The Best Vacation Ever

Recently, I was reminded of one of the best trips I ever had. The “greatness” of the experience had nothing to do with the destination, the weather or even the food. The trip was memorable because my mobile phone broke. Yes, I had officially taken the time off but felt compelled to check emails, especially while waiting in line with my kids and wife at the amusement park. There was nothing else to do, so I felt justified. I was spending time with my family. I made the effort, spent the money and dedicated the time to be with them. Then my phone stopped working. Besides being disconnected from our group in between rides and not being able to use the park app to see the next show time, it was empowering and enlivening. I had to force myself to stop worrying about things I couldn’t control. My team could handle any challenge that presented itself, and my other colleagues were all considerate of not sending me messages during my time off. It was an incredible three days of freedom and genuine moments with the family. While technology is great to stay connected, removing it temporarily enabled me to reconnect. Do you have any experiences when you perhaps built stronger relationships when technology was “paused?”

MPD: Remove technology to reconnect.