If you've never had one, try harder. And no, I'm not talking about drinking more. Those are alcohol induced hangovers which happen to occur while traveling. And while I've had a few of them during this trip, most frequently occurring during long travel days, those are an unhealthy, highly unpleasant type of hangover. Come to think of it though, travel hangovers are uniquely unpleasant and also result after a highly enjoyable series of events. So if both types of hangovers are unpleasant, why try to have a travel hangover? Let's explore.
First, what is a travel hangover? It is the best type of hangover you can have. It is the pseudo depression trade-off which sets in after an amazing experience is had while on vacation. It becomes a challenge to get out of bed and summon up the motivation to do just about anything because, deep down, you know whatever activity you do that day will pale in comparison to what was just completed the day before. And while you can plan vacations which could potentially result in a travel hangover, you can't actually plan on having a travel hangover. They just happen. The feeling which results from this type of hangover comes in other forms as well. Perhaps your team just got eliminated from the playoffs. Despite loving sports and having other sports to watch on the following days, sometimes you just can't bring yourself to watch anything because the emptiness which follows the end of an emotional playoff run leaves a void which only time can heal. Same with the travel hangover. Time will eventually cure a travel hangover, but while still in the healing phase following that amazing experience, subsequent vacation activities which seemed exciting during trip planning, are now activities which are barely exciting enough to get you out of bed. If this doesn't sound familiar to you, like I said, "Try harder."
So why is it that most people very rarely experience this travel hangover? Let's pretend this is an episode of Family Feud. 100 people surveyed, top 3 answers on the board. Why do most people take vacations? You hit the buzzer pretty fast and answer, "In order to go someplace and do something they enjoy." Sounds like the #1 answer, and it should be the #1 answer, but it's #3 on the board. Kind of baffling, isn't it? So what's #2? "I've got the time. It's been awhile since my last vacation. So I may as well take some time off." And the #1 answer on the board? "In order to recharge my batteries for when I go back to work." Sad, but true. Deep down, the reason most people probably go on a vacation, and choose the destinations where they spend a week or 2, is to simply recharge their 'desire to work' batteries. Think about how most people probably spend their vacation time. They go to an all-inclusive resort. They go on a cruise. They lay on a beach. Or maybe even the dreaded Stay-cation. They take vacations where they don't have to think, every last detail is planned for them, and inactivity is the predominant activity of the entire vacation. Where they go or what activities they do aren't important so long as they don't have to do anything. The most important aspect of almost every vacation is that they are anywhere but at work, and not the actual vacation destination itself. That's backwards. Yet in almost every instance, upon returning to work, these same people will now say that they need, "A vacation from a vacation." Come again? You just went on a trip where you didn't have to think, you were more lazy than you were active, and now you're so worn out that you need a vacation from a vacation? Rubbish. You don't need a vacation from a vacation. You just want more time off from work.
Now while there is certainly value in that type of vacation where rest, relaxation, and pampering is the main focus, it's a sad state of affairs if that is the predominant type of vacation one takes during their working years. It is virtually impossible to ever get a travel hangover from that type of vacation. You can't ever get tired of being pampered. It's not like you get this great massage one day and then refuse to get out of bed the next morning because the massage you are going to get that day won't be nearly as good as the one you had yesterday. Or, you think to yourself, "Man, that margarita I had yesterday while lying on the beach was so good I couldn't possibly have another one while lying on the beach today." You can lament the fact that those moments of that particular vacation are coming to an end. But that's not a travel hangover. That again is an, "I don't want to go back to work hangover."
Travel hangovers result after you plan a vacation for weeks or months and then have the perfect storm of a variety of factors come together such as: amazing weather, good company, a sense of accomplishment in completing something challenging, having your senses and emotions moved in ways you never thought possible, and experiencing a once in a lifetime event. I would even go so far as to argue that if your vacation experience doesn't include parts of all of those aforementioned factors, it is more less impossible to have a travel hangover.
Like I said, you can't plan travel hangovers. They just happen. Not every vacation or amazing activity is going to produce a travel hangover. But you can improve your odds of having one if, instead of doing the same vacation every year simply to recharge those 'desire to work batteries,' you plan a vacation which challenges you. Why not plan a vacation which could potentially inspire you take other unique vacations? Go on a challenging hike. Learn how to scuba dive. Sleep in a hostel. Go camping in the middle of nowhere. Take an overnight sleeper bus in a foreign country. Try a visually repulsive food. Learn a new language to speak with the locals. Throw all of your belongings in a backpack instead of a rolling luggage warehouse. Live on less and you'll learn so much more about yourself.
A vacation packed with adventure will probably do more to improve your mood at work than will a vacation lying on the beach. Exercise is a good stress reliever, yet most vacations to get away from the stressful workplace environment involve large amounts of laziness. I would venture to guess, that if you challenge yourself to do something exhilarating and potentially life changing while on vacation, work won't seem nearly as stressful upon your return. Your weekends will be filled with more eventful activities. Heck, you might even look forward to going back to work just so you can recharge your batteries for that next adventure. I know it sounds crazy, but there's more than a whiff of truth to that statement if you allow yourself to smell it. You'll no longer take vacations just for vacation's sake. You'll be looking for that next adventure that could possibly lead to that next travel hangover.
I'm off to Antarctica today. In about 3 days, I will be stepping on continent 7 of this 11 month trip. Like Angkor Wat, Africa/Petra, and the Inca Trail before it, I hope this is yet another experience which will lead to a travel hangover. And if it doesn't. Oh well. It's been quite a year which is quickly coming to an end. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend. I know I will. Cheers.
