There are plenty of reasons to enjoy vacations.  Sometimes it’s the weather, the surroundings, the desire to try new things (I talk about that here), or the break from our every day routine.  We are often able to be more content on vacation…more happy.  Without the distraction of the day to day emails, busy work, phone calls, texts, etc. we are able to really enjoy the new and different location.

Therein lies a secret to our vacation happiness that we can tap into each day.

When we find ourselves in that new location, we quite naturally want to take it in.  We want to enjoy the sights, the sounds and the smells.  The experience is finite, and we know that…so we want to soak it in.

We are 100% present in the moment.

While the warm sun on our skin is tremendous (for some of us), the ability to unplug and be right where we are is the real gift.  And that is the secret that we can tap into every day.

In the book Solve For Happy, author Mo Gawdat, talks about this.  If we want to look for contentment and joy, we need to live more in the present.  Gawdat asks the reader to write down every negative emotion.  Whether they are anger, worry, fear, or anxiousness (and the list goes on), they have one thing in common.  They are either based in the past for the future.  You are worried about the past or anxious about the future.  Most likely, you are angry about something that happened yesterday or you are fearful of what your boss will say tomorrow.

None of these emotions are rooted in the present.

What Gawdat suggests we do in those moments when we are swept away by negative emotions is to simply close our eyes.  Then slowly open them and describe what is in front of us.  Where are we?  What is on our desk or our room?  At this very moment…what are we doing?  This simple exercise can get us rooted back in the present.

It brings us back to where we are on vacation.  Right here.  Right now.  The experience is finite…so you might want to soak it in.

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Kirby Hasseman is the CEO of Hasseman Marketing, a full service marketing agency located in Ohio.  Learn more about Hasseman Marketing here.  And if you are interested in have him speak at your next event, you can learn more here.