I have fond memories of writing paragraphs during the first week of early grade school about how I spent my summer vacation.

After I got my business cards printed, vacations got shorter. Over the years, they dropped from three months to three days, better known as holiday weekends.

But this summer, I decided to take more than six weeks of vacation. It created a transformation of attitude and physical feeling, and, most important, freedom of thought.

When I say “vacation,” what images come to your mind? For most people, it’s some combination of getaway, pack the kids in the car, go to the beach or go to the mountains. If you’re single, it’s probably a lot of partying and carousing.

You might think of a vacation as rest and relaxation (better known as R&R). But the reality is, vacation should involve A LOT of “re.”

Let me give you a few more “re” words so you can see what the entire opportunity of vacation is:

Relax. The original objective of vacation. I have found it takes a day or three to get into a real relaxed mode. Just let it happen organically. Resting will help.

Rejuvenate. Get your youth back, both in thinking and in feeling.

Revive. Decide what you want to bring back to life and take action.

Restore. Build back physical and mental strength that may have gone fallow.

Reflect. Pause to think about people and things.

Recall. Bring back events that changed your direction for the better.

Remember. Think about times and people of the past that made you smile.

Rewind. Play back some events that you want to think about again.

Repair. Physical and mental damage gets worse unless you take positive action.

Recover. Heal both mentally and physically – both by doing (exercise) and not doing (nap, beach).

Reconsider. Think about where you are and the actions that got you there.

Relearn. Vacation is the time to read books and expose yourself to what’s current and what’s new.

Rediscover. By taking action on vacation, you’ll find old happiness anew.

Refresh. Think of cold water on your face. Now refresh your brain and your body the same way. Shake it out and wash it out. Massage it out and exercise it out. Walk it out and run it out.

Reorient. Put yourself in a different frame of mind to clarify and justify your present situation.

Relive. Go over the past few years and ask yourself what could have happened differently or better.

Relieve. Take time to let stress go, and thereby have new and better thoughts come more easily.

Revel. Love what you do. Love what you’re doing. Love who you’re becoming. Love who you are. And wallow in it while you relax.

Reaffirm. Who you are, who you want to become, and what you intend to do.

Recommit. To do whatever it takes to “become” at a higher level.

Resolve. Not a New Year’s resolution. Real resolve to “do” in your daily life.

Reward. Give yourself the praise and prize you deserve.

Rekindle. Spirit and love are the two most powerful parts of your being.

My summer vacation started with four incredible days at the Canyon Ranch Resort in Tucson, Ariz. It embellishes all of the above “re” words.

Vacation is not a party. I know many people who come home from a vacation saying, “I need a vacation!” They don’t get it.

Take a vacation and re-create your success priorities. In these times, there are few things more important.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by email at salesman@gitomer.com. © 2011 Jeffrey H. Gitomer