Traveling is fun and fantastic. It lets you steer clear of the endless busyness and the daunting tasks you have daily or regularly because of work, school or home. However, there are also times when traveling becomes a bit stressful for you. Instead of enjoying and focusing on the moment of serenity, your mind is stolen by what you’ve left at home or on your workstation. Such happens because you forget that traveling itself must be a time for real and responsible self-care.
Yes, you must look after yourself as you travel. You should not be traveling only for the sake of saying you are on a vacation or of Instagrammable photos. No! Travel to give yourself some laid-back, healing leisure time.
Check out these 6 ways for you to enjoy and practice self care while traveling! Remember, you will only authentically have a wonderful trip when you actually care for yourself!
1 – Take a break from screens and social media:
The biggest distractions in the middle of a supposedly perfect self care trip are screens and social media. Yup, that’s using gadgets and going online. Why?
When you are at home, at work, at a birthday party, in a friend’s house, your phone is always in your hands, and your hands are always on your phone. No day lasts without you scrolling up and down your social media timelines. It’s part of your daily routine to keep checking and staying there. Sadly, you don’t notice or don’t admit that these gadgets and the social media somehow become a tough fence that limits you from living the real life. Because you don’t, even during your leisure trips, you are occupied with those shackles.
So here’s the tip: Take a break from screens and social media. These trips themselves are done for you to take a short break, so maximize it by not letting the usual daily distractions consume it. While you need these devices for taking photos, paying online, booking accommodation, restaurants and transportation, and probably getting updated with news, you should not use them unnecessarily.
2 – Eat food that makes you happy & healthy:
Food cannot be left out when the topic is traveling. Feeding yourself good food is one of the best ways to care for yourself. But don’t just eat any food but food that makes you happy and healthy, of course!
Try new dishes. Don’t be afraid to introduce new tastes to your taste buds. Get to know local food and special cuisines. Experience food cultures that are totally foreign to you, when you are in a foreign country. Grab your favorite snacks if you can find them there too.
3 – Get enough sleep and rest:
Trips make you feel like you got to spend every moment in the grandest ways, leaving no room for boring things and vacant time. Especially if you have a very limited time for those luxury escapes, you could always be in a hurry, feeling like you have to experience something awesome every minute you have. However, take note that resting is also essential while traveling. Traveling is in itself a form of self-care, and within it, resting is another form.
Get enough sleep and rest whenever you can. In your day trip, when your next itinerary is scheduled a little bit later from the moment, then you can sleep while waiting for the clock to let you know it’s time to go. At night, get a good night sleep that will recharge your body and mind from the trip activities you just experienced and for those you will still experience the next day.
4 – Treat yourself to a luxurious experience:
When you are taking care of your budget or saving for something, you feel like buying a pretty costly item is a sin. But when you are traveling, remember that it’s like a ‘reward yourself’ thing. It’s something you deserve after a long month of finishing that heavy workload or after letting the corporate world enslave you for years. Don’t hesitate to treat yourself to a luxurious experience.
It could literally be an experience of luxury escapes or of anything that is quite costlier than anything else you have tasted before (literally, it could be food or actual experiences). Book a five-star hotel. Go high on natural adventures. Drop by the most sophisticated restaurants in town. It’s a cheat day for your wallet.
5 – Don’t welcome negative and stressful thoughts:
What’s so heartwarming about leisure trips is that it’s like a moment of escape from reality. It’s a time to forget all your worries and focus on all the beauties in front of you to see. No school, No work, No heavy duties that you need to constantly meet. All you have to do is to be delighted, be refreshed and be blissed out.
Don’t welcome negative and stressful thoughts. When they try to disturb your lovely leisure trip, shoo them away! You are on a trip to unwind and make your head and heart light, so you can beat up those negativities even better!
At all costs, protect yourself from negative people, burdensome work reports, worrying news and everything that will cause you strain and tension. Care for yourself. You’re on a trip. Get a grip!
6 – Take photos and videos, but live in the moment:
Documenting the whole trip is a default! You cannot go home without your cool photos and videos that capture the highlights of your travels. As you take a snap of them, wanting to take home frozen versions of these beloved memories, don’t forget to live in the moment. It is another form of self-care as you travel. This is how you will truly and genuinely enjoy and be in love with every trip, and that cannot be explained no matter how beautiful or how blurry photos may be.
Travel For You:
You don’t travel just to get stressed and worn out, do you? Traveling is one of the best ways to show care to yourself, and it’s not supposed to be a time of focusing on negativity and difficulty. It’s a perfect time to put into action the self-care quotes you have been sharing on social media and actually holding onto for so long already. It’s an ideal chance to break away from worries and break into ease.
Post Credit: Nicole Ann Pore, Australia.
Nicole Ann Pore is a writer, an events host and a voice over artist. She is a daytime writer for Kims, a beachside retreat in Australia offering awesome beachside lodges like no other. Nicole graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts.