May 22, 2023 • 20 mins
I just got back from my unforgettable SURPRISE birthday/anniversary getaway!! (It was so crazy not knowing where we were going)
We swam with pigs and were blown away by the breathtaking beauty of the islands. This adventure not only allowed me to create cherished memories but also helped me gain valuable insights into how to move forward (plus what I want to keep front of mind) in the coming year.
Join me in this episode as I take you through my amazing experiences and the lessons learned, which I hope will remind and inspire you to embrace the joy you have already created in your own life.
I love talking to you all about my concept of 'vacation brain' - a mindset where you're fully present and excited about each new experience. While seeing these untouched islands, the beautiful animals, and the wonderfully happy locals, I was reminded of the significance of applying this mindset to our daily EVERY DAY in some way, shape, or form.
By learning how to tap into 'vacation brain,' we can reframe challenging situations and bring more joy and inspiration into our lives.
Plus, I'm sharing an interaction I heard that really... I am very grateful I overheard.
It was a great reminder about the importance of finding happiness in the present moment, no matter the circumstances; that worrying about things beyond our control is pointless, and it's our choice to make each moment good.
We're talking all about intentionally training our brains today, in the most fun, enjoyable way I know how!
---
Click here for quick links!
Website for coaching info: www.PurposefulLifestyleDevelopment.com
Reach me: info@purposefullifestyledevelopment.com
Free Coaching in our Tiktok Community: https://www.tiktok.com/@coachtessa
Live: http://www.wellnesscoach.live/coaches/tessa-spisak
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CoachtessaPLD
Up to $40 off your 1st Daily Harvest Purchase here! Use "CoachTessa" at Checkout
Shop DYI Clothing here! 20% Off Every Order With "CoachTessa" at Checkout
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're always predicting the future.
In some sense, it's just howyour brain works, but how do you
direct it?
Do you direct it to worry Or doyou direct it to excitement?
Do you direct it to pain or topleasure?
The thing that truly lets us behappy and fulfilled and whole
is how we perceive.
(00:23):
Hello, my loves, and welcome tothe Purposeful Lifestyle
Development Podcast, where wediscuss all things thought, work
and manifestation but we useneuroscience and the study of
the brain to do so.
I'm your host, tessa Spiesak.
I'm a board certifiedpractitioner, master life and
health coach and seasonedexecutive speaker.
If you're ready to create yourhighest value lifestyle and turn
(00:44):
your dream life into a reality,you're in the right place.
Let's get right into today'sepisode.
Hello, hello my loves, welcomeback to the Purposeful Lifestyle
Development Podcast.
I hope, however, and whereveryou are listening in from, you
are feeling amazing today, anddon't forget to hit subscribe if
you have not.
(01:05):
I personally am feeling sorelaxed and so refreshed right
now.
If you tuned in last week, youknow that I spent my last week
somewhere, but up until thepoint that we got to our
connecting flight, i had no ideawhere we were going.
My husband just told me thatwe'll be on a beach to celebrate
(01:27):
my birthday, our anniversary ofour engagement, and it was
really wild.
Our flight was incredibly earlyin the morning so it was a
little groggy and it was in thisreally strange part of the
airport where we took ourconnecting flight.
It was in the Miami airport wayat the end and all I see on the
(01:47):
screen is it says Georgetown,but in my sleepy state I could
only think of two Georgetown's,and the first was South Africa,
which, i don't know, maybe isknown for its beaches, but not
something we'd ever discussed,so probably not South Africa.
The other one I could think ofwas Georgetown, texas, but
(02:10):
that's like 30 minutes from ourhouse, and after giggling at me
for a minute, he finally told mewe were going swimming with the
pigs in Ixuma.
It was the Georgetown inBahamas.
I had mentioned to my husband afew times, literally just in
passing, like when beachy thingscame up in conversation, and
(02:34):
that's our favorite way tovacation is to go to beaches, do
a little island exploration.
So it's come up more than once,but he knew that it was on my
bucket list to swim with thepigs and I don't know.
I have never put in any work tothis decision.
It's something I've alwaysreally wanted to do, but he did
(02:54):
it.
That's exactly what we did.
It was so, so amazing.
So I'm going to tell you alittle bit about it, just
because it was so cool.
But then I'm going to go intosome of the things that I guess
I learned on this trip, or maybejust was reminded of, and the
things that I'm taking away, i'mgoing to focus on in this new
year of life.
