How should you spend your vacation so that after it you return fresh and rested, full of new ideas and strength for their realization? In this article I will answer these questions and tell you how to relax while on vacation.
Many of you have heard that the best rest is a change of activity. This is partly true, but in my opinion, a large number of people do not quite correctly perceive this principle. I watch how people spend their holidays and come to the conclusion that most of them do not rest at all.
They work for months at work, filled up with affairs and worries, and that's when the long-awaited vacation time comes, a rare chance to recuperate, they go on vacation and there they do the same things that they do while working!
No, of course, I do not want to say that they transfer their work affairs to the day off. Rather, they completely transfer their daily habits to their vacation, making it just a different form of everyday life.
In constant running mode
The rhythm of life of a modern office worker in the conditions of large cities can hardly be called slow and measured. Often this is like incessant haste and activity. You have to get up early, travel to work, rush to fulfill your duties at work on time, hurry home, have time to do household chores and have a little rest after work, hurry to go to bed early to get back to work and hurry again. Weekends are held at a similar pace: this week a lot of things accumulate that need to be done in this short time. That time that remains, a person spends on entertainment, trips to friends, visiting cultural events.
We are in a hurry to work, in a hurry to sleep, in a hurry to have fun. And you have to plan your day very carefully in order to have time to do as much as possible. In this mode, our brain constantly processes information, constantly plans, constantly lives in thoughts about the future, stopping only for the time of sleep: work affairs, plans for the weekend, TV, Internet, communication.
It turns out that the ordinary everyday life of a person in a big city consists of the following components:
Hurry, activity, information, stress, planning.
But what changes when we go to rest? For many people, nothing! They also continue to hurry during their holidays, as they did on working days! Their brain continues to work in the mode of assimilation of new information.
They go to a warm country for a week and carefully plan their entire short vacation so that there is no day left without movement, no hour without rest! First, they rush to the airport. Then every day they move from place to place, look at different places, hurrying as much as possible to see and get as many impressions as possible, spending up to 50% of their time in transport, in motion. They are in a hurry to leave one place in order to see another!
Plans constantly go astray, you have to make new decisions, hurry onto the bus, get up early. All this provokes stress and tension.
The rush, activity, constant assimilation of information, stress and planning that we see on the background of everyday life, remain, only manifest now against the backdrop of green palm trees or snow-capped mountain peaks! In such a rhythm it is difficult to relax, although it seems to someone that this is the way to relax during the holidays.
Why do people spread the frantic rhythm of their lives even on their holidays? There are several reasons for this.
Firstly, they consider vacation not only as a rest, but as an opportunity to get as many impressions as possible in a short period of time. This desire can be understood. Indeed, for many people, their lives seem monotonous and devoid of bright colors. Therefore, vacation is for them the only time when they can diversify this life. Movement and activity will give them a sense of life for a while. And if this does not happen, they will suffer from boredom and it will seem to them that they have missed something.
Secondly, however banal it may sound, everyday life with their fast tempo really sets its own rhythm. Most people work without stopping for 11 months a year, with short rest breaks. At this time, their brain works like a running machine, constantly processing information. And even when it is time to rest, it does not stop: it requires new impressions, new information. Peace is perceived as torture and torment.
I do not think that spending a holiday in such a rhythm, a person can really relax well and get rid of stress and tension. Hyperactivity has recently become synonymous with energy and efficiency. But in my opinion, this constant run, the pursuit of impressions, haste and bustle - this is a slow fire in which a person burns. Hyperactivity, which is supported by a tight schedule of work and rest, along with other factors, in my opinion, is responsible for such an incredible spread of depression and anxiety disorders in our society.
I believe that at least sometimes a modern person should slow down this pace in order to put in order his mental balance and physical health. There are several reasons to slow down a bit while on vacation.
Reason 1 - The need for rest
For a good holiday you need not only a change of activity, but also a change of pace! How can you have a good rest if you continue to rush and load your brain with new information? Give the brain a little rest from thoughts, from works, from worries, from plans! Of course, no vacation is complete without planning, and I understand that perfectly. But at least try not to turn all your rest into building plans and their implementation. Relax and rest! I do not call on all my vacations to let things take their course, but try to at least occasionally rely on chance, release the desire to control everything and keep up with everything. Let any circumstances of your weekend add up themselves, practically without your participation. And you will see how pleasant this feeling is to unload your brain from plans and worries and how much it doesn’t look like what you do during working hours (this is, you might say, a qualitative change of activity, in which rest lies). Such an approach can give you a lot of pleasant surprises, unplanned accidents, which you could not even think about!
Try to get out of your head thoughts about the future, and try to be here and now during your holiday: with a beautiful sunset on the ocean or with the dazzling snow of the mountains, with the singing of exotic birds or with the silence of the starry sky.
Reason 2 - Finding Inspiration
The tragedy of modern man stems from the fact that he almost never remains alone with his thoughts. All day he is spinning around in his affairs and concerns. And here, it would seem, suddenly there is a reason to calm down, to distract from the hustle and bustle, and to think about something, as he again, instead of taking advantage of this opportunity, immerses himself in the bustle of vacation: suppresses all mental activity with alcohol.
This in fact has deeply rooted adverse effects. Living in this mode, a person is gradually alienated from his true desires, real needs, from himself. As if he does not live his life, but the life of another person. Something does not suit him, but he does not know that, he does not understand the reasons for his discontent, stress and depression. Even if he understands this, he does not have time to figure out for himself, to form new benchmarks for development or to chart new life changes. His mind is constantly busy with worries, he is always worried and never relaxed. Therefore, a person continues to live as if by inertia, obeying the energy of habit, not stopping for a moment and not asking himself: "am I going in the right direction?"
