind to jot down the special moments you don’t want to forget in as much detail as you can. Perhaps you might even want to create a scrapbook chronicling the entire adventure.

Until Next Time

One of the best ways to beat the post-vacation blues and keep the momentum alive is to book another adventure. Even if the next one is way out in the future, you can find yourself reaping the benefits of it simply being there.

While food, shelter, and clothing are things you should prioritize in your budget, vacations should not be that much further down the priority list. Their numerous benefits make them a worthwhile investment.