(03:15):
So, okay, let me tell you whatwe did on the first day.
We got in pretty early.
Like I said, we had a superearly flight and we had a lovely
lunch right there on the beach.
We explored around our resort,we played in the water, which
was unlike anything I've everseen literally the color of
Windex.
You could still count your toes, even if you were standing in
(03:39):
water that was up to your hips.
It was insane.
But the second day, that wasthe day of our excursion and it
was a whole day of fare.
I absolutely loved it.
So, to get started, we got onthe boat and the very first
thing we did was go to PigIsland, and it is an island
solely inhabited by pigs andchickens and a few lizards.
(04:03):
Right, it was so cute.
These guys were well trained,they knew what was up.
They're like big dogs.
They all just swam up to theboat because they know where.
They're.
Feeding them carrots some ofthe older ones, i'm telling you.
They're even trained to sit.
I got to snuggle up with somebrand new babies.
(04:24):
they love to be held.
This one I was carrying aroundjust fell asleep in my arms.
It was amazing.
If I told you that I wasn'ttearing up, i would be lying.
I mean, i was actually soexcited I forgot to take my
shirt off.
We were going in our bathingsuits and I totally soaked it
before I even realized.
But, oh my gosh, it was sogreat.
(04:46):
And then, after visiting withthe pigs and feeding them some
carrots, we went back on theboat and went out to this
beautiful blue hole.
We went snorkeling and I'vebeen a scuba diver for like 20
years now, so I love this kindof thing And we got to see some
really, really incredible fishand coral.
There was this really deep dropoff in the ocean floor, so it
(05:11):
was really creating this awesomehabitat for a lot of different
types of fish, some really bigand bright colored fish and
coral, super, super beautiful.
And there's something aboutbeing out in the water like that
, just in that entirelydifferent reality that always
(05:31):
puts things into perspective forme in a new way that I can't
exactly explain.
But I'm just reminded of howbeautiful and curious an amazing
life on this planet is.
And after we finished up divingit was kind of starting to rain
.
That was a bummer, but we had asurprise that just blew my mind
(05:52):
and I thought it was thecoolest thing ever.
So we ended up going to anotherisland.
This is kind of a tour ofislands here And I think there's
something I heard.
There was like 365 islands injust Exuma, you can remember,
kind of like one for every dayof the year, but around 700
(06:13):
islands in the Bahamas.
So lots.
But we went to one calledAllens Kay and it was solely
inhabited by iguanas.
They were like literaldinosaurs.
No one ever put them there,they've just always lived there.
Some were huge I'm talkinglonger than I am tall.
I think there were some thatwere there while we were there
(06:36):
that were over 80 years old.
We fed them all grapes and someof these they even like to be
pet.
It was really mind blowing,even as we left they kind of
like watched the boat leave asif they were really curious or
something, or maybe they evenlike when people come They're
kind of trained.
(06:56):
They know that we bring giftsof grapes and entertainment.
But that was really really cool.
And next on our little excursion, they took us around to see
these two islands that thisbillionaire Swiss woman bought.
That was very, very cool, veryinspiring.
(07:16):
I think she's going to buildout some kind of resort or
something like that, but it wasreally wild to hear about what
this woman was doing And I knowfor me it definitely had me
questioning some limitingbeliefs that I have, that's for
sure.
But next on our excursion wewent to this completely empty
(07:37):
island.
It had nothing but littlecritters and birds and crabs and
things like this And I got tosay, all of it kind of broke my
brain a bit.
I guess I'm so used to seeingsome form of human presence.
But in all of these islandsthat we visited there wasn't
(07:57):
even a sign stuck in the groundor a single human sign of
intervention.
It really kind of surprised methat I was surprised about this,
if that makes sense.
But it was just purely 100%nature, nature as it is And it
(08:18):
was really really beautiful.
And at the last little island wewere able to take some shells
and coral that had washed up onthe beach.
And I decided to take thislittle white piece of coral to
remind myself of this placeBecause for me, i really wanted
to keep memory of that feeling.
I just feel like anytimesomething quote of this world,
(08:41):
so to speak would start tobother me or worry me or make me
anxious, i think I just want toremember this place.
It really reminded me how bigthe world is and how, from our
own perspective, we can reallyget stuck on things or be
bothered by things that in thegrand scheme of it all it really
doesn't matter.
