I have been thinking lately about this topic of getting back "into" work after a vacation. Every time I visit this subject, I end up at the same conclusion. "Into" work is not the goal of post-vacation time.

Why do we go on vacation? To expand our lives, right? We go to relax, spend time with our family or people we love, enjoy ourselves, and come back a different person, ready to face the world again.

So what do most of us do? We spend our first day trying to get "caught up" from vacation, burying ourselves in work. We may not even look at our vacation photos for a week or more, and when someone asks how our vacation was, we'll say something like, "It was great."

What if, when we come back from vacation, we felt like we had renewed ourselves, in the true sense of renewal? What if we felt we were "new" people? What if, when someone asked about our vacation, we took the time to tell them about the things we did, and said, "I thought about you when we were _________ because it reminded me of the time you said _________."

What if we used the time after our vacation to reconnect with the people in our lives? What if we spent our vacation becoming more sensitive, more connected, more centered? What if, when we came back, we could really reach out and be part of our colleagues' lives?

What if, instead of, "It was great," we could say, "It was great, because ________________" and then, instead of going back to work, we could say, "How was your week while I was gone? Did you get things straightened out with ____________"?

The fact is, we often don't act like we care nearly as much about the people around us as we may really care.

We may have friends at work, and we may wish that those relationships were closer and more meaningful, but what do we do about that? Do we work to make those relationships more important, or do we just keep coasting?

The most important thing that can happen on a vacation is not that you get a suntan, not that you get to meet Mickey Mouse, not that you visit some landmark. The most important thing that can happen is that you can discover who you are and begin to build relationships with the people in your life.

Even when those people are not individuals you would spend time with outside of work, think how much stronger your relationships could be. Think about how much more pleasant work could be if you had a more cordial, more meaningful relationship with your colleagues.

What if, instead of getting back "into" work after your vacation, you got "into" your colleagues and coworkers?

What if you used your vacation to become a person who cares more and is more interested in others? What would that be like?

To find out:

• After your next time off, talk more with your colleagues when you return.

• Practice finding out more about your coworkers' lives.

• Find one way in the next week you can become more connected to a colleague.