If we were to evaluate how different we feel in holidays we would surprise ourselves. Do you notice how more patient and tolerant you can be? Do you also recognise in yourself how problems seem to be less and everyone in the household does not seem to be on edge? Such a relaxed situation seems to change, once routine and work enter the picture.

This blog is all about capturing some of those warm and happy holiday feelings and consider placing them in your normal day to day life. Imagine taking some of that wonderful holiday feeling and transferring it into your daily routine. It’s possible, but it does require working at it and setting a few simple goals.

Consider:

Have you enjoyed being happier with the family in holidays and perhaps less stressed or worried about the little things that go wrong? If so, consider adopting a less stressed feeling at home for the whole year.
Do you find that at home you can be short of patience especially when you are tired and the business of work is back? Try allowing more time to pass when things go wrong rather than seeking instant resolution.
Start noticing all the great fun things you love about your child. Often in holidays, these seem to be clear and we enjoy each other a lot more. Bring that holiday happy feeling into the home. Keep noticing your child’s gifts and this will slow down feelings of disappointment when they come.
When we are back at home and school has started, there is a sense of needing to get better and performing as best we can. Competition enters the scene. There is a subtle but real set of expectations with your child that creep in once school has started. Try to put less emphasis on the need to perform, but rather feel happy to celebrate what they are doing. The outcomes will still be great.
In holiday time we seem to be less aware of simple mistakes. We are more relaxed and think less about errors. Can you bring some of that feeling into your post-holiday home? The more you create a home where there is less stress and reduced focus on correctness, the happier the environment.
When on holiday we tend to speak in less harsh tones to each other. The world seems more at peace. We relax more and enjoy simpler less complicated situations. Is it possible to bring that style of speaking into your home so that there is less damage in the words used?
I imagine there has been more spontaneous laughter over the holidays. Keep it up at home and enjoy a happier space throughout the year. Laughter feeds into a healthy mindset for everyone.
With holidays we treasure the time we have together. Is it possible to build in personal time together once the children are back at school? Was it so difficult to slow down and could that feeling of working at a slower pace be adopted at home?

Holidays give us such opportunities to enjoy our family in a whole new way. If we can reflect on what worked so well in our family, is it possible to bring some of that holiday feeling into your daily routine when life goes back to normal? Can we see that holiday experience as part of the way we really want to live all the time?

‘If you want your children to be educated read them fairy tales.
If you want them to be more intelligent read them more fairy tales’
Albert Einstein