Yes absolutely Karen! The biggest thing is to expect to feel tired, hungry, and maybe a bit blue. All of it is okay, expected and normal. If you expect it and care for yourself through it, then it's a sweet time. If you think you should be able to ride the high of camp right back home and not skip a beat, that's where people get themselves into trouble. It's a transition. Having a plan and anticipating your potential obstacles is incredibly useful!
You can also journal from your future self who has already been there and see what wisdom she might have for you.
My secret is to have another big, or even medium, thing on the horizon! I came back last week from an amazing 16 days away where I summited two 14,000 peaks in Colorado plus a lot of other hikes and bike rides. This trip had been in the making for nearly a year. I did a lot of hiking to prepare as well as time in the weight room. It went better than I hoped other than two falls on loose rocks while descending. Nothing broken just bruises.
I wish I could have had a transition day between my trip and returning to work but circumstances prevented that. Last week was rough. Now the semester is underway and in the back of my mind I’m starting to plan my winter break and spring break trips! Both will involve hiking to make progress on bigger goals: hiking the entire River to River trail in Southern Illinois and completing the north country trail in Wisconsin.
It is part of my identity to be a planner.
Another big thing is retiring at the end of the academic year next May. Somehow knowing that is making this semester just a bit more tolerable in spite of a huge workload.
I'm so glad to hear that your trip to Colorado was amazing. I know you've been preparing and looking forward to it for a while! And it sounds like all of that really paid off.
I also like planning for the next thing after an event, both the smaller in between steps and the bigger picture plans to keep the motivation and inspiration going. It sounds like we both share the gift and love of planning!
Since I last posted, I now have something that I'm planning a year out. I will be hiking on Isle Royale next year over Labor Day weekend as I managed to snag reservations for lodging on the island! This is a destination that does require planning way in advance. Just waiting for the ferry reservations to open up in December to finish up the framework for this trip. This is a national park that has always been on my radar. The timing will be nice too as it will be when the fall semester starts back up. I'll be able to start my next chapter of my life (not being part of academia) doing something I really enjoy.
Oh wow!! I had not heard of Isle Royale until this post. I just looked it up and WOW! It looks amazing. How incredible to get reservations on the island! I remember when we planned our 7 day trip to the Grand Canyon, Bryce, Arches and Antelope Canyon. It also required the one year planning for certain reservations. It's so fun to begin the planning and preparation so that you can start imagining yourself there starting your new chapter!
Good timing, as I've just returned from an event I've been looking forward to for months. Whenever I get back, I always want a taste of some dark chocolate. This used to be a more significant issue in my life until I learned how my nervous system worked. So tonight, I made plans to be by myself for some quiet time and catch up on reading my Substacks. Knowing I had that to look forward to made me less interested in the chocolate.
I've been listened to several experts on the brain talk recently about the importance for the brain of having something to look forward to. It's such a simple hack and can be so individual as to what we pick. I love that your Substack "catch-up" time probably feels like a combination of entertainment, connection and learning! (Much longer lasting impact than some dark chocolate - though I'm a big fan of chocolate as well as Substack!!)
Jane, thanks for this post-travel recovery guide for easing the transition home. My version of "grace, rest, connect" will be "gentle awareness of needs."
I love this phrasing Kae! "Gentle awareness" - puts that Reticular Activating System to work, but doesn't actively seek problems or challenges that may not arise. And of course, anytime we are actively seeking to meet our needs we are much more able to connect with them and let our body guide us to the next step.
Thank you for this! It’s been on my mind how things will feel post NoBS camp when all the excitement is done. This gives me a starting place.
Yes absolutely Karen! The biggest thing is to expect to feel tired, hungry, and maybe a bit blue. All of it is okay, expected and normal. If you expect it and care for yourself through it, then it's a sweet time. If you think you should be able to ride the high of camp right back home and not skip a beat, that's where people get themselves into trouble. It's a transition. Having a plan and anticipating your potential obstacles is incredibly useful!
You can also journal from your future self who has already been there and see what wisdom she might have for you.
My secret is to have another big, or even medium, thing on the horizon! I came back last week from an amazing 16 days away where I summited two 14,000 peaks in Colorado plus a lot of other hikes and bike rides. This trip had been in the making for nearly a year. I did a lot of hiking to prepare as well as time in the weight room. It went better than I hoped other than two falls on loose rocks while descending. Nothing broken just bruises.
I wish I could have had a transition day between my trip and returning to work but circumstances prevented that. Last week was rough. Now the semester is underway and in the back of my mind I’m starting to plan my winter break and spring break trips! Both will involve hiking to make progress on bigger goals: hiking the entire River to River trail in Southern Illinois and completing the north country trail in Wisconsin.
It is part of my identity to be a planner.
Another big thing is retiring at the end of the academic year next May. Somehow knowing that is making this semester just a bit more tolerable in spite of a huge workload.
Sorry for the long response!
I'm so glad to hear that your trip to Colorado was amazing. I know you've been preparing and looking forward to it for a while! And it sounds like all of that really paid off.
I also like planning for the next thing after an event, both the smaller in between steps and the bigger picture plans to keep the motivation and inspiration going. It sounds like we both share the gift and love of planning!
Since I last posted, I now have something that I'm planning a year out. I will be hiking on Isle Royale next year over Labor Day weekend as I managed to snag reservations for lodging on the island! This is a destination that does require planning way in advance. Just waiting for the ferry reservations to open up in December to finish up the framework for this trip. This is a national park that has always been on my radar. The timing will be nice too as it will be when the fall semester starts back up. I'll be able to start my next chapter of my life (not being part of academia) doing something I really enjoy.
Oh wow!! I had not heard of Isle Royale until this post. I just looked it up and WOW! It looks amazing. How incredible to get reservations on the island! I remember when we planned our 7 day trip to the Grand Canyon, Bryce, Arches and Antelope Canyon. It also required the one year planning for certain reservations. It's so fun to begin the planning and preparation so that you can start imagining yourself there starting your new chapter!
Good timing, as I've just returned from an event I've been looking forward to for months. Whenever I get back, I always want a taste of some dark chocolate. This used to be a more significant issue in my life until I learned how my nervous system worked. So tonight, I made plans to be by myself for some quiet time and catch up on reading my Substacks. Knowing I had that to look forward to made me less interested in the chocolate.
I've been listened to several experts on the brain talk recently about the importance for the brain of having something to look forward to. It's such a simple hack and can be so individual as to what we pick. I love that your Substack "catch-up" time probably feels like a combination of entertainment, connection and learning! (Much longer lasting impact than some dark chocolate - though I'm a big fan of chocolate as well as Substack!!)
Jane, thanks for this post-travel recovery guide for easing the transition home. My version of "grace, rest, connect" will be "gentle awareness of needs."
I love this phrasing Kae! "Gentle awareness" - puts that Reticular Activating System to work, but doesn't actively seek problems or challenges that may not arise. And of course, anytime we are actively seeking to meet our needs we are much more able to connect with them and let our body guide us to the next step.