Did you see the recent research that reckoned it takes only two days back at work for all of the benefits of being on holiday to disappear?
How sad is that?
Still, it echoes a lot of what I hear and see around me: people completely frazzled ahead of the school holidays, bouyed up by the prospect of a couple of weeks in the sun and putting off any big decisions about life till the autumn.
photo credit: beamillion
All of which has got me thinking about what that says about how much – or rather, how little – we value ourselves and our lives.
How we tend to see work and holidays in a very black and white, all and nothing kind of way.
The extent to which we adapt ourselves to fit our society in ways that don’t suit us.
And how it might be if we took holidays, less as a recovery from some punishing schedule, and more as a welcome pause to refresh and recharge our generally happy existences?
In my coaching work, people learn to free themselves from the tyranny of loving only to hate their work. They come to understand the interconnections of their work as an aspect of their whole lives. They begin to find their own way of being in a society that would prefer them to conform. To live authentic lives and to feel the sense of peace and happiness that brings. In that scenario, they’ll find their own rhythm about what effort versus what rest they need and what that looks like. Whether they take rest in big blocks, or they weave it into their daily lives. How time off feeds them and how they can hold on to its nourishment when they resume their endeavours.
They take lovely holiday, for sure. But they rarely need them.
And, yes, it’s hard work to get to this place, but breaking out of the vicious cycle of work and holidays is entirely possible.
What about you? What do holidays mean in your life? What single thing could you do differently that would allow the benefit of holidays to have a more lasting effect for you?
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This is great Christine and something I have been thinking about a lot recently. This is the first year in my life where I have felt that I don’t “need” a holiday because my day to day life is how I want it and relaxing and fun mostly. Seth Godin’s advice to ‘create a life that you don’t want to escape from’ is great advice – as you said it is really cool when you can start creating holidays as a welcome addition to your life rather than a need to help you escape the grind.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Jen. I’m so happy to hear that you’re having a year where you don’t “need” a holiday. Not to say you don’t take them, but it’s not from a place of needing to escape. I don’t know about you, but being in that place actually allows holidays to feel like a completely different experience too. You can pay attention to where you are and what you do with more presence and ironically although you don’t “need” it, it’s probably even more refreshing!
Twitter: CoachScotland
Hi Christine
Your post reminded me of watching the amount of effort put in by former colleagues to ensure that their desk was tidy before they went on holiday. It could involve many long late nights.
Two weeks later they would arrive back at work after their holiday, tanned and refreshed. By mid week the tan had gone and by Friday they felt as if they had never been away.
What coaching could have done for them would have been amazing.
Marion Anderson´s last blog ..My First Blogging Report Card
Ugh! I know exactly what you mean, Marion.
Such a waste of a life – and yes, indeed, coaching certainly could have helped your former colleagues hugely. Always assuming they’d have been up for it, of course!
Thanks for your comment.
Twitter: jblack2012
I think that the perfect solution to the post-holiday blues is to create a life situation where you are already doing something that you love EVERY DAY.
This is why I appreciate entrepreneurship so much. When you work for yourself, you no longer have to wait until that next holiday. Every day that you are face-first in your work doesn’t feel like work at all.
It’s no longer a “job,” it’s your “work,” what makes you who you are. Then, on top of it, if you design your business correctly you can take a holiday whenever you want, instead of when you boss allows it.
-Joshua Black
The Underdog Millionaire
Joshua Black | The Underdog Millionaire´s last blog ..Lesson From US Government Shows That Traditional Product Launches Are Bad For Business
Entrepreneurship is certainly one way of creating the kind of life where you can both do what you love and embrace the kind of attitude to holidays that I endorse here. Still, you’d be amazed by how many entrepreneurs have the same black and white approach to life and work irrespective of the fact they are now the boss. Good job they’ve got folks like yourself to help free them from the tyranny of being so tied to their businesses that they don’t dare leave it, and start to actually enjoy what they do.
Twitter: adrianswinscoe
Hi Christine,
I agree with Joshua that when you find something that you love to do then the need for holidays is less about rest but more about experience.
Have a great weekend,
Adrian
Adrian Swinscoe´s last blog ..The 7links Challenge – A Look Back at The Last Few Months
Reminds me indeed of that conversation we had at a different point about people living for weekends, holidays, retiral…. Sad. But, as you say, when you choose to do work you love, holidays are indeed more about the experience.
Great to see you and have a fabulous weekend yourself!
In The Success Principles Jack Canfield recommends 140 R&R days a year which includes a minimum of 1 two week break a year. Many of us I believe never get near this kind of number.
Personal I believe it’s because of how we schedule our time when we’re at work. Too many of us fill our days full of activities that don’t allow to complete or ship on time. Because of that we will that we’re always chasing our tails and then need 2 weeks off to recover, with an increasing number of young people from the world of work turn to drinking to help that recovery while in the sun.
If we can become more productive we can find it leaves us with more down time and so we can enjoy the rest days and holidays a lot lot more.
Ben´s last blog ..Friday’s Homework – It’s all in the video
Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Ben. I hadn’t come across that Jack Canfield advice, but it’s pretty good. Your point about how we do ourselves out of time off because of how we schedule our time is pretty accurate. Another thing that prompts me to consider is that some people set completely unrealistic goals and ambitions for themselves and then push themselves like crazy, attempting to achieve them. While I completely endorse goal focused living, it’s missing the point if attempting to achieve it is day by day killing you body and soul.
Your point about drinking reminded me of a documentary I saw on TV some time back, which was showing how weekends of binge drinking were obliterating the experience of boring weekday jobs. All of this is deeply sad. For me, the saddest part is that people have choice but get caught up in systems that they think are “just the way it is”.