(09:02):
And I was trying to come upwith a really poetic way to say
this, but basically, while I wasthere, i just kept thinking
like man, how am I ever going toget upset about something like
a difficult email or being stuckin traffic or something that's
kind of trivial like that, when,in the grand scheme of things,
(09:24):
knowing about this place andreally seeing it with my own
eyes, knowing that this is ourworld too, i just I don't know.
It really helped almost calm mynervous system, in a way like a
reminder of what is reallyimportant or what I allow to be
big enough for me that I allowit to shake me or bring me down
(09:47):
energetically, and I want you tohold on to that thought and
maybe pair it with somethingelse that you might have heard
me talk about a little, which Ilike to call vacation brain.
It's a concept that I came upwith that I like to explore with
people, especially when we'redoing some coaching or something
and life is getting a littleheavy, for lack of better words,
(10:11):
and I want to talk about thatconcept.
For me, when I think of vacationbrain and what vacation brain
is to me, it's when you arecompletely present in what
you're doing in that moment.
It's when you're searching forlittle things to see and to be
excited about and what you canexplore.
(10:31):
It's when you want to wake upearly to take on the day.
You want to fit it all in.
You definitely aren't lookingto be distracted.
You're not trying to be doomscrolling on your phone or
you're not being worried aboutthe things we see happening on
the news.
Instead, you're activelyavoiding anything that can bring
(10:52):
you down Or, if something isgoing on, you're really trying
to reframe it in a positive way.
When you have vacation brain,you aren't just going through
the motions, but instead you'reactively searching for all the
beauty and the new and thespecial that you can see.
You're trying to take it all in, and I know that this isn't
(11:14):
something that you can replicateall the time.
It's not something that we'redoing 24 seven because, let's be
real, that's not rational.
But I think it is somethingthat I believe we should know
how to turn on.
It's something that should beon at least to some degree for
us, at least most of the time,or even a tool that you know how
(11:38):
to tap into when you're feelingdown or stuck or uninspired or
bored with the mundane.
It's figuring out how toromanticize what you're doing,
romanticize your day and lookfor all the ways that you can
enjoy it more, to find theinspiration from it, to get the
most of it and out of it.
(11:58):
And it made me giggle, becausethis is something that I coach
on.
I think it's really a pillar ofhow I help is extracting
something similar to that, but Ioverheard a piece of a
conversation that was pretty inline with this while we were out
exploring that week.
So there was this older womanand she was very clearly well
(12:21):
off.
You could tell by her outfit,by her bag, her jewelry.
She had her whole beautifulfamily with her.
They were all equally just wellto do.
And she was talking to a localguy who was working with some of
the boat tours And she wasreally adamantly asking him
something like you know.
But seriously, i don'tunderstand Is everyone out here
(12:42):
really this happy?
This seems like no one seems tobe bothered by anything that
goes wrong, or there's neverreally a problem.
And I was kind of gathering fromthis conversation that there
was some issues docking And thisguy was like, okay, well, we're
fixing it, we'll fix it then.
(13:02):
And he wasn't really botheredby it, which made this lady
totally flabbergasted.
She couldn't grasp why aproblem, or what she perceived
as a problem, wasn't upsettinghim.
And he was basically tellingher you know, if there's nothing
I can do about it in this veryinstant, why worry about it?
The fix is coming, it's on itsway.
(13:23):
Why be upset about it?
Right, and she was veryconfused and she couldn't
imagine.
You know she's asking all thesequestions how are they going to
make up for timing?
Is she going to get her money'sworth, you know what if she's
late for something else, allthese things.
And he just calmly listened and, you know, smiled to himself a
little bit and told her not toworry, trying to explain island
(13:44):
time to her a little bit, andthat's about all I heard.
But I definitely thought aboutthat interaction further because
he has a really good point.
I mean, look at where we were.
We were all standing in a beachthat is considered one of the
most beautiful, if not the mostbeautiful beaches in the whole
world, and she was about to goon a boat for the sake of
(14:07):
nothing but play and pleasurewith her family.
Why ruin it by choosing that?
this is something that's goingto upset you.
Why not just let it get fixed?
We can't undo a problem justbecause we didn't want it to
happen, but why suffer about it?
