Hawaii was weird. Even looking back on it, Hawaii was… weird.

Oh, it was beautiful! Hawaii is paradise.

You take a picture of an amazing view, turn the camera around for a selfie, and there behind you is another beautiful view. Unless you’ve been there, you can’t really grasp just how… well… beautiful it is.

My host was incredibly generous. The food was always fresh and great and some places let you pick it out raw and they grill it for take out for you. There was even this guy that didn’t really know me that let me borrow his car for the night, so I wasn’t stuck.

And, yet, something still didn’t feel right.

Another beach. Another sunset. Another once-in-a-lifetime experience. Another great person. Another… #$%&! Something is just… missing.

There in Hawaii, I distinctly remember just staring out at the ocean. Curious. Wondering. Confused.

Oh, but don’t feel too bad. I mean it’s not as hard as I’m making it out to be… you know, surrounded by everything beautiful.

Balance?

Let me try and set this up for you:

In the morning, I’d run or do a little yoga. Much of the day was then spent touring Hawaii’s beauty with Cheryl – of Cheryl’s World Famous Northside Culinary Tour fame. The afternoon, a beer of two on the lanai. In the evening, I’d stay up until I got “enough” dev work done. A few hours of good sleep were followed by a quick jaunt to walk the beach. On a couple days, I took my East Coast clients’ calls from the beach, with my feet in the warm water ,walking towards the sunrise.

To kind of sum that up. Each day, there was:

• Self-work
• Work that paid to support the Quest
• Enjoying the location & travel
• Great people
• Some down time just relaxing with nothing

It’s a hard life for sure.

Another Forest. Another Tree

Well, either it’s a hard life, or for the first time, I had found balance.

Take a look at that list in the last section.

Any of that missing in your life? Do you feel like you’re focused on one thing instead of balancing life?

Would you even know it if you had balance?

Hawaii ticked every checkbox I want for my day-to-day life… and it didn’t feel right.

We go so long feeling like everything isn’t lining up, that when everything does line up, we feel off.

We “thrive” in the unknown, the discomfort, the stress. We use that friction as something to press against to feel whole… or as an excuse to not feel whole. We’re so used to “I’ll be happy when” that when “when” comes, we don’t know what to do with it.

So, what to do?

Enjoy it!

When is here.

It’s already paradise.

…don’t be a stranger,