I don’t travel often for business, but the couple of weeks leading to Thanksgiving I had back-to-back business trips.

Traveling sometimes is hard for us because it can be a burden on Becca. Although we have an awesome nanny that is super flexible with our schedule, dealing with nighttime routines for all 5 kiddos can be difficult. Luckily I am never gone for more than 2 days at a time.

I’ve always tried to find positivity in every life situation and in the case of traveling, it is no different. Flying allows me (when I don’t crash for the entire flight) to do things that I usually can’t do while at home due to lack of time. It becomes a “me time” although surrounded by a bunch of strangers.

When I travel I get to make progress on the many books I have on my night stand that I never get a chance to finish, or read my Men’s Health magazine OR one of my new favorite things to do – listen to podcasts! (more of this later).

This past trip I scribbled down on a plane napkin some of the things I was able to enjoy while flying. Although these are things that I tend to do on every trip, I never took the time to acknowledge them or give them the importance they deserve.  Here is the list of things I learned/appreciate as a father of 5 kids when traveling.

1. I miss/appreciate my kids and wife more: Sometimes we take these things for granted. We get caught in the day-to-day. But not being with my kids and getting pics of them via text from my wife makes me miss them even more. The pictures always put a smile on my face and remind me how blessed I am and how awesome my life is because of them.
2. Time for reflection: The above is one of the examples but the traveling “me time” allows me to think – a lot – and helps me reflect about my life, my family, my job, our future, etc.
3. Time for planning:  Most of the time, for me, putting things into perspective turns into planning for the future. Whether it is thinking about a plan for retirement, or how to make sure my kids are taken care of after I pass, etc. I get some sense of clarity when I am flying and am able to spend time thinking, jotting down ideas.  I take a lot of notes and come back re-energized and ready to tackle new adventures.
4. Think of ideas to be a better person:  This is a combination of #2 and #3 incentivized by some of the things I read or listen to while traveling.  For example, this past trip I read a couple of chapters from “The Project Happiness”, read “Men’s Health” and listened to the “Smart Passive Income” podcast among others.  I am big on self-help. The time I get to fuel my brain with all these new ideas is awesome and fuels me to become a better dad, a better husband, a better professional and a better me.
5. Educate myself:  Traveling by myself allows me time to read books, magazines, articles, news, bios, etc as well as listening to cool podcasts and occasionally super interesting conversations with fellow travelers. Every time I travel I learn new things and gain new perspectives on a lot of things.

It’s easy to find the positive in every situation. You just have to look for it.

Cheers!