Know When to Fold 'Em

March 16, 2021

Not to sound too Kenny Rogers'y, but you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. It's the middle of March, 2021 - I'm on vacation with Tom and his kids and friends.... 9 of us. We booked a super cute townhome just off the main drag in Red Lodge Montana. Three days / four nights of snowboarding, drinking at the local bars, quality time with family+friends and, of course, R&R. We arrived late afternoon Monday, unloaded our bags and hit the town. A couple drinks and apps at the local brewery, then back to downtown for sandwiches and more drinks for dinner. Got to the condo for a quick hot tub before bed, morning was going to come quick after a day of travels. We awake in the morning, tired from the drive and daylights savings time, but we gained an hour on mountain time.... so, honestly, we really don't know what time it really is, other than what our phones tell us (thanks Apple for keeping those on track). Nuke a breakfast sandwich, pour a [few] cups of coffee and we head to the hill.

First day is good conditions (considering we didn't see ANY snow in the ditches on the way out, we joked if we were going on a ski trip, or if we should have brought the Harley). Not a lot of snow, bare rocks and dirt on some runs, but all in all, an okay day. Mind you, this is our first trip in a couple years (COVID put a stop to that last year) so this 'old lady' (hey, I'm in my 40s after all) was feeling all sorts of sore muscles Monday night.

So, I did something Tuesday morning that will make sense to less than 10% of the population. I stayed back at the condo. I had brought my computer with (always do) and intended to keep up on my workload while I was gone and hopefully find some inspiration in a serene mountain town for some blog pieces and web updates (in case you were wondering, it worked). I like staying on top of Felix's workload, so any files that can be set up and ready to go for when I get home is always great - he likes to stay working, so idle time is bad.

I made breakfast for the crew, threw a load of laundry in the washer and sat at the table with my phone on Netflix (currently binging Grey's Anatomy) and started working.

I know you really don't care about my day to day activities while on 'vacation' - but my point is this. Could I have gone to the mountain today? Absolutely! And I know I would have had a great time! But I opted to stay back, sit my the creek and get some of my mental blockages cleared by following up with inquiries and getting files set up for next week.

I feel better. I feel rested. I feel aligned.

Sometimes, the answer to getting things done isn't doing more - it's doing less. Know when to push - know when to rest. You will learn to read your body and listen to what it needs; and it's up to you to recognize the triggers and follow through next time to give yourself grace and follow your instincts.

Now - I'm cracking beer #2 for the day... hitting the hot tub before they all get back... and enjoying what all I've done today - even though it wasn't a normal person's idea of vacation.