Holiday Madness

So is this you?

Before you go away, is there a mad few days, or even weeks, when you are working at twice the pace to get stuff sorted before you go away… so that you can go away?

So when you finally come to the day of leaving, you are working right up to the minute of leaving for the airport, or getting away in the car, or catching a train…

By this time you’re hugely stressed, even more stressed than you were when you decided to go on holiday!

You are a nervous wreck before you get there. At the airport or train station, as you set off, your mind is whirring with fiction about how it might go wrong or what you might have forgotten.

The first few days of the holiday you are a bit edgy… sometimes you are niggly or even row with your holiday buddies or feel that the holiday isn’t coming up to scratch for no particular, discernible reason other than it’s got to be perfect, because of the amount of effort you had to put in before you went away.

And worse… you start to think of the things you must accomplish ON THE HOLIDAY which is supposed to be a time when you get away from having to accomplish anything!

Maybe then everything calms down and you can relax into what the holiday is for: a chance to refresh, regrow, relax…and have fun!

But, boy what a price you paid for that holiday, and I am not talking about in monetary terms. You could even start to think that holidays, and preparing for them, are more stressful than they are worth.

I’ve been there soooo many times.

My husband, who makes and designs furniture, says that there is a “Christmas” mentality often with clients. Everything has to be done and perfect BEFORE Christmas. Even if it isn’t practical, possible, or going to be achieved without a great deal of stress in the time allocated. Why? As long as you have a table to eat off; and a functional kitchen; does it really matter that drawer fronts aren’t in place? Only if you make it matter.

How do you change the cycle?

Before a holiday; why do you have to make up for the time you will “lose” by being on holiday by accomplishing it in advance? That destroys the whole point of the holiday.

Most people know that the world won’t stop turning, and they won’t lose their life, or their entire credibility if they literally take a couple of weeks out without “making up the time by working extra”.

However, it is so tempting to go down that way of thinking, and allow your own mind to act as your own inner slave driver; as if you don’t have the freedom to dissent.

We do. We are in charge of our minds, not the other way around.

Decide that a holiday will be just that. A week or two off, that you don’t have to make up for either in advance or after. What a difference that way of thinking makes to the benefit and enjoyment of a holiday.

And for the advanced pupil, decide that a holiday isn’t the only time in your life when you regrow, refresh, and relax. You can add time for that during your working time as well. Then, your holiday actually becomes like a superfood. A time when from the first minute you leave the house, the only agenda is to immerse yourself fully in regrowing, refreshing, relaxing, and having fun!

To find out more about Fiona’s training workshops or coaching to help you improve your focus to be in charge of your mind, do contact her on fiona@locuscoaching.com and ask for details.

 

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