Featured

How Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone Can Reshape Your Life

Published

3 days ago

May 25, 2023

Adam T

How Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone Can Reshape Your Life

Whether starting over, taking a gap year, or escaping reality with a vacation, you can reset your life, priorities, and perspective. This can give you greater clarity on your life, enabling you to evaluate what is working, what needs to be improved upon, and what should be avoided altogether.

Vacations

We live in a highly competitive and fast-paced world. Our lifestyles can cause undue stress, resulting in negative health outcomes. Studies have shown that individuals who routinely take vacations improve their overall physical and mental health. Other health benefits include increased motivation, better relationships, less burnout, and greater life satisfaction.

While it is typically the escape from routine and time away from work that is needed, there are many vacations that can help an individual escape their own reality altogether.

Let’s take a closer look at some options.

Quebec, Canada

This location is known for its world-famous Hotel de Glace, or Ice Castle. It truly feels like you have stepped into a Winter Wonderland. Complete with an ice slide, bar, and other exhibits, this location is intriguing.

Wales, United Kingdom

This location affords a glamping experience that whisks you away from the realities of the real world, but still provides you with all of the modern conveniences. You will stay in a yurt-like structure that offers visitors the opportunity to connect with nature and themselves.

Gap Year

For those individuals looking to make a more drastic change in their life, there are many opportunities to take a gap year. A gap year is where an individual takes a year off before entering a new phase of their life.

A gap year is typically taken between high school and college, but it’s also common to finish college and take a year off before starting a career. There are also individuals that choose to take a gap year when they become burnt out and are looking for a new career path.
During this gap year, individuals usually take on more seasonal work in the various locations they are traveling through.

Locations for a gap year can be found all around the world. Spain offers a great language immersion experience. South Africa has many volunteer opportunities. England offers great experiences for young professionals. And New Zealand offers wonderful working opportunities.

Starting Over in a New City

Sometimes, due to circumstances in or out of a person’s control, an individual may find themselves starting over in an entirely new city. This affords individuals a fresh start and a true opportunity to reset their life and be more in line with their goals. It can push a person outside of their comfortable zone and open up new growth opportunities.

When starting over in a new city, some individuals take the opportunity to rebrand themselves, even going so far as to change their name. This allows people to shed their old selves or habits that were not serving them and embrace better routines.

Starting over in a new city can be difficult, but if a person embraces the experiences, they can make the transition easier. Find your community and connect with individuals.

Remember, old habits won’t change all at once, but when you make a concerted effort to embrace the present, you will find yourself growing into your new environment. By being realistic in your expectations, meeting your neighbors, exploring your city, and creating good routines, you will be able to better acclimate to your new situation.

Conclusion

There are many opportunities to reset, start over, and explore your goals, aspirations, and values. From an epic getaway to taking a gap year to completely starting over in a new city, you can completely reshape your life. You will find that when you embrace your life and work to improve upon what you are creating for yourself, you will live a more full and rewarding life.

Destinations

The Most Opulent Yachts Across The Seven Seas

Published

5 hours ago

May 28, 2023

Owen Gardocki

Don’t you hate it when one of your friends invites you to come aboard his yacht for the weekend and then you get there and the yacht barely has three bedrooms? The white wine hasn’t even been chilled yet, there’s hardly enough cocktail sauce for the shrimp that’s planned to be served. Why not just throw a dumpster into the ocean and let me float around inside that?

Well if you’re tired of being disappointed by your friends and their so-called “yachts” then show them how to do high-class right with one of these insanely luxurious yachts.

OKTO, Caribbean/Mediterranean: $500,000 per week

For a mere $500,000 you can rent out this bad boy for a whole week. This yacht is better than other yachts because it includes a helicopter landing pad (yes, only one helicopter landing pad, sorry,) an elevator, jacuzzi, pool, gym, and speedboat.

But if you don’t feel like spending half a million dollars then don’t worry, you can bring nine of your friends because they have five suites available. So that would make the price a measly $50,000 each. Just have your friends Venmo you or something.

There is also a crew of 17 people there to serve you, but I don’t know where they sleep, maybe in the water?

Enigma XK, Antarctica: $454,000 per week

Tired of slumming it in Antarctica? Then this yacht is for you.

In fact, you don’t even have to be in Antarctica because you can take a private jet straight there. Once you land you can chill out in the jacuzzi on the deck or hit the gym to show those penguins whose boss. There’s also a helicopter landing pad, so feel free to bring the helicopter on the private jet so you’ll have something to fly around there. You’ll even have WiFi so your Instagram is sure to stay popping.

There are 21 employees on the yacht ready to cater to your every need, and for $454,000 I assume they mean every need.

You, of course, can hike and kayak amongst the beautiful glaciers that make up Antarctica but you can even swim in pools that are warm from volcanic rocks below. Or you can throw the crew in the water and laugh. Why not? You’re rich!

M/Y Passion, The Galapagos: $95,000 per week

Look, Charles Darwin did a lot of great things, and I don’t want to belittle him, but come on, the guy vacationed like a dork. You don’t go to a beautiful place like the Galapagos to write a book, you dummy! You go on vacation to relax in style on yachts. That’s where M/Y Passion gets it right. This yacht is 48 meters long and is made to get you close to volcanoes, sea lions, giant tortoises, and iguanas. There’s even a panoramic sky lounge in the jacuzzi. Who needs Charles Darwin when you can be Charles Ballin?

