The Art of Doing Nothing

And yet, I’ve been in search of the ultimate “do nothing” time – I needed a true vacation! A year ago I went on a trip to Waikiki by myself and it was beyond wonderful. I purposefully didn’t schedule anything… No tours or anything. Each day I woke up when I wanted, went to the beach when I wanted, and ate WHEREVER I wanted! I did all of that and I met some very interesting people along the way. The only thing wrong with that trip was that it wasn’t long enough. It was last year while I was gone that my sister Maureen was inspired to book a trip to Maui his December. I was already looking forward to the trip!

My job is intense. My job requires all of me at most times. I’ve ALWAYS been a vacation person, but since I began this job, I’ve never needed vacations so badly. In May I took a 15 day trip to Europe… The least relaxing vacation ever! While it was fantastic, and I relaxed in bits and pieces, I was almost constantly on the go because I wanted to see as much as I could in the time that I had (the original plan, btw, was to lay on the beach in Greece for 2 weeks!).

Being on the go non-stop for work takes its toll, so I would typically be inclined to stay home on my “time off”, but the only way to do NOTHING, to completely disconnect from my life, is to get away… And tropical getaways are the best. On my way to Maui this trip, one of the movie choices was “Eat, Pray, Love”. It was like a sign from God. Recently my friend Michelle (when having dinner with her in Tampa while on a work trip) told me I should write a book and she sited that movie when she said it (likely a blog topic for another time!). I knew what the movie was about generally, but didn’t know the total of it until I was on my way this week.  The lead character speaks of the art of doing nothing and it sang to me. It truly is an art for people who are constantly going, going, going… Whether that “going” is for professional or personal reasons (both for me), it becomes difficult to stop and do “nothing.”

The past six months have been incredibly difficult. Though also full of wonderful times on my own and with great friends and family… It’s also been full of great loss. I’ve been a successful sales person over the past several years, which has been a huge blessing. Especially after becoming a sales person on accident and never truly feeling like a “sales” person… Having success felt like magic (despite knowing how hard I work). But over the past six months, I worked harder than ever and I could not win a deal. Combine that with the loss of my brother, and it has been HARD.

I finally won a deal about two weeks before my “do nothing” vacation… Truly small when you look at what I’ve sold in the past two years, but it felt like both a million dollar deal and like a HUGE weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Most people don’t believe in symbolism, but I do. I’ve had not one, but THREE butterflies fly in front of my face in the past three weeks… I thought “new beginnings!”, “that’s a sign!” after the first one… And now I’m convinced. The last one flew by me on the final day of my “do nothing” vacation.

I have to believe that good things also come in threes… And that I am closing in on all the good and new beginnings that are meant to come my way (both professional *and* personal). Cheers to the art of doing nothing and the fantastic things that will come after mastering that art (oh, and I did this week – cheers to me:-)