This is an opportunity to lookat the beach with your honey, to
(14:31):
be present in that moment,rather than worrying and
fretting about being maybe alittle bit postponed or losing a
few minutes when the problemhasn't even been brought up yet.
Right, choose how you want toperceive that moment, just like
any other moment.
And I'm saying choose onpurpose and not be an ugly here,
but if we really think about it, the lady had a choice in that
(14:55):
moment.
Is she going to let this littledelay cause a lot of worry and
decide to go through all thewhat-ifs, what's going to happen
, all these things When it couldhave been as simple as okay?
we'll wait to resolve thisproblem and I'll walk with my
honey and my family on thebeautiful sand until it does,
seeing this little delay as evenan opportunity to do something
(15:18):
nice.
Or it can give you theopportunity to stress and worry.
And what if?
that's a choice you have tomake, and there's a quote I've
heard before that says worrymakes you suffer twice, and it's
really something I try to liveby.
Choose to make the moment goodwhenever you can.
(15:38):
One more quote, sorry, but thisis one I keep on my desk.
It's from St Augustine.
It says if we live good lives,the times are good As we are,
such are the times.
I love that And I really try tokeep this in mind all the time.
You guys know I talk to you allas well about this, but you
(16:00):
really do get to determine howyou will continue to view things
as they come up.
What perspective do you want?
Some of my favorites are thatreminder is this is happening
for me?
Like the lady in the boatwaiting, she could have thought
this is happening for me becausenow I have a few extra minutes
(16:23):
to explore, i get to touch thesand, i have even a minute to
meet the people around me, maybeengage in a lovely little chat.
Maybe this means I'll be fiveminutes later that I was going
to be, which means I'll walk inat the perfect timing somewhere.
We're always predicting thefuture in some sense.
It's just how your brain works.
But how do you direct it?
(16:44):
Do you direct it to worry Or doyou direct it to excitement?
Do you direct it to pain or topleasure?
I think about the man that shewas talking to, and this guy
gets to wake up every day inthis beautiful, majestic place.
He gets to play with boats inthis gorgeous water.
He gets to see people on theirhappiest days, people who are on
(17:06):
holiday and vacation, andthey're all loving his beautiful
home.
Why would this man choose tolet something like that bother
him?
Why would a five-minute delayneed to be five bad minutes, or
however long it was?
Why would that be enough tobring him down emotionally when
it doesn't have to.
(17:27):
This all was an exchange that Iwas really glad that I overheard
.
And again, definitely nojudgment to the gal.
I hope she was asking genuinelyand maybe that kind man was
really able to share some realwisdom with her that she can
take home.
But I hope I always keep anattitude like the man with the
boat.
She clearly had most, if notall, of the material things that
(17:52):
she could want.
Like I said, clearly well off,well dressed, well groomed there
with her beautiful family.
She was stressed out Out of allthe wonderful things that were
happening around her.
She was pretty determined tofocus on the problem only And
the fact that the people aroundher didn't do the same
absolutely baffled her.
So I'm really glad I saw thatexchange.
(18:13):
Like I said, it was definitely.
It got me thinking and reallygood reminder for all of us.
It's a great reminder thatthings don't bring us happiness,
situations even don'tnecessarily bring us happiness.
At the end of the day, thething that truly lets us be
happy and fulfilled and whole ishow we perceive, how we
(18:35):
perceive the things around us.
The day that we're in thehappenings around us And I'm
really happy and really excitedand a thousand percent ready to
take these lessons and reminderswith me into this new year.
Reminders to talk about thethings you want.
Make them a part of yourregular vocabulary.
You never know how you canpotentially speak this into
(19:00):
existence, how you can alwaysand are always directing your
life.
The reminder just to choose whatwe focus on All these wonderful
things happening around us.
Don't waste your precious timeworrying about problems that
haven't even happened yet andmay not even happen.
The reminder to spend your timeexploring how and focus on how
(19:24):
all of this can and really isfor your benefit.
You're always predicting thefuture to some extent, so watch
what your predictions are Andremember, tap into your vacation
brain whenever you can.
You don't need to be anywherespecial or doing anything
special to make the momentspecial.
And with that, my friends, ifyou haven't heard it yet, today,
(19:47):
i love you, have a wonderfulweek and I can't wait to hear
what good comes to you.
But all right, my loves, that'swhere I'll leave us today.
