How many of us – particularly those in jobs – go away twice a year for two weeks and tend to go to the same places, year in, year in? We all know people like that right or perhaps I am talking to you? And there is absolutely nothing at all wrong with that, providing it achieves the result of rest, recuperation, relaxation and re-energizing. Sometimes going to the same places over and over becomes a bit routine and doesn’t necessarily give us all of the above. When life becomes a bit routine and even holidays become the same, it can leave us all feeling just a little stale and even potentially stifled.
It doesn’t necessarily need to be New Years to make resolutions and set ourselves some new goals. Balance is essential to us all and time off is critical to our all over wellness. It recharges our batteries, gives us a fresh new perspective on our lives, relaxes us from the stresses of everyday living, and above all, our bodies just need a break every once in a while. And that once in a while really does need to be fairly regular.
For me, it’s every Sunday as a minimum. I work and play hard 6 days a week, but Sundays for me is family day and we always try to go and experience something different every single week. I find that new experiences has helped me become a more efficient decision maker, assisted me in knowing exactly what it is I like and don’t like, what I want and don’t want and definitely has made me much more grateful and appreciative.
Once upon a time I had a ‘weekender’ – you know, the holiday property. The default holiday destination because it’s predictable in every way – the experience, the cost, even the weather. It’s all too familiar. When my ex-husband and I sold that property, our initial thought was to buy again somewhere closer to where we moved to. But now I have grown to realize that I no longer want the predictable, the familiar, the safety and security of it all. It never grew me as a person. What grew me in every conceivable way was when I travelled.
Experiencing different cultures, different surroundings, different languages, difference currencies, different weather. This has now become a huge part of my life and I find that I tend to get almost ‘cold feet’ every six months. I don’t always travel outside of my own country, but frequently. Equally as important though and despite my emphasis here on travel – simple time off is crucial to incorporate into one’s life and regularly.
As I mentioned earlier, I aim to create new experiences every Sunday. I enjoy this immensely as I mainly began doing this for my Autistic son. If you know anything of Autism, they tend to LOVE predictability and structure and I wanted him to see that there is absolute safety and security in diversity. He is beginning to appreciate this now and I find I derive greater enjoyment when I see it in him. The next form of “time off” I have found important is to have a hobby and/or sport.
I play quite a bit of tennis, which clearly I don’t find laborious but incredibly invigorating. I also enjoy motorsport and a few other hobbies such as sewing, reading, ceramics.
Irrespective of what vocation you are engaged in, always find the time to enjoy your passions (away from work that is), experience something different, visit somewhere you have never visited before. Get that massage you’ve always been promising yourself. Have a spa, sauna, pampering session, drive in the countryside, eat at a restaurant serving foreign cuisine. Just something different. You will find it so refreshing, so invigorating and rewnewing you will wonder why you put it off. Leave me your comments of your experience with this.
What is my next big plan I hear you saying? Scandinavia next year with my two children flying Business Class the whole way. No idea how we’ll pay for it at this stage, but we’ll make it and that’s all that matters. What’s your big goal?
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