Summer Holidays, Unwind From The Grind

Everybody loves the summer holidays, don’t they?  Travel is exciting - we discover new things about the place we are going and we may discover new things about ourselves.  Neuroscientists have proven that when we go on an adventure, our brain creates new neuro pathways making us more creative and inspired.  If you are lucky enough to go away for more than a few days, you start to really feel your body unwind and switch off, living in the present moment.  

On holiday we often do things differently than in our everyday lives, and it’s that switch up which creates wonderful memories. A holiday makes you tap into your inner adventurer and you come home feeling refreshed, recharged and inspired.  For about a week.  Then your old routine kicks in, you’re back into old habits and it’s like you never went away.  You end up back on autopilot.

At Phyto nectars we think the key is to bring the moments of your holiday that help you to switch from autopilot into your inner adventurer into your everyday life.  Switching off, feeling present and curious shouldn’t just be reserved for holidays.  Not everyone has the luxury of going away, but we all need that feeling of a holiday recharge.  

For me, going swimming in the Ladies’ Ponds at Hampstead Heath brings a bit of adventure into my everyday life, and a regular visit keeps me feeling inspired and adventurous.  I love pushing my inner limits and interrupting the mundane.  I also like to make sure at least once a month, we as a family will go somewhere different for a walk, so the kids also get to explore and be curious.

Here are some suggestions to switching up your everyday life:

• Take time to do something you enjoy, could be running, painting, whatever rocks your boat

• Ignore your emails

• Agree not to talk about work at all on a day off – give yourself, and your loved ones, a respite

• Choose to spend time with people who uplift you 

• Walk a different route to work, or visit a different park to the one you usually go to

• Go for a countryside weekend break

• Go dancing

• Visit a museum

• Stay curious

• Make sure keep you immune system strong so you have the energy for new adventures