I’d fly above the trees

Over the seas in all degrees

To anywhere I please

Oh I want to get away

I want to fly away

Yeah yeah yeah

I want to get away

I want to fly away

Yeah yeah yeah”

– Lenny Kravitz

I usually take time away and go on vacation for a week during the summer and/or sometime around the winter break. We all know it’s important to be able to recharge and rejuvenate so that we can be the best version of ourselves.

But I’ve found too many people around me taking work with them on vacation. We’ve had people calling in during our staff meetings while they were on the road to their destination. Others have hopped on conference calls from their hotel rooms while their family was playing at the beach (socially distanced, of course).

This past weekend was my chance to get away and I found myself doing the same thing! I can think back and count the number of hours I was on the phone during our raod trip to our destination – SEVEN!

The next day I realized I had spent my whole morning on the computer (with the exception of 45min for breakfast) and forced myself to stop. And even still, on the third day of our vacation we rented a boat to get out and enjoy being on the lake and I still found myself checking emails while on the water.

My friend’s wife asked “how do you manage to maintain a good state of mental health?” And I can’t blame her for asking, I was working more than I usually would. But my answer surprised her when I told her, “you can’t wait till it’s too late to work on mental health. You have to take care of yourself even before going on vacation.”

Taking time away is very important but we can’t rely on one or two weeks per year to take care of ourselves. We have to put more of a priority on taking care of ourselves – espeically our mental health – all the time. If we wait until vacation to relax or take care of ourselves we may never make it to vacation in a healthy place. Plus, look at how many vacations had to be cancelled the past 5 months – if you were waiting to get back your mental health, you’re in a bind now.

Taking time away is more than physically getting away. Just like Lenny Kravitz said in the song “Fly away” we have to sometimes get our mind off of what we’re doing. For me I like to fly away when I’m doing my hobbies whether that is being outside, or in a swimming pool, or at the race track. I work on my mental hehalth daily.

We are in the middle of some of the most adverse times we have experienced. I agree we should all help one another when we can, but first let’s make sure we are taking care of ourselves. If you can take 10 or 15 minutes a day to close your eyes and imagine being on the beach or wherever your favorite location is, that will go a long way to maintaining a good state of mental health.

“Let’s fade into the sun

Let your spirit fly

Where we are one

Just for a little fun

Oh oh oh yeah!”