Why a vacation is the best time to try something new

As the pandemic rumbles on, it is not surprising if life has started to feel like Groundhog Day. You wake up, you have your morning routine, go to work, do your job, come home, complete your evening routine, and then the alarm goes in the morning and it starts all over again. Of course, this is not an entirely bad thing. Routine is good for us – it helps us stay focused and happy, and many people thrive on this kind of lifestyle.

But, that doesn’t mean that it’s not good to shake things up once in a while. Your vacation is the best time to do this – here’s why.

Learn something new

Most people look forward to a holiday to enjoy some well-earned rest. But while two weeks on the beach might rest us physically it can be hard to switch off our brains from everything we’ve left behind.

Holidays where you learn something new are a great way to keep your mind active and on something other than the growing to-do list back home. From painting to paddle-boarding, furniture upcycling to creative writing – whatever you are interested in, there is a break where you can meet like-minded people, learn a new skill, or improve an old one.

And it isn’t an either/or when it comes to rest and play. Most activity holidays are located in beautiful surroundings to factor in time and space to recharge and rewind.

Step out of your comfort zone

Whether you’re on a family vacation, enjoying school ski trips, booking a solo round the world adventure, or traveling for work, holidays always provide an opportunity to try something new.
In our everyday routines ‘new’ can often translate as ‘scary’. But once out of that comfort zone it’s like we’ve already become more adaptable, and turning off auto-pilot mode, opens the door for us to try things we ordinarily might not otherwise do.

Adventures can be thrill-seeking such as bungee-jumping or swimming with sharks. But you don’t have to get your adrenaline pumping to enjoy a confidence boost from doing something new. Tasting a new food, trying out some phrases in a new language, or travelling with a new group of people, all change our perspective on life and can make us more likely to accept new challenges when we’re back home too.

Discover what you want

There’s a lot of fluffy talk about travelling to find yourself. This can give a sense that anyone travelling is feeling lost and looking for something missing in their life. Some people may pack a bag to escape the world or jump off their fast-moving merry-go-round for a couple of weeks. But most of us are looking for experience to enhance our life, not change it completely.

That said, once out of our routine we can surprise ourselves and this is when some of the best holiday memories are made. Different circumstances, a change of scenery and meeting new people all expand our perspective of life, often changing our view of how we see not only other people and circumstances but how we see ourselves. When our mind is given a chance to quieten down, we can see situations differently and come up with ideas that enable us to take a new direction or better understand what it is deep down we want from life.