Holiday Series # 2
Prakriti Prasad
18th October
Going out with family is quite a challenge. It requires immense coordination and meticulous planning- right from trying to match your chutti with those of your spouse and the children, to getting everyone to agree on the location, to choosing the property and so on.
But going on vacations with the family is worth all the troubles taken.
Why is it so?
Good bonding time: In this fast paced world where very little communication happens during the regular work days as each one of us keep rushing to work, school, hobby classes, tuitions, social/official dos, going on a trip is a great time to connect in a chilled out atmosphere.
Improves the relationship: Sometimes we unwittingly tend to rub each other the wrong way. As one sulks or nurses the hurt, there’s often little time to mend during the regular work days.
Spending time amidst nature with no pressures to deliver naturally rejuvenates the mind, body and spirit.
I have been following the life and lifestyles of successful people- leaders, entrepreneurs, coaches and mentors- all of them appear to be as fanatic about their vacations as they are about delivering their best at work. Be it Robin Sharma, Tony Robbins, Dean Graziozi, Ron Malhotra, Ankur Warikoo or Sanjay Wadhwa & Sandeep Mukhi, each of them vouch for the efficacy of their regular holiday tonic which keeps their creative juices flowing.
Nevertheless, holidays can sometimes go wrong creating more heartburn than hearty times.
How many of you have had a sour experience on a holiday?
While one can’t do much about unforeseen mishaps, keeping in mind some Dos & Don’ts can go a long way to plug in emotional/anger outbursts, disagreements & arguments from spoiling the fun of family holidays.
Handy tips:
Make some pre agreed upon holiday rules- like no attacking each other, no serious/heavy discussions on unresolved family issues
We are all erring human beings whether as children or adults. Be open to being pointed out even by the children when you are found violating the rules. And ensure no one is left sulking for longer than 30 mins.
All preparations & packing for the trip must be done by each individual on their own (barring toddlers). This way no one person is accountable for packing for the entire family and then being blamed for forgetting things.
All decisions on the trip (regarding the itinerary, the food or activities) can be taken based on majority votes instead of hierarchy.
Apart from relaxing, holidays are also meant to increase your knowledge about people, places & cuisines. So do not forget to engage a local person or a guide to help you chart your activities, tell you about the monuments and locales, as well as share insider details of the best places to shop, taste local delicacies or even what to avoid on the trip.
Every outing is a learning experience. So do remember to make a note of what worked on the trip and what was a fiasco. Also, encourage the children to jot down details of the sights seen, the cuisines tried and their interesting experiences in a journal.
No matter what good pictures you capture on your phone/camera, don’t forget to engage a local photographer to get you hard copies of your memorable moments.
For we seldom print the pictures taken on our phones.
Can you add some other pointers of Dos & Don'ts?
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