Treat Yo' Self. A Paradigm Shift.

It's not often that I treat myself.  And normally, when I do, it's to something like a movie or a big restaurant breakfast.

"Hey Big Spender..."

But I rarely, if ever, go BIG in terms of treating myself.

Until now.

Last month, I pulled the trigger on one of my bigger "Treat Yo' Self" moments, when I booked a cruise (to the BAHAMAS) for myself and friends.  It would not have been something that I would normally do for myself.  And once I pulled the trigger, it felt good.  It felt REALLY good.

Then it hit me.  I rarely treat myself because I'm always thinking about what type of unexpected emergencies or "priorities" that I need to take care of.  "I can't go here, because something might happen to my truck."  Or, "I can't do that thing, because I need to squirrel money away in case my computer dies."  And it occurred to me that no matter what, things will happen.

My old PC died unexpectedly.

My truck needed repairs.

By God's grace, I was able to take care of those things, but I still wasn't treating myself.

Planning this cruise caused me to shift my thinking.

My truck would need repairs, whether I went on vacation or not.  My PC would have died whether I traveled or not.  So instead of sitting around, watching everyone's adventures from a ringside seat (tip of the hat to the person that talked about this to me today), I'm getting in the ring.

I'm actually planning my cruise with some friends.  And sure enough, my truck needed some more repairs.  I took care of that and STILL kept positive about my plans.  Oddly enough, had my truck's repairs came about prior to planning this cruise, it would have steered me into a ditch.

The last time I took a real, honest-to-goodness, bonafide vacation was several years ago, when I spent a glorious week in sunny California.

Part of my vacation included Jules Winfield explaining the Bonnie Situation.

Things are going to happen.  Things may break, or emergencies may pop up.  But none of that prevents anyone from enjoying and living their lives to the fullest.  This will happen if I plan a cruise, watch my woefully neglected Netflix queue, or take a nap.  My pastor even spoke about the importance of getting away for a bit, even if it's for a drive across state lines for a few hours.

Now that I know that the world won't collapse upon itself if and when I plan something, I plan on doing this more often.  It may be a matter of baby steps, but I do plan on doing things like this more often.

...because if I don't, who will?

BECAUSE I'M GOING ON A GODD*MNED GOD-BLESSED CRUISE.