I want to thank you so much forjoining in on this conversation
with me, and each week, everyMonday, we're going to be
posting a new episode, going alittle bit deeper into the
conversation of what you can doto train your brain on purpose
(20:10):
to really allow for thelifestyle that you want to live.
Until next time, my loves.
In the meantime, here's to yourhealth and your happiness.
We're always predicting the future.
In some sense, it's just howyour brain works, but how do you
direct it?
Do you direct it to worry Or doyou direct it to excitement?
Do you direct it to pain or topleasure?
The thing that truly lets us behappy and fulfilled and whole
is how we perceive.
(00:23):
Hello, my loves, and welcome tothe Purposeful Lifestyle
Development Podcast, where wediscuss all things thought, work
and manifestation but we useneuroscience and the study of
the brain to do so.
I'm your host, tessa Spiesak.
I'm a board certifiedpractitioner, master life and
health coach and seasonedexecutive speaker.
If you're ready to create yourhighest value lifestyle and turn
(00:44):
your dream life into a reality,you're in the right place.
Let's get right into today'sepisode.
Hello, hello my loves, welcomeback to the Purposeful Lifestyle
Development Podcast.
I hope, however, and whereveryou are listening in from, you
are feeling amazing today, anddon't forget to hit subscribe if
you have not.
(01:05):
I personally am feeling sorelaxed and so refreshed right
now.
If you tuned in last week, youknow that I spent my last week
somewhere, but up until thepoint that we got to our
connecting flight, i had no ideawhere we were going.
My husband just told me thatwe'll be on a beach to celebrate
(01:27):
my birthday, our anniversary ofour engagement, and it was
really wild.
Our flight was incredibly earlyin the morning so it was a
little groggy and it was in thisreally strange part of the
airport where we took ourconnecting flight.
It was in the Miami airport wayat the end and all I see on the
(01:47):
screen is it says Georgetown,but in my sleepy state I could
only think of two Georgetown's,and the first was South Africa,
which, i don't know, maybe isknown for its beaches, but not
something we'd ever discussed,so probably not South Africa.
The other one I could think ofwas Georgetown, texas, but
(02:10):
that's like 30 minutes from ourhouse, and after giggling at me
for a minute, he finally told mewe were going swimming with the
pigs in Ixuma.
It was the Georgetown inBahamas.
I had mentioned to my husband afew times, literally just in
passing, like when beachy thingscame up in conversation, and
(02:34):
that's our favorite way tovacation is to go to beaches, do
a little island exploration.
So it's come up more than once,but he knew that it was on my
bucket list to swim with thepigs and I don't know.
I have never put in any work tothis decision.
It's something I've alwaysreally wanted to do, but he did
(02:54):
it.
That's exactly what we did.
It was so, so amazing.
So I'm going to tell you alittle bit about it, just
because it was so cool.
But then I'm going to go intosome of the things that I guess
I learned on this trip, or maybejust was reminded of, and the
things that I'm taking away, i'mgoing to focus on in this new
year of life.
(03:15):
So, okay, let me tell you whatwe did on the first day.
We got in pretty early.
Like I said, we had a superearly flight and we had a lovely
lunch right there on the beach.
We explored around our resort,we played in the water, which
was unlike anything I've everseen literally the color of
Windex.
You could still count your toes, even if you were standing in
(03:39):
water that was up to your hips.
It was insane.
But the second day, that wasthe day of our excursion and it
was a whole day of fare.
I absolutely loved it.
So, to get started, we got onthe boat and the very first
thing we did was go to PigIsland, and it is an island
solely inhabited by pigs andchickens and a few lizards.
(04:03):
Right, it was so cute.
These guys were well trained,they knew what was up.
They're like big dogs.
They all just swam up to theboat because they know where.
They're.
Feeding them carrots some ofthe older ones, i'm telling you.
They're even trained to sit.
I got to snuggle up with somebrand new babies.
(04:24):
they love to be held.
This one I was carrying aroundjust fell asleep in my arms.
It was amazing.
If I told you that I wasn'ttearing up, i would be lying.
I mean, i was actually soexcited I forgot to take my
shirt off.
We were going in our bathingsuits and I totally soaked it
before I even realized.
But, oh my gosh, it was sogreat.
(04:46):
And then, after visiting withthe pigs and feeding them some
carrots, we went back on theboat and went out to this
beautiful blue hole.
