As summer approaches, we start thinking about vacations: what to do and where to go. The best aspect about taking a trip is the new experience it offers us. We go places we never went before, try foods that don’t appear on our dinner table back home and meet strangers who become, if not friends, at least friendly acquaintances.

When we travel, we not only literally step outside our home, we also step outside ourselves in the figurative sense. When we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory, we have the chance to not only explore our surroundings but conduct a little internal “sightseeing” as well, investigating our mental and emotional landscape.

How open are we to the people we meet? How much attention do we pay to the sights and sounds of the new environment? Or are we so caught up with worries or concerns that we are blind to what is around us? Will we return home the same person we were when we left, or have some new ideas, concepts or approaches become “souvenirs” of our journey?

Sometimes, too, the journeys we take are not actual trips to physical locales but journeys that take place psychologically. We travel from being single to being married (and perhaps back again), from happiness to grief, from success to failure. Each event that takes place in our lives takes us away from the “place we were” to “the place we are now.” And, as a result, we should change in some manner, becoming a wiser, more developed person because of our travels.

If you have taken a journey (literal or figurative) that resulted in new realizations or insights, please share it on my Make a Change blog. If, on the other hand, you are travel-phobic, try a few of the tips I have posted there to get out of your traveling rut!

Are you looking for ways to shift your thinking or bust out of your rut? Try one of my workshops! I’m currently in the planning stages for a “Rut-Busting”™ Workshop Weekend Retreat. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

Writers should sign up for the Writer’s Place Update—my e-newsletter with changes and additions to my Writer’s Resource section as well as information about the Writer’s Place current blog topic.

All my seminars and workshops are available to companies, groups, organizations and schools nationwide. Contact me at 330-793-3675 or via e-mail for details or to schedule a class. But do it soon—my schedule is filling up fast!

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Make the most of the changes to come!

PS Did you read The Gifts of Change yet? If so, drop me a line with your comments and feel free to post a review on Amazon too! If you haven't read the book yet, what are you waiting for? (Mother's Day is just around the corner. Order your copy today and make your Mom smile!) (If you want to be removed from this mailing list, just click on
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