I recently read a Wikipedia article about "Ruffian," a filly descended from Man O'War -- ranked among the fastest racehorses of the era. In her last race, against Kentucky Derby winner "Foolish Pleasure," she broke her leg.
But she kept on running, broken leg be damned.
She kept on competing -- even as she "pulverized her sesamoids, ripping the skin of her fetlock and tearing her ligaments until her hoof was flopping uselessly."
TMI, right? Well, the point is, she ran until she could run no more. She gave it all until there was no saving her (she was humanely euthanized).
My immediate, visceral reaction to this article was two-fold:
- Holy $*! -- that poor horse.
- ...I should probably take a vacation soon...
The thing is: I don't usually take vacation. I don't like the thought of it. And I don't like the idea of looking weak or lazy. I'm the sort of person that, like a certain ill-fated racehorse, goes all-in and runs hard until there's nothing left to give.
And many driven Americans are probably just like me.
The problem is, there's only so fast and so far you can run. Vacation is necessary: it refreshes us and gives us time to reflect. When I came back after two weeks away, I felt more motivated and productive than I had in months. I tackled projects in days that may have taken me weeks otherwise.
In light of this, there is really no reason NOT to take vacation. Moving forward, I am going to try to get much better about utilizing time off (plus, my employer offers an unlimited policy, so..why not...?)
To close: Alexis Ohanian (@AlexisOhanian), the co-founder of reddit (and one of my favorite people to follow on Instagram), recently made the following post:
So: one of the founders of the most trafficked websites (and successful startups) in the world can't even spend time with his family without someone commenting on what a lazy crumb-bum he is.
This... is a problem.
Americans need to be able to take vacation. We need to be able to set work aside, recharge and get back to it.
But this sort of culture change certainly doesn't start with one person.
So "break a leg" -- or don't.