I went on a vacation for the first 3 weeks in August. Before going I was a little bit nervous. It really wasn’t the perfect time for the CEO of our business to take off, and to the wilds of Africa no less, where telecommunications infrastructure can be scratchy at best. We had a lot of critical matters that were coming to a head during these weeks, we really needed all hands on deck.
The trip was completely paid for though and there were no refunds. So with no small degree of trepidation, off I went. In retrospect, boy I was glad I did.
One thing about taking a break, it clears a lot of crap out of your mind. The fog starts to lift and perspective starts to come back. Another thing I find (although this is location dependent), is that a good holiday fills me with the spark of life. This has been really important to me with this trip. I think we all agree that business has been quite a grind over recent years, its certainly been exhausting for me. Coming back from this vacation I am full of energy and raring to go again. My mind full of ideas and things to do, the only nagging question is how I’ll find the time.
These two benefits, clearing the fog and re-finding the spark, made it clear to me that there is never a bad time to take a well deserved holiday. You just have to take them and leave all the other stuff behind.
I am a week back now. One thing I noticed about the two benefits of holidays above is when you get back, you need to make an effort to keep and even nurture the energy you bring back with you. It is just so easy when you sit back down at the tools, to fall back into the emotion and habits you put down before leaving for the break. It takes a conscious effort to remember the bubbling emotion you returned with and put that into daily routine. It makes life worth living though. So back to it for me!!