Do you live your life waiting for the next escape?
Whether that’s an actual holiday; sleeping more or collapsing on the couch with a block of chocolate or glass of wine for company.
What Happened When Distractions Were Removed?
During the first Victorian lockdown in 2020 here in Australia, many people had to cancel their planned holidays to Queensland or Bali where they intended to have a long fling with a swim-up pool bar and umbrella garnishes.
Instead, they were forced to stay home, devoid of the usual distractions that kept them happily detached from their current mood or actual daily life.
Travelling in to the office and hearing about people’s weekend antics and general banter and gossip?
Gone.
Shopping trips that ended with the kind of adrenaline-fuelled satisfaction that can only come from having a a stash of bags filled with a load of new goodies and a dent in the credit card about the same size?
Gone.
Dressing up?
Well, not really! Most people’s heels were given long-service leave and lay abandoned and gathering dust in the robe.
What remained?
Well, for some it was dayyssss of ugg boots; grey regrowth; anything with an elasticated waist; less / no makeup; online shopping; speedy booze delivery etc.
Retailers such as BWS and Dan Murphy started delivering alcohol to homes within 2 hours. Even more impressive (or worrying) were Tipple and Jimmy Brings who could get your wine there within half an hour.
In other words, people put a ‘rush’ on getting their fix. Pronto!
I should mention – I’m no Pollyanna. If it works for you, do it! If it doesn’t, you can always change.
Online shopping increased by 67.1% between March 2020 – October 2020 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (compared with 14.4% in the 12 months prior).
Some Chose A Different Approach:
Others did a quick fast-forward and realised they were not going to like the ending to this particular story if it continued with no plot twist.
These were the people who decided to level up:
- they moved to regional areas;
- did the proverbial ‘pivot’ in their business; d
- developed new programs or
- enrolled in online courses (and of course, none of this was possible for many either).
It was the impetus some people needed to decide things needed to change. They sought out a coach who could help with mindset (moi!) to help.
Some Key Outcomes Clients Wanted:
- To improve their fulfilment and happiness
- To feel calmer and more in control. This was like being in the driver’s seat of life, instead of living life on auto-pilot
- Becoming the person who could see opportunities and not just limitations.
- To stop being perpetually busy and stressed out by putting everyone else first. And instead, finding a way to put themselves first and feel worthy of that.
We continue to be constrained in terms of holidays and some border restrictions here in Victoria, and the temptation can be to just keep waiting until we are ‘allowed’ to holiday again and escape reality to some extent.
The alternative is to start to build a life you love right now. One where you don’t need to wait desperately to get away and escape (virtually or physically).
Starting To Live A Life You Don’t Need To Escape From:
One small thing you can start is doing something you really love more regularly.
It might be singing; dancing; art; photography; gardening; walking; running; yoga; playing with the dog; meditating; exercising; cooking etc.
It’s an activity where time just passes and you can lose track of how long you’ve been doing it for. This is usually a sign that the activity is ticking off all of your core needs (Tony Robbins’ 6 Core Needs) and it will make you feel really good to do it.
A holiday can be amazing! However, living a life you love consistently is better than having to wait 48 weeks for the next one. Consider activities that light you up and are available all year round, and will fulfil you in a way that a holiday is unlikely to.
Feel free to check out my blog on Connection is Queen which gives some strategies for how to boost connection with yourself and others.
And if, after reading this, you’d like to connect with me to learn more about working together, I offer a complimentary 45mins Clarity Session to gain clarity on the life you would like to be living, and needs no escape.
Kylie x
Tags: Human Behaviour Mindset Coaching small business coaching stress transformational coaching