Buy holidays, not things!
I’m working non-stop these days. I love my work, but I happen to spend pretty much all time that I’m awake, working. I work when I’m cooking lunch, when I’m taking a shower, and during my spinning class. I must admit –sometimes even when I do yoga (wroooong!!). Because when I’m not sitting in front of my computer, my mind is still wandering, thinking about all those things I could do to improve my business, or the to-do list I haven’t finished yet.
Apparently, 47% of the time, our mind is wandering. As yogis, we know this isn’t quite healthy! Happiness is only found on the present moment. When you’re anxious, it’s because you’re dreaming (or having nightmares!) about the future. And it’s true –our mind tends to wander to dark and ugly places more often than they do to bright and happy ones. But hey, if you can’t live in the moment, you’d better live in anticipation of a gratifying experience! There are studies which say that at least “waiting for experiences tends to be more positive than waiting for possessions”.
On the anticipation
What do they mean by that? Well, in a few words, that people standing in line to get the new iPhone will have higher possibilities of being angry at each other than those standing in line to get tickets for the next Imagine Dragons concert.
And why is the anticipation of buying an experience vs. buying a thing a more pleasant one? Well, I like to think of the theory of infinite possibilities. When you buy your next yoga holiday, you have no idea what it’s going to be like! You expect lots of good things, but the truth is it could turn out a whole lot of different ways. And that’s what makes the anticipation so much fun!
You will start imagining what your room will look like. Will there be lots of light? Will it be comfortable? Who will I be sharing it with? Will they be fun and smart? You will then wonder about the yoga. Will I be able to get up so early every morning? Will I be sore after a couple of days? Will I improve my twisting technique? And you will also start picturing Spain in your head… the Sun, oh, the Sun!!
On the lasting memories
If you decide to buy that new iPhone instead of the yoga retreat you’ve been thinking about for so long now –oh well, I’ve lost you 😉 Just remember that things become obsolete. When they’ve lost its first days flashiness, they become part of the background of your daily life (remember your super cool iPod? Yes, it’s sitting next to that Walkman portable CD-player!).
That trip you took to Ibiza with a couple of your friends, though, and where you saw the sunset with a bunch of happy hippies and got up every morning to practise some yoga? That memory gets sweeter and sweeter every time you recall it!
So if you want to make your yoga retreat even more long lasting, start planning well in advance! 🙂 This will allow you to savour your future trip for days, weeks and months prior to itself, and its memories and new friends will certainly last a lifetime!
Buy a yoga retreat, instead of things -the experience will be a lot more valuable! 😉