A U-Turn Moment
It’s the eve of Chinese New Year. It was going to be a busy day; we are hosting a reunion dinner and our flight to a 10-day vacation is at midnight. The day passed with the expected flurry of juggling between work, prepping for dinner and confirming our flights and activities for the next 2 weeks.
2 hours to boarding: We hugged our friends goodbye and closed our apartment door. It was time to get going if we wanted to make it in time to drop off our luggage. Sitting on our couch, we looked at each other and said: “Do we really want to do this?”
30 mins later, we were still asking ourselves that question as we wheeled our luggage to the check-in counter. The decision was a hard one to make and maybe to others would not make any sense. Why would anyone give up a holiday in one of the world’s best ski resort and lose the money that had already gone into securing accommodations, activities and flights?
5 minutes later, we were back in a taxi on the way home. We felt good about what we have done and felt lighter and more relieved. Already, our minds were buzzing with next steps and possibilities for the days ahead.
That U-turn moment we experienced at the airport express must have been one of my most enlightening moments. As we stood there, oscillating between going and staying, we had to be honest with ourselves and once we admitted the truth, a wave of clarity paved the way and cleared any indecision or confusion. We knew, we had to stay.
Perhaps it can be taken as a sign that we are growing up, preferring to stay in the comforts of our home than take a trip away. Perhaps it was the months of non-stop traveling that has finally caught up to us and we were just exhausted to be on another plane to another airport. Perhaps it was the visa problem and the alternative route that we were flying that made the trip less appealing. Perhaps it was due to all the books we have been reading that promoted a more thoughtful approach to our plans recognizing that this trip was not a necessity and did not add to our overall happiness. Perhaps we never wanted to go in the first place but agreed to in order to keep up social appearances and maintain a certain reputation. Perhaps we thought each of us wanted to go and neither wanted to say anything for fear of letting the other party down. Perhaps we are just one indecisive couple who does not know what they really want and have not really been prepared for it in the first place.
When you are more excited about what you can do if you do not take that path ahead versus what you will be doing when you are on that path – it is a damn good indicator that you really should not be on that bloody path.
Fighting that internal battle is not easy, choosing a path that seems illogical is difficult to do – we have just gained 10 days back, we sure would not be wasting it.
