When Your Travel Plans Sink: How To Keep Your Relationship Afloat
After months of saving money, working overtime, and being stuck in the daily grind, your relationship is finally getting the revival it needs. Your travel plans are carefully laid out for a relaxing vacation for you and your spouse. What could go wrong?
Then the plane is suddenly delayed or the hotel loses your reservation, your suitcase never arrives, or perhaps your passport has somehow gone missing. What starts as an exciting adventure can quickly lead to arguments, resentment, and bad memories. If you spend a lot of time traveling or you avoid traveling for a reason, then you have likely experienced some travel plans that have gone wrong. According to a popular traveling website, the most common things that go wrong while traveling are lost luggage, cancellation or flight delays (or missing the flight altogether), losing a passport, or a stolen wallet. Sometimes other issues cause stress when traveling, like jet lag, getting sunburnt, or food poisoning.
Traveling can certainly be a love/hate relationship. So, how does your relationship survive when your travel plans go wrong?
5 tips to help keep your relationship afloat when your travel plans sink:
Prepare for change
Have realistic expectations and be willing to compromise. When you book your travel plans, understand that there is no guarantee of perfection. There is a likely chance that something will force you to be flexible and make changes to those plans. Try to remember this when something in your itinerary doesn’t go as planned. If it just doesn’t work out like you thought, it will be easier for you to adjust and stay flexible when that time comes.
Stay fed and hydrated
Just like an argument that starts when a couple gets home from work, you are probably exhausted and not in an emotional place to problem-solve and be flexible, the same is true while traveling. A trigger for many travel-fights stems from a place of hunger or exhaustion rather than a true emotional hang-up. Keep snacks and nutritious treats on hand while traveling to give yourself and your partner a much-needed energy boost.
Realize the blame is likely not on your partner
Along with the previous tip, there are often many reasons travel plans go wrong. Most of these have nothing to do with your partner. Remember, you are on a team. In those moments, it is important to remind yourself of why you made the plans to get away in the first place. A quick thought about investing quality time with your partner can help you refocus in those stressful moments. Try to keep the intention of your trip at the forefront of your mind!
Take turns supporting each other
Whether it’s because of long flights, unbearable layovers, or something else, travel can be stressful. Through this, though, there are many opportunities to support your partner and be supported in return. Some of these may be as easy as applying sunscreen on each other’s burns, or alternating who gets the neck pillow! Sharing responsibilities helps your partner feel supported when times are stressful. Try taking turns getting snacks or coffee for each other during that long layover.
Remember to laugh
The travel plans were made for the two of you to grow together and connect. Sharing a laugh and finding humor in a stressful situation can realign you and reconnect you as partners and a team. Together, you can get through any stressful travel. Those stresses get a lot more difficult when you aren’t working together.
If you have a difficult time planning for a vacation or deciding what is worthy of stressing about, let us take the guesswork out for you. Come join us on the 2019 Luxe Couples Retreat and let us plan it all for you. I promise you’ll find just the right mix of adventure and relaxation while nurturing your relationship, and we do all the planning and problem-solving for you!