Lamima, Papua New Guinea: $169,000 per week

This is the largest wooden sailing yacht in the world. I guess that’s worth taking for a spin. Check out beautiful Papua New Guinea while in the spa quarter so you can get your sweat on and even do a yoga class led by a therapist on board. Or you can dive and snorkel some picturesque coral reefs or you can just get drunk and chill. The world is your oyster when you’re chilling on the world’s largest wooden yacht.

Featured

How To Pack The Marie Kondo Way

Published

16 hours ago

May 27, 2023

Owen Gardocki

Marie Kondo is all the rage these days thanks to her cute and inspiring hit Netflix show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. The show is all about decluttering your life. Getting rid of all that junk you’re holding on to that you definitely don’t need and only keeping things that “bring you joy”. There are plenty of awesome and effective tips in the show for how to make your home life more joyous, but there’s another way to implement the “KonMari Method” in your life: packing!

We all hate packing. It’s always so stressful to pick the few outfits you’re able to fit in your suitcase, and then even when we do decide, we usually just throw it in the suitcase with some shoddy folding and spend our vacation walking around in wrinkly clothing. But you don’t have to vacation like that ever again! Follow these simple tips from Marie and you may just start to enjoy packing…

FIND A SUITCASE YOU ACTUALLY LOVE

So many of us grab either the cheapest suitcase we can find or the most durable one we can find. And they’re all so boring! Then we drag them around, get them all banged up and, frankly, show them no respect whatsoever! But there are a lot of suitcase options out there and you can actually find one you really like! So treat yourself and go out and grab one that’s a cool color or has some cool feature that most don’t.

It may seem silly, but actually liking your suitcase can make packing, and traveling, all that much more fun!

CHANGE THE WAY YOU FOLD YOUR CLOTHES

I think basically everyone folds their clothes the same way. We fold everything into little squares or rectangles and then stack it all on top of each other. But what happens then? The stuff at the bottom is carrying all the weight and gets extra wrinkled and you end up doing so much digging around to find the shirt you want to wear that the entire suitcase becomes an absolute mess. Well… stop it! Thanks to Marie Kondo, there’s a better way to fold your clothes.

In her method, you actually roll the clothes into an almost triangular shape and actually line them up in your suitcase standing up. You see how much nicer that is? You can actually see every single item and all you have to do is grab the one you want! It really makes all the difference in the world.

DON’T BOTHER WITH ALL THOSE ACCESSORIES

As I stated earlier, the KonMari Method is all about what sparks joy. And, be honest, do those three extra pairs of shoes and those scarves and hats and all those other accessories really spark joy? Do you really need all of them for this 4 day trip to Nashville? That’s what I thought. And when you stop bothering with all those extra non-essentials, you’ll have more room to fit in what you really need and do so comfortably.

DON’T GET LAZY

OK… so you’ve packed the KonMari way and your suitcase has never looked more organized. Good for you! But just because you’re actually on your vacation now doesn’t mean you get to erase all that hard work and go right back to being a slob! You still need to keep things tidy while on the trip.

One easy way to do this is to fold your dirty clothes and keep them separated from your clean clothes. It will keep your stress levels as low as possible during your trip and it also makes unpacking easier than ever.

And that’s all there is to it folks! All this stuff may seem pretty simple or even obvious to some of you. But so, so many people don’t pack efficiently and it really can affect your day-to-day mood on a vacation. So if you’re like me and are a sloppy packer, start implementing these packing tips ASAP!

Featured

Don’t Be A Baby When Traveling With Your Baby

Published

1 day ago

May 27, 2023

Owen Gardocki

Traveling is hard enough, but throw a baby into the mix and your stress increases 10 fold. You remembered diapers, but did you remember diaper cream? Sure you have socks, but did you remember tiny nail clippers? There is just so much to remember. Did you pick the right hotel room? How are you going to carry that car seat? When you sit down to try and plan how to travel with your brand new baby, you don’t do much planning, in fact, you just have a panic attack or six.

Well calm down and take a deep breath because we have an easy to follow guide to help you plan for traveling with a baby the right way.

Check your carry-on checklist

Your carry-on is no longer your carry-on, it’s your baby’s carry-on luggage. Sorry, but your baby needs supplies more than you need that romance novel, so fill your carry-on with all your baby supplies and if you’re not sure what those are, here is a good checklist that we use when we travel: diapers, wipes, tissues, disposable plastic bags (for dirty diapers), an umbrella, a sweater or jacket, first aid kit, drinks, snacks (non-perishable,) spoons, straws, books and toys.

Join a Facebook travel group

The easiest way to travel as a family is to learn from other families who have done it before you. If you don’t have any friends with kids in your personal life than Facebook is a great resource for you. Join a group focused on family travel for all the tips you need or for things you didn’t think of when it comes to your traveling tot.

Bring Ziploc bags and extra clothes. Trust us.

You never know what is going to happen on a plane, but you want to be prepared. It’s a good idea to always bring more fresh clothes and Ziploc bags than you think you’ll need. Your baby will constantly surprise you with how quickly they can ruin their own clothes and Ziploc bags are a great way to keep those stinky clothes out of sight and out of mind. Oh, and you might want to bring yourself a change of clothes too. Babies can make you a mess just as easily as they can make themselves a mess, so if you want to stay clean then you should probably bring something to change into.

Hit the dollar store

Buying a bunch of new things for your child is a great way to keep them distracted on a flight. If they haven’t played with anything before then the odds are they will love it. A toy car or toy wand or even a kitchen utensil will all do wonders for your sanity and their sanity as well.

Keep baby cool

Bring a small fan you can use to keep your baby cool. A lot of car seats just aren’t that breathable and babies can get too hot very easily. A hot baby is a miserable baby and a miserable baby is a miserable you. So if you want to enjoy your trip, then think about packing that fan.