As I get close to my annual holidays I feel like an old ship that has been out to sea a very long time and has been battling hurricanes non stop. Now without any power left, I coast into shore with only the currents and wind to guide me.
Every year the distance between annual holidays seems to get farther, longer, and a lot more painful.
To think, the younger version of myself often skipped annual vacations and took the pay instead!
We have just passed the first day of summer and now I long to be sitting in the long grass, watching the bugs and birds and whatever. Summer days can be mesmerizing and brings out the laziest parts of me.
As I look forward to a rest, I want to remind everyone to do the same. Take a break. Listen to the birds. Watch the clouds. See the big picture.
If you’re a planner like me, stop. Don’t plan anything and just let one day become the next. It will do you so much good to stop being your own worst enemy, and possibly everyone else’s too!
You don’t have to be anywhere, or do anything, or be anyone for a few short little weeks of the year. You don’t have to make big decisions (and shouldn’t), be zen or learn a new skill, develop yourself or seek a new career. You don’t have to be zip lining, cycling 100 km a day, or organizing an event. Turn yourself off.
I believe everyone should have 2 major holidays a year. One as described above, where you turn it all off and a second one where you turn yourself on – experience something new, go somewhere, try something. We need both in order to be healthy.