What Fuels You?

What fuels you? What energizes you? What makes you get up in the morning to face another day?

My work fuels me. I get energy from my clients and the projects I create and participate in. When I'm working on something, I can get lost in it and not even take a lunch break! But in order to stay fresh and focused, I often have to "schedule" short breaks within my day. Sometimes just 10 minutes to breathe is enough to rejuvenate me and keep me fresh.

While I love what I do, I am a strong advocate for vacations. I believe that all of us need to have some down time for rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. It can be long weekends away, a week at the beach, or even an elaborate vacation abroad. The real point is taking some time away from stressors (and stresses) and doing something you enjoy for a sustainable period of time. I believe you really need a long weekend at minimum in order to accomplish this. My ideal is 10 days or two weeks. This is long enough to really relax and rejuvenate.

The purpose of vacations should be to fuel us for the next several months. It should provide enough fuel to get us through the routine stress of the workday and other things that pop up and attempt to throw us off our game. In today's environment, we all need to fuel ourselves for the long haul.

What fuels you?