Four Things I Learned on Our Babymoon
I have a confession.
I have a love/hate relationship with travel. On one hand, I love to see new places, get away with my husband, and take time away from routine. But, on the other hand, I don’t like to change up my routine, I don’t like flying, and it’s hard for me to take time off.
Do you see how confusing I am? I even confuse myself. My poor, sweet husband.
At the end of April, we went on our Babymoon and traveled to Kauai. Before the trip, I was equally excited, but also nervous about stepping out of the office for a week. Before I worked for myself, I actually loved days off. I loved not having to work. But now, taking time off is way harder than it used to be. I feel guilty and it stresses me out. So, instead of working through the stress, I would rather just not take time off so I can avoid the real issue. Probably not the wisest decision, but it’s where I’m at and I’m all about keeping it real.
But, like anything in life, there is always a lesson to be learned. And our vacation taught me a lot about myself, my work, and what really matters.
The truth is: at the end of my life, it won’t matter how many people were on my email list or what my engagement percentage was on Instagram. It won’t matter what blogs I get featured on or what industry leaders know my name.
(All those things definitely help the success of my business and I will continue to focus on them, but I don’t want them to be the reasons I lay awake at night or the determinants of my identity and worth.)
As I sit on the (six hour delayed) plane ride home with screaming kids surrounding me (seriously in every direction), I want to take a minute to think about what I learned from this trip. Because, I honestly feel like a different person coming home. And, I can see that there are four obvious lessons I learned on this trip.
You don’t have to talk about business to be a good entrepreneur: my husband and I barely spent any time talking about my business on this trip. In fact, the few times we talked about it, it caused me to stress out a bit and I shut the conversation down. The truth is, I don’t have a plan in place for when the little baby comes. And I don’t like making those types of plans, so I would rather avoid it. But, since I told someone I would write a blog post about my plan, I promise that I am going to make a plan and I will also be writing about it. You can keep me accountable, mmkay? The fact that we spent most of our time talking about things besides business does not mean I am not committed to my work.
It’s okay to not want to work: when I actually disconnect from the office and from technology, I notice that I don’t always want to work. I would rather dive into a book or go on a hike or sit at the beach. I love what I do, but not 100% of the time. And I am starting to be okay with that fact. I am not a workaholic. However, I have felt that if that is not one of my "weaknesses" then I am not a true entrepreneur. Hashtag lies. It's okay to like to play too!
Life is about experiences and loved ones: I know for a fact that we will tell our son about the first time we took him to Kauai. We will tell him about the three hikes we went on and the incredible views we saw. We will tell him about all the different beaches we went to and that we made it a goal to swim in the ocean multiple times each day. We will tell him how he definitely grew bigger while we were away and his movement grew stronger and more playful as we laid on the beach together. We will look back on the trip and think about how we can’t even remember what life was like without him. I will tell him that Kauai was the place I learned to accept and love my growing belly bump and because of that, this trip will always remind me of self-love and kindness. (And now I am crying on the plane next to strangers). You see, this is what life is about. It’s about the connections we make, the growth we experience, and the love we give.
I am stronger than I think I am: as mentioned above, we went on three hikes. And if you've ever been to Kauai, you know that it's humid. We were hiking in 80 degree weather with 90% humidity. And these hikes aren't flat trails. They involve climbing and maneuvering through mud and slippery slopes. And I was able to complete all three hikes at 7+ months pregnant. It wasn't always easy, but it reminded me that we are always capable of more than we think. When we look up and see the mountain, we immediately believe we aren't strong enough. But, if you just start on the trail and approach the climb one step at a time, before you know it you're halfway there. Life is a lot like climbing hills or mountains. You have to start and take risks in order to fully see your strength.