We went snorkeling and I'vebeen a scuba diver for like 20
years now, so I love this kindof thing And we got to see some
really, really incredible fishand coral.
There was this really deep dropoff in the ocean floor, so it
(05:11):
was really creating this awesomehabitat for a lot of different
types of fish, some really bigand bright colored fish and
coral, super, super beautiful.
And there's something aboutbeing out in the water like that
, just in that entirelydifferent reality that always
(05:31):
puts things into perspective forme in a new way that I can't
exactly explain.
But I'm just reminded of howbeautiful and curious an amazing
life on this planet is.
And after we finished up divingit was kind of starting to rain
.
That was a bummer, but we had asurprise that just blew my mind
(05:52):
and I thought it was thecoolest thing ever.
So we ended up going to anotherisland.
This is kind of a tour ofislands here And I think there's
something I heard.
There was like 365 islands injust Exuma, you can remember,
kind of like one for every dayof the year, but around 700
(06:13):
islands in the Bahamas.
So lots.
But we went to one calledAllens Kay and it was solely
inhabited by iguanas.
They were like literaldinosaurs.
No one ever put them there,they've just always lived there.
Some were huge I'm talkinglonger than I am tall.
I think there were some thatwere there while we were there
(06:36):
that were over 80 years old.
We fed them all grapes and someof these they even like to be
pet.
It was really mind blowing,even as we left they kind of
like watched the boat leave asif they were really curious or
something, or maybe they evenlike when people come They're
kind of trained.
(06:56):
They know that we bring giftsof grapes and entertainment.
But that was really really cool.
And next on our little excursion, they took us around to see
these two islands that thisbillionaire Swiss woman bought.
That was very, very cool, veryinspiring.
(07:16):
I think she's going to buildout some kind of resort or
something like that, but it wasreally wild to hear about what
this woman was doing And I knowfor me it definitely had me
questioning some limitingbeliefs that I have, that's for
sure.
But next on our excursion wewent to this completely empty
(07:37):
island.
It had nothing but littlecritters and birds and crabs and
things like this And I got tosay, all of it kind of broke my
brain a bit.
I guess I'm so used to seeingsome form of human presence.
But in all of these islandsthat we visited there wasn't
(07:57):
even a sign stuck in the groundor a single human sign of
intervention.
It really kind of surprised methat I was surprised about this,
if that makes sense.
But it was just purely 100%nature, nature as it is And it
(08:18):
was really really beautiful.
And at the last little island wewere able to take some shells
and coral that had washed up onthe beach.
And I decided to take thislittle white piece of coral to
remind myself of this placeBecause for me, i really wanted
to keep memory of that feeling.
I just feel like anytimesomething quote of this world,
(08:41):
so to speak would start tobother me or worry me or make me
anxious, i think I just want toremember this place.
It really reminded me how bigthe world is and how, from our
own perspective, we can reallyget stuck on things or be
bothered by things that in thegrand scheme of it all it really
doesn't matter.
(09:02):
And I was trying to come upwith a really poetic way to say
this, but basically, while I wasthere, i just kept thinking
like man, how am I ever going toget upset about something like
a difficult email or being stuckin traffic or something that's
kind of trivial like that, when,in the grand scheme of things,
(09:24):
knowing about this place andreally seeing it with my own
eyes, knowing that this is ourworld too, i just I don't know.
It really helped almost calm mynervous system, in a way like a
reminder of what is reallyimportant or what I allow to be
big enough for me that I allowit to shake me or bring me down
(09:47):
energetically, and I want you tohold on to that thought and
maybe pair it with somethingelse that you might have heard
me talk about a little, which Ilike to call vacation brain.
It's a concept that I came upwith that I like to explore with
people, especially when we'redoing some coaching or something
and life is getting a littleheavy, for lack of better words,
(10:11):
and I want to talk about thatconcept.
For me, when I think of vacationbrain and what vacation brain
is to me, it's when you arecompletely present in what
you're doing in that moment.
It's when you're searching forlittle things to see and to be
excited about and what you canexplore.
(10:31):
It's when you want to wake upearly to take on the day.
You want to fit it all in.
You definitely aren't lookingto be distracted.
You're not trying to be doomscrolling on your phone or
you're not being worried aboutthe things we see happening on
the news.
