So I recently just returned from what I can only describe as paradise. I spent two weeks in the Cook Islands, an island in the middle of the South Pacific just off New Zealand and then I headed over to New Zealand for a week to see if it lived up to the hype that most millennial travellers these days are rating about… FYI it did.

The holiday was nothing short of amazing ( blog post to come), however towards the end of the holiday, I was surprised that I wasn’t starting to get that Sunday evening kind of glumness.The feeling that makes you realise the weekend is over and Monday is coming around pretty quick.  I think similar to the Monday blues, holiday blues are the realisation that very soon your life will go back to the activities which to some may be mundane, monotonous and essentially just normal day life. Its also one of the most  prominent used hashtags on Instagram when someone has come back from their holiday I.e #holidayblues #takemeback. So the most baffling thing to me was, why am I not sad for this holiday to end? I mean I spent 90% of my time on white sand beaches, snorkelling on coral reefs,  drinking cocktails at 11 am and eating out every single night… who would want that to end?

So I started thinking why this time was different, why I wasn’t sad to be returning home to the UK to sub zero temperatures,grey skies and drizzle. I mean its not the most thrilling climate to return to after 35 degrees of heat and blue skies however none the less I still had a sense of contentment. After deliberating it for a few days and even after returning back to the UK with no signs of the post holiday blip, it came to me some of the reasons why and from my experience, here are some tips to not only beat the holiday blues but never get them again…

1.Set things to look forward to and not just holidays. I’ve seen it so many times, people do count downs to holidays which yes is great because it gives you that one thing to count down and look forward to. However like Christmas once it’s over there is this sense of “well what now?” The lead up to holidays are almost as much part of the excitement as the holiday itself and once its over #holidayblues sets in and you find your Instagram account filled with ‘TBT’ pictures which almost make you feel worse.

In addition to this holidays are usually huge annual events therefore it’s so so important to have smaller events going on in the year, this will stop you going from hero to zero as soon as you step off the plane on your home soil and not sure when you’re going to get your next fix of vitamin D. Having things to look forward to in the weeks after a holiday is almost like the therapy you need to get out of the post holiday pit.  However unless your one of the fortunate ones, i’m not talking about booking another trip here because if your bank account looks anything like mine after a trip (usually in the 2 digit figures), a holiday is pretty much off the cards for the next few months. So the alternative is to set other less expensive things look forward to. A few things I have planned for the forth coming months are things like meeting up with friends from uni, day trips, nights out, meals and get togethers .   So even if it’s just the one thing, having something positive scheduled down in your diary after a holiday, will keep your mind occupied and your social media filled with new content.

2.Be grateful for the life you’re going back to. I completely get that this isn’t as easy as it may seem, however why not? I’m extremely grateful for what I have in my life,  England may not be where I want to live forever but i’m grateful to live somewhere thats renowned for it’s history and scenery. I’m grateful I have my health, a house, friends and family, things that again we take for granted. In addition to this the most important thing to be grateful for is that you’ve got the opportunity to have the holiday in the first place. Yes you may of had to work and save very hard for it but there are people out there who don’t even have that luxury.

A lot of us after being on holiday wish we were back there, wish we didn’t have to leave and want to stay there forever etc etc. However if you speak to the locals who live anywhere you go on holiday, that is their normal, their ‘take for granted’ environment. Try to remember that if you lived there permanently thats how you would get. This goes hand in hand with the saying “the grass isn’t always greener, you’re grass would be just as green if you spent the time watering it” rather than lusting for whats on the other side of the fence, appreciate your normal.

3.ALWAYS have goals. I’m starting to see more articles talk about goal setting and the importance of it, especially in terms of keeping your mind stimulated,focused, motivated and even for concentration purposes. Now when people talk about goals it’s commonly related to fitness, yes if your into fitness having goals are essential but they are also alot more straightforward to set than say life goals. Examples of fitness goals… “run a 5km, weight lifting PB, join a sports team etc etc”.

However you might not be into fitness… So then what, what other goals could you be setting? Well firstly writing this blog is a part of one of my goals, I want to keep writing more frequent content and a long term goal for me is to write for Elite daily (a website specialising in articles written by “generation Y” i.e 1980 and 90’s babies). Another goal of mine is to do my Padi diving qualification and lastly a new goal of mine is to feel accomplished and positive in my new job,you kind of get the idea. Sometimes when goals don’t seem obvious to you, you have to start thinking outside the box. For example you could learn a language, learn an instrument, start a blog, re write your CV and apply for that job, do another qualification etc and the internet is filled with free resources, ideas and inspiration. Goals give us a purpose, something to strive for in the future instead of looking back at what we had in the past. As human beings its a necessity that we find purpose in the things we do, otherwise not only do we not progress, we become unmotivated and ultimately we become complacent and I can guarantee thats when you’ll start yearning for that holiday last month. So set goals because as the saying goes “you cant change the past, but you can change where you’re going”. 

Laura

xoxo