Geographical cures and other great ideas

If you lived in Curaçao, maybe you’d appreciate the change of pace of a blustery winter day in New York. Then again, maybe not. (Image by Michelle Raponi)

It's funny to book a round-trip ticket to home.

I'm home, temporarily, then going back...home. Back to the place where I've spent the last three months and will spend the next couple. What is home, anyway?

But for now, I'm on vacation (sort of) at home (sort of). And like travel often does, it's bringing up different thoughts, feelings, and experiences than the ones I've been having. Out of my daily life, I'm seeing things from a new perspective.

Now, a geographical cure can't fix fundamental problems like addiction. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you, and you'll have to face your issues eventually. But when you are healthy and functional and longing for something new, like the insight that will make all the difference on a challenging project or the idea that will transform your life, a change of place can be just the thing.

Back in my early twenties, it would have been silly to tell myself that moving wasn't going to solve anything. In fact, moving to a new city at that time made almost everything in my life better, from my career to my social life to my physical health. It happened again just a few years ago. Relocation is on the menu of options that we humans can take advantage of. We don't need to tough it out in an environment that is not compatible with our preferences.

There are other areas in which we may have been taught to be wary of placing too much emphasis on external factors. For instance, we might believe that we should be able to function in an office or home regardless of whether it is aesthetically pleasing to us. We should be able to get through the afternoon without sugary treats. We shouldn't need thank yous for our acts of service. We should be able to focus even when there's a leaf blower roaring outside.

Maybe whatever you have been taught about your habits and desires is true. Maybe it's virtuous to be able to grind through a headache without taking a painkiller or to walk every time you need to go somewhere that's less than a mile away.

But it could be that there are times when a shortcut is reasonable. Yeah, you can get through the month of February in New England without going to Florida — but you don't have to. You can go to Florida and see what that experience feels like, too. Some hardships are voluntary, and maybe they're unnecessary.

You might find, like I have, that allowing yourself special treats and indulgences, from vacations to pretty office supplies, is good for you. It might make you happier, more creative, and more engaged in the world.

In my view, it doesn't matter whether the benefit comes from the placebo effect or legitimate inspiration — if it works, it works.

If we're always trying to feel better through buying things, going places, and eating beloved snacks, we ought to look at what sense of lack us underlying our constant desire for more. It's all about moderation. We don't need to be the permissive parent who lets the kids gorge themselves on junk food and stay up all night watching inappropriate media. We can be the kind one who takes the kids out for ice cream after the chores are done. Even when you're giving them to yourself, such rewards and gifts work best when they are not deployed every day.

Do I really need to go to the coffee shop to get a caffè mocha in order to file my quarterly taxes? Nah. Did I really need to take this trip to Maine in order to get my head right for the remainder of the school year? Not necessarily. But doing these things makes life and work more fun and interesting. It doesn't matter much whether I perform better as a direct result of these luxuries or because I'm expecting that I will perform better as a result. I'll allow myself to enjoy them, just in case.