ONE YEAR AGO

Think about where we were two years ago today. COVID-19 forced the world into major lockdowns. Cruise Lines were forced to shut down cruises. Hotels, resorts, and flights saw unprecedented reductions in vacationers during the pandemic. In 2020, the travel industry saw a 42 percent decline in revenue from the previous year. Some estimates show that losses totaled more than a trillion dollars. What’s been more catastrophic is the loss of jobs. Some calculations have revealed that over 100 million jobs were shuttered because of coronavirus. 

Well, TRAVEL IS BACK, so NOW is the time to put a trip on your calendar. Science tells us that Vitamin C is linked to mood, but perhaps adding some Vitamin Sea to that Vitamin C can improve your outlook on life even more. Taking a vacation, whether it is a day trip a couple of hours away or an out-of-town trip can be just the ticket to help improve your overall mental health. Research has shown that travel provides a number of benefits to our mental health, but we will focus on these three.

1. The anticipation of a trip is almost as fun as going on the trip.

Having a trip on the calendar can do as much to improve your mood as the trip itself.  The act of planning a trip is fun, and having a vacation to look forward to can help improve your mood even if the departure date is still a good bit in the future. Everyone needs something to look forward to and putting regular vacations on your calendar might be just what the doctor ordered.

2. Travel provides an escape.

Traveling allows us to escape the rigors of daily life and renew our minds. The drudgery of the day-to-day can and does impact our mood. If all we see in front of us is a year full of 8-hour workdays, it’s understandable how people can become mired down by the monotony of daily life. That’s why breaking up the routine is important.

3. Travel allows us time to renew ourselves and invest in others.

In many ways, social media has made us less social. In today’s hurried, hyper-connected culture, people are losing their grasp on how to cultivate high-quality relationships. When people travel together, it forces them to step away from the day-to-day and focus for even just a few days on the people around them. Now, the catch is that you have to give yourself permission to disconnect. If you allow your device to become a leash, then everything you tried to escape from could become excess baggage on your vacation.

So, feel free to click on that airplane mode and enjoy the time with your friends and family because it’s those peak-life experiences that will allow you to collect moments and memories, and believe me, there will come a day when you will either be glad you have those memories or regret that you didn’t make them. Below is a picture of my mother and father on the Christmas cruise we took back in 2009. Both of my parents have gone home to be with the Lord, and I am grateful for the memories that we were able to create together when they were alive. In life, we spend most of our days investing in three banks: the money bank, the time bank, and the experience bank.  Never discount the value of investing in peak-life experiences with family and friends. What you will get back in terms of relationships is PRICELESS. Don’t you agree? 

Live Well, Leave a Legacy

Bill Garner

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