Add Some Travel to Spice Up Your Self-Care Life Intentional

In the true spirit of vacationing & self-care, I completely forgot what day of the week it was until I woke up. Too much fun, food, & drinks in New Orleans will make you forget the world! And staying up way past my normal bedtime to be in the streets to see Kevin Hart was a much needed evening of laughter. It’s only been 2 days, & I already feel like I’m getting the rest I needed to recover from weeks of working long hours, running children around, staying in grind mode for Intentional, & dealing with multiple health issues. I feel like I’ve been on auto-pilot.

Travel is an extremely important piece of my self-care routine; something that is a non-negotiable in my life. Whether I go within the state to a beach or hop on a flight out of the country, it’s MANDATORY that I travel quarterly to experience a difference environment, way of life, culture, everything! The end of 2021 into the first quarter of 2022, we were in Grenada for our 10-year vow renewal at the Sandals resort. What a beautiful island that was! The people & whole vibe were so relaxed & personable. Exactly what I needed in the middle of winter in NC! This quarter, we’re at Essence Festival in New Orleans, experiencing the culture & what I love most: food. It’s one of my favorite U.S. cities! Although we’ve done a ton of walking, I still feel more relaxed than what I was when we arrived. That’s the whole purpose of getting away.

Even though traveling can be expensive, it’s something I think everyone should be able to experience. It gives you time away from your “normal” life. But even more importantly, it gives you the opportunity to see how people in different areas do life. Everything doesn’t move & shake the same way every where. In fact, I’ve found that people, especially in the islands, are so much more relaxed than Americans. Shoot, people in New Orleans are way more relaxed than us North Carolinians. And I enjoy seeing that! It gives me a feeling of calmness that is so essential to self-care. That’s the whole point of self-care: to recharge, settle down, & reset!

Traveling gives you the opportunity to disconnect from things, especially your phone, email, social media, etc. You’re somewhat forced to be in the moment & have to pay attention to what is going on around you. And it shows you how attached to your devices you may be. I felt so out of sorts when we had to lock our phones in pouches during the Kevin Hart show, but it gave me time to enjoy the moment. We didn’t even know what time it was since we couldn’t have smart watches & there was no clock in the arena…and after awhile, it felt good. It was a much needed break away from the constant distraction of texts, calls, emails, & social media.

Plan time away periodically, & make financial sacrifices before going so you can enjoy yourself worry-free. You don’t really notice how much money you throw away on mess until you cut it down to save for something else. I’m trying to figure out our next adventure as we speak, & we still have 3 days to enjoy the Big Easy. Here are some travel sites & apps I use to make sure I catch good deals:

Get some time away to relax in your life, & throw a little culture in there while you’re at it! Share some of your travel resources below so we can all experience the most in life!