Post Holiday Blues
November 1st, 2006I recently returned from a holiday on the island of Koh Chang, about six hours drive south of Bangkok in Thailand and about two hours from the Cambodian border. I live and work in Bangkok and had been told wonderful things about Koh Chang from friends who have visited this island previously. Unlike the huge number of tourists who bombard the popular islands of Phuket and Koh Samui in Thailand, Koh Chang has very few tourists and is only slightly developed. It truly is a tropical island paradise and I loved every minute I was there. However when I returned from my holiday, I suddenly felt a case of the post holiday blues and decided to explore these feelings.
Although I like my job and was not unhappy about being back at work, I found myself thinking about the holiday I had just been on and daydreaming about being back there. While I was imagining myself back on the island I realized I was spending time in the past and this never has felt particularly constructive to me. The holiday had come and gone and yes I certainly had fun and maybe one day I will go back there but it is time to move on. I remember feeling exactly the same way when I was a kid in school and I would get so excited before the school holidays, especially if my family was planning a trip away, however on my return to school I would always feel a bit down and wished my holiday would last forever. I knew back then the reason I wanted to stay on holidays was because I never was particularly fond of school and understanding my reasoning back then gave me an insight into why people get the post holiday blues.
I think sometimes, the idea of a holiday can be even better than the actual holiday. This is especially the case if you like your job or what you regularly do with your time when you are not on holidays. Let me explain. When you like what you do, you are generally happy and productive each day, so basically, your life is good. When you live like this and then take a holiday, you expect your holiday to be even better than your normal life as you can do what you want when you want, sleep in and generally just relax most of the time. But the problem is, although the holiday is great to relax, it isn’t actually any better than your normal life, just different. So when you return to work or your normal life, it is the idea of the holiday you continue to dream about, not the actual holiday. When I came to this conclusion the other day when I was back at work on the first day after my holiday, I suddenly felt really good about being back at work and back doing what I like to do in my normal life. I haven’t given my holiday much thought since and if I do, I feel comfortable with the thought that my working life is as satisfying as my holidays.
If, however, you get back from your holidays and cannot seem to get the good times out of your head and it takes you weeks or longer to get back into your normal routine it may be that what you are doing workwise or otherwise in your normal life is not the best thing for you. So taking a holiday and assessing your feelings on your return could be a great way to figure out if your life is traveling in the right direction.
In the past, I have been in a similar situation and my feelings were an indicator that it was time to move on. The prospect of moving on can be a little scary for some but if you are not happy with your normal routine, you have to ask yourself is it really worth continuing on this way. There are many different options available to all of us if we dare to make a change and to me, any risk is worth taking if you are not happy. Remember the old saying… “a change is as good as a holiday”.
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