First, what is a travel hangover? It is the best type of hangover you can have. It is the pseudo depression trade-off which sets in after an amazing experience is had while on vacation. It becomes a challenge to get out of bed and summon up the motivation to do just about anything because, deep down, you know whatever activity you do that day will pale in comparison to what was just completed the day before. And while you can plan vacations which could potentially result in a travel hangover, you can't actually plan on having a travel hangover. They just happen. The feeling which results from this type of hangover comes in other forms as well. Perhaps your team just got eliminated from the playoffs. Despite loving sports and having other sports to watch on the following days, sometimes you just can't bring yourself to watch anything because the emptiness which follows the end of an emotional playoff run leaves a void which only time can heal. Same with the travel hangover. Time will eventually cure a travel hangover, but while still in the healing phase following that amazing experience, subsequent vacation activities which seemed exciting during trip planning, are now activities which are barely exciting enough to get you out of bed. If this doesn't sound familiar to you, like I said, "Try harder."
So why is it that most people very rarely experience this travel hangover? Let's pretend this is an episode of Family Feud. 100 people surveyed, top 3 answers on the board. Why do most people take vacations? You hit the buzzer pretty fast and answer, "In order to go someplace and do something they enjoy." Sounds like the #1 answer, and it should be the #1 answer, but it's #3 on the board. Kind of baffling, isn't it? So what's #2? "I've got the time. It's been awhile since my last vacation. So I may as well take some time off." And the #1 answer on the board? "In order to recharge my batteries for when I go back to work." Sad, but true. Deep down, the reason most people probably go on a vacation, and choose the destinations where they spend a week or 2, is to simply recharge their 'desire to work' batteries. Think about how most people probably spend their vacation time. They go to an all-inclusive resort. They go on a cruise. They lay on a beach. Or maybe even the dreaded Stay-cation. They take vacations where they don't have to think, every last detail is planned for them, and inactivity is the predominant activity of the entire vacation. Where they go or what activities they do aren't important so long as they don't have to do anything. The most important aspect of almost every vacation is that they are anywhere but at work, and not the actual vacation destination itself. That's backwards. Yet in almost every instance, upon returning to work, these same people will now say that they need, "A vacation from a vacation." Come again? You just went on a trip where you didn't have to think, you were more lazy than you were active, and now you're so worn out that you need a vacation from a vacation? Rubbish. You don't need a vacation from a vacation. You just want more time off from work.
Now while there is certainly value in that type of vacation where rest, relaxation, and pampering is the main focus, it's a sad state of affairs if that is the predominant type of vacation one takes during their working years. It is virtually impossible to ever get a travel hangover from that type of vacation. You can't ever get tired of being pampered. It's not like you get this great massage one day and then refuse to get out of bed the next morning because the massage you are going to get that day won't be nearly as good as the one you had yesterday. Or, you think to yourself, "Man, that margarita I had yesterday while lying on the beach was so good I couldn't possibly have another one while lying on the beach today." You can lament the fact that those moments of that particular vacation are coming to an end. But that's not a travel hangover. That again is an, "I don't want to go back to work hangover."
Travel hangovers result after you plan a vacation for weeks or months and then have the perfect storm of a variety of factors come together such as: amazing weather, good company, a sense of accomplishment in completing something challenging, having your senses and emotions moved in ways you never thought possible, and experiencing a once in a lifetime event. I would even go so far as to argue that if your vacation experience doesn't include parts of all of those aforementioned factors, it is more less impossible to have a travel hangover.
Like I said, you can't plan travel hangovers. They just happen. Not every vacation or amazing activity is going to produce a travel hangover. But you can improve your odds of having one if, instead of doing the same vacation every year simply to recharge those 'desire to work batteries,' you plan a vacation which challenges you. Why not plan a vacation which could potentially inspire you take other unique vacations? Go on a challenging hike. Learn how to scuba dive. Sleep in a hostel. Go camping in the middle of nowhere. Take an overnight sleeper bus in a foreign country. Try a visually repulsive food. Learn a new language to speak with the locals. Throw all of your belongings in a backpack instead of a rolling luggage warehouse. Live on less and you'll learn so much more about yourself.
A vacation packed with adventure will probably do more to improve your mood at work than will a vacation lying on the beach. Exercise is a good stress reliever, yet most vacations to get away from the stressful workplace environment involve large amounts of laziness. I would venture to guess, that if you challenge yourself to do something exhilarating and potentially life changing while on vacation, work won't seem nearly as stressful upon your return. Your weekends will be filled with more eventful activities. Heck, you might even look forward to going back to work just so you can recharge your batteries for that next adventure. I know it sounds crazy, but there's more than a whiff of truth to that statement if you allow yourself to smell it. You'll no longer take vacations just for vacation's sake. You'll be looking for that next adventure that could possibly lead to that next travel hangover.
I'm off to Antarctica today. In about 3 days, I will be stepping on continent 7 of this 11 month trip. Like Angkor Wat, Africa/Petra, and the Inca Trail before it, I hope this is yet another experience which will lead to a travel hangover. And if it doesn't. Oh well. It's been quite a year which is quickly coming to an end. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend. I know I will. Cheers.
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ReplyDeleteWonderful "words of wisdom". We're certainly not as adventerous as you on our travels but have always managed to find new and interesting things to do and see on our vacations. From low tide discoveries, whale watching, hiking on a glacier, bear viewing, rainforest walks, covered wagon rides, rafting, salmon fishing, canyon hikes etc. we were always looking for something different to do on our vacations. Looks like we at least planted the seed for adventure in you and then you've taken it up many, many notches! Enjoy your adventures on the 7th continent on your travels.
ReplyDeleteHappy Travels
MomG