WHAT'S UNEXPECTEDLY HELPFUL?

Today's post is short and sweet. What's something that can be really helpful, but that we don't always like doing?

Thinking back to the parts of vacations you didn't enjoy... What was it that put that specific trip at the bottom of your bucket? Was it something uncontrollable like weather, illness or a resort closure? Maybe it was the group you traveled with. Or was it the sheer number of layovers and flights that you had?

If you're like me you don't particularly enjoy dwelling on the not-so-fun parts of vacations, but it can be very helpful in certain situations. I say parts of vacations because we can dislike pieces of a trip without disliking the entire vacation. Figure out what exactly you didn't like so that you can prevent a repeated scenario.

Of course, there are factors that are out of our hands, but there are a lot of things we can control.

Here's a quick story for you. My family traveled to Hawaii together when I was younger and it was an amazing trip! We had a wonderful time exploring two islands over two weeks, but the trip got off to a rocky start.

We missed a flight in Dallas and arrived in Honolulu a day later than planned. We walked out to the beach and I immediately got sick (suspected food poisoning from an in-flight meal). To top it all off, my eardrum ruptured on the flight over. I ended up in the ER in Honolulu. Once we got past those first few days it was smooth sailing and we had SUCH a great time. Despite those first few days, it's one of my favorite vacations I've ever been on.

Here's what I learned from that experience. 1: Make sure that I have plenty of time at layovers, especially at large airports like Dallas Fort Worth. 2: My ears are very sensitive to pressure changes, so now I have a few set things I do to help keep them happy while flying. 3: Finally, (personal preference), I don't eat in-flight meals.

Just a few minor tweaks like these I've listed above and my trips run smoother. So, when you're planning an upcoming vacation don't forget to revisit both happy and not-so-happy vacation memories. You'll learn and grow from the experiences.

It helps to create a joyful backdrop for your next vacation. So many of the factors I mentioned above can be addressed in planning. Did you have a bad experience with illness or weather - Maybe you lost a lot of your investment. If this is important to you, look into travel protection!

Whatever your specific needs and concerns are, be sure to address them when planning a trip!