Journey to Resilience, Strength, and Flexibility
View from a hospital wing at Denver Health when we visited the ER
If there’s one thing guaranteed during travel it’s that your plans might get de-railed. Even the best-laid plans can fall apart with just one minor change. Travel has a funny way of throwing you for a loop when you least expect it. And do you know what? Sometimes that’s the beauty of it.
There’s a list of travel hiccups I’ve encountered that will probably keep growing during my lifetime. Between missed cruise ships, closed train stations, ER visits, landing at a busy international airport with only one air traffic controller, and more, the list will grow as long as I keep traveling!
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Yet, an important takeaway is allowing our kids to also have the opportunity to experience these changes, and how to learn from them. The more we bring our kids to places and go through experiences that require altered plans, the stronger, more resilient, and flexible they become as humans.
“Family vacations offer the opportunity for the entire family system to strengthen thereby creating a resiliency against the myriad stressors in society today.” - Dr. Debbie Kruenegel-Farr
This all sounds great you say…but what about in the moment? What can you do when you are waiting in the airport line, the snacks ran out, the flight is delayed/cancelled, or you go on a detour?
When everyone’s patience is tested, try a few scientifically proven techniques that can help get the family back on track.
Create an Affirmation That Can be Used When Things Go Astray
Examples can include:
“Everything will work out the way it’s supposed to”
“This happened for a reason”
“How can we turn this around and make it less stressful”
“What could be the silver lining here?”
Creating or using an affirmation as a family will help provide strength and bonding.
Looking out the airplane window and saying our affirmations
Burn Energy When Needed
Delayed transportation? Try turning it into a fun game such as a scavenger hunt for the most outrageous snacks, play rock paper scissors, play I spy, or even find a new multi-player game on your phone. Resilience kicks in here - because you learn to improvise, negotiate, or distract everyone with a game until you can locate the nearest overpriced giant snack.
There’s a Tacodeli in the Austin airport and breakfast tacos are a great snack!
Find the Joy in Detours
Maybe it’s a stormy day, a canceled tour, or a museum that’s closed on Mondays. Travel teaches us flexibility - how to shift gears and find joy in the unplanned. Some of the best family memories come from these detours, even if at first, they felt like disasters. Find a way to document the detour and make it part of your epic story.
I had to be super flexible trying to drive 9 ½ miles per hour
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The Landing
Travel doesn’t just take you to new places. It teaches you and your family lessons you didn’t know you needed. Flexibility comes from pivoting plans. Resilience comes from bouncing back. Strength comes from challenges. And every meltdown, delay, or detour is secretly shaping your family into pros at all three.
Coaching question for you: Next time life throws you a curveball (travel or in daily life), which travel-tested strategy can you lean on? Flexibility, resilience, strength, or a little combo of all three?
Until next time, enjoy the journey!
Copyright Me Time 4 Mom, LLC
