Most people look forward to vacations. They are excited to leave work, take off, and enjoy a few days of relaxation.

But here's the thing: I'm a terrible vacationer.

I'm one of those people who can't relax. No matter how stressed out I am, I need to continue to do more work. When I'm not working, I'm formulating. Brainstorming. Thinking of my next conquest.

So when my family wants me to go on vacation with them, I'm always tempted to say, "No, thanks. I'll just stay here," because I know that I'll be much more productive with them all gone. I begin to see everything that I can complete when I have the house to myself. I can imagine how peaceful it would be to reside in a house that is completely silent, except for the click of my keyboard. I would have the freedom to work as hard as I want to work without hearing my loved ones voice their concerns for my workload.

Yeah, they don't understand how I operate; the more work the better.

But eventually, I allow myself to be persuaded into joining my family on the vacation that they planned. And every time, I am surprised at what I find.

Vacationing is good for me.

Even though I tend to be go, go, go, it's nice to slow down every once in a while. Not only does it give me plenty of great memories with my friends and family, but it also reinvigorates me. It reminds me why I work so hard the rest of the year: I have passion that I need to feed, and it does not prosper on work alone. I require creativity, and I'm always surprised at how my creativity flourishes with a bit of breathing room. Though I'm still formulating, planning, and brainstorming in these breaks, they're much more inspired than the work I do the rest of the year. Suddenly, I remember that my passion is much more than a sum of goals; it's not just work--my passion is doing what I love because I love to do it. When I'm vacationing, my brain is stimulated, and I can create freely instead of creating out of necessity.

At the end of this week, I know that I'll be ready to dive back into my work--because after this break, my work will not be work. It will be a re-ignition of my passion.