Instead, you're activelyavoiding anything that can bring
(10:52):
you down Or, if something isgoing on, you're really trying
to reframe it in a positive way.
When you have vacation brain,you aren't just going through
the motions, but instead you'reactively searching for all the
beauty and the new and thespecial that you can see.
You're trying to take it all in, and I know that this isn't
(11:14):
something that you can replicateall the time.
It's not something that we'redoing 24 seven because, let's be
real, that's not rational.
But I think it is somethingthat I believe we should know
how to turn on.
It's something that should beon at least to some degree for
us, at least most of the time,or even a tool that you know how
(11:38):
to tap into when you're feelingdown or stuck or uninspired or
bored with the mundane.
It's figuring out how toromanticize what you're doing,
romanticize your day and lookfor all the ways that you can
enjoy it more, to find theinspiration from it, to get the
most of it and out of it.
(11:58):
And it made me giggle, becausethis is something that I coach
on.
I think it's really a pillar ofhow I help is extracting
something similar to that, but Ioverheard a piece of a
conversation that was pretty inline with this while we were out
exploring that week.
So there was this older womanand she was very clearly well
(12:21):
off.
You could tell by her outfit,by her bag, her jewelry.
She had her whole beautifulfamily with her.
They were all equally just wellto do.
And she was talking to a localguy who was working with some of
the boat tours And she wasreally adamantly asking him
something like you know.
But seriously, i don'tunderstand Is everyone out here
(12:42):
really this happy?
This seems like no one seems tobe bothered by anything that
goes wrong, or there's neverreally a problem.
And I was kind of gathering fromthis conversation that there
was some issues docking And thisguy was like, okay, well, we're
fixing it, we'll fix it then.
(13:02):
And he wasn't really botheredby it, which made this lady
totally flabbergasted.
She couldn't grasp why aproblem, or what she perceived
as a problem, wasn't upsettinghim.
And he was basically tellingher you know, if there's nothing
I can do about it in this veryinstant, why worry about it?
The fix is coming, it's on itsway.
(13:23):
Why be upset about it?
Right, and she was veryconfused and she couldn't
imagine.
You know she's asking all thesequestions how are they going to
make up for timing?
Is she going to get her money'sworth, you know what if she's
late for something else, allthese things.
And he just calmly listened and, you know, smiled to himself a
little bit and told her not toworry, trying to explain island
(13:44):
time to her a little bit, andthat's about all I heard.
But I definitely thought aboutthat interaction further because
he has a really good point.
I mean, look at where we were.
We were all standing in a beachthat is considered one of the
most beautiful, if not the mostbeautiful beaches in the whole
world, and she was about to goon a boat for the sake of
(14:07):
nothing but play and pleasurewith her family.
Why ruin it by choosing that?
this is something that's goingto upset you.
Why not just let it get fixed?
We can't undo a problem justbecause we didn't want it to
happen, but why suffer about it?
This is an opportunity to lookat the beach with your honey, to
(14:31):
be present in that moment,rather than worrying and
fretting about being maybe alittle bit postponed or losing a
few minutes when the problemhasn't even been brought up yet.
Right, choose how you want toperceive that moment, just like
any other moment.
And I'm saying choose onpurpose and not be an ugly here,
but if we really think about it, the lady had a choice in that
(14:55):
moment.
Is she going to let this littledelay cause a lot of worry and
decide to go through all thewhat-ifs, what's going to happen
, all these things When it couldhave been as simple as okay?
we'll wait to resolve thisproblem and I'll walk with my
honey and my family on thebeautiful sand until it does,
seeing this little delay as evenan opportunity to do something
(15:18):
nice.
Or it can give you theopportunity to stress and worry.
And what if?
that's a choice you have tomake, and there's a quote I've
heard before that says worrymakes you suffer twice, and it's
really something I try to liveby.
Choose to make the moment goodwhenever you can.
(15:38):
One more quote, sorry, but thisis one I keep on my desk.
It's from St Augustine.
It says if we live good lives,the times are good As we are,
such are the times.
I love that And I really try tokeep this in mind all the time.
You guys know I talk to you allas well about this, but you
(16:00):
really do get to determine howyou will continue to view things
as they come up.
What perspective do you want?
Some of my favorites are thatreminder is this is happening
for me?
