Having just returned from a wonderful holiday in Antalya, Turkey, I’m reminded of the invaluable benefits that time away can provide. Our daily routines, while comforting in their familiarity, can also be mentally and emotionally draining over time. The stresses gradually accumulate without us even realising it. Before long, just mustering the energy and motivation to start the day can feel like a hurdle.
This is where holidays work their magic. They are opportunities to extract ourselves from the conventional grind and routines that can numb our zest over time. A change of scenery, a different cultural immersion, and new experiences all have a way of shaking us out of the status quo. During my time in Antalya, I was able to learn about new traditions, sample new cuisines, and witness different ways of life. This process of discovering helped re-ignite my sense of curiosity and amazement about the world around me.
More than just experiencing novel surroundings, holidays are a chance to reconnect with your authentic self. Away from the deadlines, obligations, and external pressures of daily life, you can rediscover activities, people, and passions that make you feel truly alive and joyful. Whether it’s immersing yourself in nature, practising a creative hobby, or simply being present with loved ones, holidays provide a guiltless occasion to indulge in what brings you happiness.
Of course, the freedom from one’s usual responsibilities also allows for complete mental and physical rejuvenation. It took me a couple of days to fully unwind from my normal stresses during this trip. But once I did, I could feel my body’s tensions melting away and my mind becoming clearer and more energised. This recharging is absolutely vital for our overall well-being and productivity. We cannot sustain outstanding performance without periodically unplugging.
Perhaps most importantly though, holidays allow us to invest quality time in our most treasured relationships. Creating new experiences and memories together strengthens our living bonds in profound ways. My holiday adventures with my spouse are now unmistakably etched into my thoughts and will help keep us emotionally connected long after we’ve returned home.
Holidays are so much more than mere vacations. They are remedies for our tendencies to get consumed by routines, responsibilities, and misplaced priorities. Time away is an opportunity to restore ourselves, realign with our values, and reinvigorate our appreciation for life’s beauty and richness. As the saying goes, we must keep refuelling the vehicle, or it will eventually run out of petrol.
With this renewed perspective, I encourage you all to be very intentional about taking holidays whenever you can. Schedule the time off, get out of your familiar settings, and open yourself up to the revitalising benefits that only holidays can provide.
Where will your next adventure take you? Do share your holiday stories as I am sure they motivate everyone.
Sunday Sprinkles 
I share your thought about holidays. We just came back from Portugal and Spain less than a week ago. We were hiking on the Camino Santiago de Compostela Portuguese Route covering over 360kms in 18 consecutive days. This very spiritual Pilgrimage has enabled me to do some self reflection, and soul searching. It has also given me the time I really needed to plan for my 2nd book. I have realised that writing a book consists of 90% of thinking and only 10% of actually writing the content down.
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The value of a holiday surely does give us a little space and breath to reconnect to universal core values that span all cultures and humanity.
I think the trick is to be able to ‘be on holiday’ everyday, even after you return. I’m not saying, we don’t need ‘holidays’, but a lot of what you’ve said could apply to ‘everydays’.
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