Vacation is the only time for many of us when we can calm our mind and come to some new understanding of ourselves and our life, look at our future in a new way. I realized a long time ago that a restless mind that is mired in everyday affairs is not able to come up with something radically new, since it is fixated only on current affairs. Therefore, my wildest ideas were born precisely in a period of calm, lack of vigorous activity. Then, when I did nothing and just relaxed for a while.
Again, you should not take my words literally and strive to reduce all activity to nothing. Of course, it is very useful to do something: ride a bike, practice yoga, swim, visit beautiful places. But this should not be a movement without stopping and without rest. Just the pace of rest should be much calmer than the pace of everyday life.
Reason 3 - Hurrying all in time, we do not have time to enjoy what we have under our noses.
Vacations from the category of "gallop across Europe" is now very popular, especially among young and energetic people. But in my opinion, the inspection of some of the world sights in a hurry will not be much different from seeing it on TV. In my opinion, really beautiful and interesting places require some time to immerse themselves in their atmosphere, soak them. If we just take a look at them and then run into the bus, we will miss a lot. And I think that it is better to enjoy one or two good places during the holidays than to quickly see six.
But it is not obvious to everyone. Why? Because the brain of a person who lives in the fast rhythm of modern life is accustomed to a constant flow of information and does not like peace. And information dependence is similar to any other dependence in that it reduces the sensitivity of a person. A chain smoker no longer needs two or three cigarettes a day, and someone who is used to being in the flow of information needs a lot of impressions, more and more! He no longer notices that in the world around him, even in peace and quiet, a lot of things are happening. Because his mind is in constant motion, cannot concentrate on one thing, immerse into one thing. He only flounders on the surface of things, chaotically moving from one to another.
If you live in this mode, it is very difficult to notice how diverse the manifestations of life around us are, because we are accustomed to notice only the brightest of them. But if the mind calms down, ceases every minute to demand new sensations, new information, then all the wealth of the world comes off before us! Then we have the opportunity to enjoy the majestic tranquility of the ocean, the meditative atmosphere of the ancient temples, the humid twilight of the southern countries, where coastal houses are muffled.
Then we understand that the beauty of new countries exists even far from popular tourist places, maybe right under our noses! But this beauty takes time to open up before you!
When our mind calms down, then our perception awakens, becoming sensitive and poetic, ready to perceive new images and give birth to new ideas. But this takes time! It should take several days to change the usual chaotic rhythm of his life and relax.
How to relax?
It is time for vacations. I advise you to try to change the pace of your life a little while on holiday, especially if you are used to spending holidays in a hyperactive mode. Get enough sleep, but do not sleep too much. Spend time on the beach or enjoying the views of the mountains, but at the same time, let there be time for activity. Just it should not be too much.
Perhaps, you will first be delivered discomfort rest minutes. But this is natural, because the brain does not want to change the usual rhythm! Then just give him some time to calm down and slow down a bit.
If you spend whole days in front of the monitor, then during the rest you sit less at the computer, even if you are viewing social networks or playing, and not working.
Try to plan less and monitor the execution of your plans. Leave some space for spontaneity! Spend less time on the road, give your body time to relax. Try not to drink a lot of alcohol - it is stress for the body, not rest! Let there be at least a few quiet days on your vacation when you are not doing anything and do not plan anything! And who knows what amazing things this can turn out for you!
I recently returned from Sri Lanka. Before you go there, I set up a lot of plans. In particular, I really wanted to visit the sacred mountain of Sri-Pada. And a few months before the trip there, I was looking forward to this trip. But the heavy rains on the island ruined all our plans, and after much deliberation, we decided not to go anywhere, but to stay in the town where our hotel was located. Of course, one cannot say that I took it completely calmly, because I so wanted to get to some places!
But then I tried to relax and accept all that is.
Typically, tourists do not stop for a long time in this town, in which we were trapped in the rain, as there are not many interesting places. But after walking there for a while, we managed to plunge into its pleasant calm atmosphere and relax. We walked and looked at animals and birds, saw packs of monkeys in a local park, enjoyed the view of the mountains opening from the windows of our hotel, visited ancient temples located nearby.
I can definitely say that the trip was a success! Due to the fact that we did not go anywhere, we met wonderful people, from whom I learned a lot of new things and got a lot of food for thought. A lot of new ideas were born in my head, and I myself, as if I became a little more mature, allowing my emotions and impressions gained over the year to take shape and give me the fruits of a rewarding experience. I returned home rested and refreshed.
And I understood the following. To relax and get impressions, it is not necessary to visit many different places. The feeling of life, the feeling of joy of each moment are already present inside us, they are simply buried under stress, tension, plans and worries, haste and bustle. And in order to clear up all this cargo and discover these qualities in yourself, you just need a good rest.
Therefore, I wish you a good rest on the upcoming New Year holidays! Do not chase after impressions and new information. Take a break from work and plans for at least some time. Spend time with friends and family, in a quiet home environment, in pleasant walks. Take your time and take your time! After all, hurry up always have time. A holiday and vacation are so few!
And in the New Year, I wish you to get closer to harmony, happiness and knowledge of yourself! In our life a lot of grief and turmoil. I wish you to treat such things with courage and acceptance, understanding that all temporary and any suffering will ever end. Try to find positive moments in your life. And learn to be grateful that you have this life!
Ps. If you want to have a good and quality rest next year on the Indian Ocean, get rid of stress and acquire useful skills that will benefit you all your life, I’m waiting for you on my anti-stress course in India!