Like the lady in the boatwaiting, she could have thought
this is happening for me becausenow I have a few extra minutes
(16:23):
to explore, i get to touch thesand, i have even a minute to
meet the people around me, maybeengage in a lovely little chat.
Maybe this means I'll be fiveminutes later that I was going
to be, which means I'll walk inat the perfect timing somewhere.
We're always predicting thefuture in some sense.
It's just how your brain works.
But how do you direct it?
(16:44):
Do you direct it to worry Or doyou direct it to excitement?
Do you direct it to pain or topleasure?
I think about the man that shewas talking to, and this guy
gets to wake up every day inthis beautiful, majestic place.
He gets to play with boats inthis gorgeous water.
He gets to see people on theirhappiest days, people who are on
(17:06):
holiday and vacation, andthey're all loving his beautiful
home.
Why would this man choose tolet something like that bother
him?
Why would a five-minute delayneed to be five bad minutes, or
however long it was?
Why would that be enough tobring him down emotionally when
it doesn't have to.
(17:27):
This all was an exchange that Iwas really glad that I overheard
.
And again, definitely nojudgment to the gal.
I hope she was asking genuinelyand maybe that kind man was
really able to share some realwisdom with her that she can
take home.
But I hope I always keep anattitude like the man with the
boat.
She clearly had most, if notall, of the material things that
(17:52):
she could want.
Like I said, clearly well off,well dressed, well groomed there
with her beautiful family.
She was stressed out Out of allthe wonderful things that were
happening around her.
She was pretty determined tofocus on the problem only And
the fact that the people aroundher didn't do the same
absolutely baffled her.
So I'm really glad I saw thatexchange.
(18:13):
Like I said, it was definitely.
It got me thinking and reallygood reminder for all of us.
It's a great reminder thatthings don't bring us happiness,
situations even don'tnecessarily bring us happiness.
At the end of the day, thething that truly lets us be
happy and fulfilled and whole ishow we perceive, how we
(18:35):
perceive the things around us.
The day that we're in thehappenings around us And I'm
really happy and really excitedand a thousand percent ready to
take these lessons and reminderswith me into this new year.
Reminders to talk about thethings you want.
Make them a part of yourregular vocabulary.
You never know how you canpotentially speak this into
(19:00):
existence, how you can alwaysand are always directing your
life.
The reminder just to choose whatwe focus on All these wonderful
things happening around us.
Don't waste your precious timeworrying about problems that
haven't even happened yet andmay not even happen.
The reminder to spend your timeexploring how and focus on how
(19:24):
all of this can and really isfor your benefit.
You're always predicting thefuture to some extent, so watch
what your predictions are Andremember, tap into your vacation
brain whenever you can.
You don't need to be anywherespecial or doing anything
special to make the momentspecial.
And with that, my friends, ifyou haven't heard it yet, today,
(19:47):
i love you, have a wonderfulweek and I can't wait to hear
what good comes to you.
But all right, my loves, that'swhere I'll leave us today.
I want to thank you so much forjoining in on this conversation
with me, and each week, everyMonday, we're going to be
posting a new episode, going alittle bit deeper into the
conversation of what you can doto train your brain on purpose
(20:10):
to really allow for thelifestyle that you want to live.
Until next time, my loves.
In the meantime, here's to yourhealth and your happiness.
Popular Podcasts
Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial
Introducing… Aubrey O’Day Diddy’s former protege, television personality, platinum selling music artist, Danity Kane alum Aubrey O’Day joins veteran journalists Amy Robach and TJ Holmes to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation. Join them throughout the trial as they discuss, debate, and dissect every detail, every aspect of the proceedings. Aubrey will offer her opinions and expertise, as only she is qualified to do given her first-hand knowledge. From her days on Making the Band, as she emerged as the breakout star, the truth of the situation would be the opposite of the glitz and glamour. Listen throughout every minute of the trial, for this exclusive coverage. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes present Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, an iHeartRadio podcast.
Betrayal: Season 4
Karoline Borega married a man of honor – a respected Colorado Springs Police officer. She knew there would be sacrifices to accommodate her husband’s career. But she had no idea that he was using his badge to fool everyone. This season, we expose a man who swore two sacred oaths—one to his badge, one to his bride—and broke them both. We follow Karoline as she questions everything she thought she knew about her partner of over 20 years. And make sure to check out Seasons 1-3 of Betrayal, along with Betrayal Weekly Season 1.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.