Some reasons a holiday might be just what you need

Holidays can tick lots of different boxes all at the same time and meet a whole variety of needs. Here's some reasons a holiday might be just what you need:

Because life is full of difficult stuff, so let's balance it out

There is no-one is this world that doesn't suffer in one way or another. Being a human is hard. There are so many pressures and responsibilities. Our bodies struggle with tiredness, illness, disease, hormones etc. And there are a multitude of things that drain us physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. We have financial pressures. We still feel the wounds of painful things in our past, the present is full of challenges and we worry about the future.

Life is hard.

Life is also wonderful!

There are so many incredible things to experience. We have our five senses: sight; hearing; touch; taste and smell. We have our amazing bodies that can do all sorts of things and take us to different places. We have the capacity to give and receive love and live in relationship. We have a humongous world to explore. We can experience wonderful feelings of joy, happiness, excitement, love, peace, contentment, hope, etc. We can have adventures and fun, we can explore, try new things, learn, grow, develop and change.

Some wonderful things just happen, but it's also up to us to make good things happen.

We can organise and arrange things. We can dream and throw out suggestions and invite and plan and save and book. We can have ideas and then put them into action. We can make great opportunities become a reality.

We have choice over how we spend our time and money, how we use our time off, where we go, who we go with, and what we do with what we have.

Lets make sure we balance out the difficult stuff with the good stuff.

As an investment

It's an investment into your relationships, your children, your own mental health, your body and mind (giving them a break and good things), and your happiness levels.

To make a birthday or celebration extra special

Last year my Dad turned 80 and we had a big party. This year it's my Mum's turn and we knew she wouldn't want a lot of fuss. We still wanted to mark such a special birthday, so we've booked to take her away. It respects her wishes whilst hopefully being something that will be a happy time and create precious memories.

Have you ever been away to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or some other celebration?

Because everyone needs a break sometimes

Cooking, cleaning, washing, going to work, paying the bills, running around after the kids, meeting other people's needs, meeting our own needs, shopping, washing up, getting up early, emptying bins, getting from A to B, tidying, sorting the finances, renewing contracts, etc.

There's a never ending list of things that make demands on our time - many of them mundane and boring. Most of them manageable, but it's the drip, drip, drip of constantly having things we should be doing.

Sometimes we just need to get away and have a change and a break. Time to switch off and time to do things we don't normally have the time or opportunity to do.

For some people that will be relaxing and reading a book, for others it might be lots of adventures, or both.

Do you need to give yourself the gift of getting away?

To mark a loss

Grief is a horrendous experience and not something we get over, but rather our life grows around the grief, we grow a new life that includes the loss.

Birthdays and anniversaries can be particularly painful times. Getting away to mark those times can be helpful. Taking time out of normal life to allow space to grieve, to remember your loved one, to do something they'd be pleased to see you doing, to go to their favourite place, to do something they enjoyed, to eat their favourite food, etc. can all be an important part of the grieving process.

Loss is also a painful reminder that life is fragile and to make the most of the time we have and with those we love. Life gets put into perspective.

What once may have seemed like a big expense suddenly holds a far greater value.

Because life is short

When you look back on your life so far what are the most significant things, the most memorable, the things that stand out?

At the end of your life will you have included in it the things you wanted to?

What's still on your bucket list?

Think about the answers to those questions and do more of that stuff.

Were travel and holidays on your list?

To make memories

At the end of the year I look through my diary and my photos and do a little summary of my year. There are lots of lovely moments that are unplanned or the everyday things that mean a lot. But the highlights of the year, the things that are most memorable, most talked about, that in years to come I'll cherish, are often the things that have been the most costly in terms of time, money and stress to organise and make happen.

They have been an investment. But when I look back I'm so glad I made them.

Because your kids grow up quickly

It's not long before hanging out with friends becomes a lot more appealing to our kids than being with family. Other things come up and life moves on.

Kids don't stay kids forever. Their innocence and childlike wonder, joy and excitement doesn't stay around indefinitely. Their reliance on you and your opportunity to give them a good foundation, good memories and experiences, reduces.

If you have kids still at home and in your care, make the most of it (easier said than done amongst the chaos and strain I know!).

Because a change of scenery does us good

This world is so big and vast, and whilst we are always surrounded by wonderful things, there is so much more to see and experience than the limited number we encounter in day-to-day life.

A change of scenery does us good. It's as simple as that.

Go and find some new things to stir awe and wonder inside of you. There's so much out there.

Because stepping away from normal life helps put things in perspective and allows us to see the bigger picture

When we are so absorbed in something and so close to it, it can be hard to step back and see the bigger picture.

A loss or a horrible diagnosis can pull us up short and put things in perspective again.

Getting away can also do that.

It can help with putting the little everyday things in perspective as well as the bigger things in life: a relationship issue; how to deal with a certain situation; what to do about a problem; how we want to handle our kids; if we want to stay in that job, etc.

Stepping out of the situation for a few days can be really helpful for re-thinking things and seeing things in a new light, without the immediate pressure of being absorbed in it and surrounded by it.

Because YOU deserve good things

You deserve a holiday. You are worthy of it. You are worth the money and the time it involves.

Some people, probably many people, are going to find that a hard sentence to believe. It doesn't make it any less true though.

You are navigating your way through a difficult world. You are a human being. You are worth it.

If you don't use the money on a holiday it will soon be eaten up by other things, likely much less memorable

I've spoken to a couple of people recently who are having to look into a care home for relatives with deteriorating health beyond their ability to provide for. I was shocked to hear of figures starting at £1,000 a week! Inheritance tax is another shocker.

The cost of a holiday suddenly doesn't seem as much. Enjoying your hard earned money whilst you can seems more appealing.

Old age and death aside, even just in daily life, money can get frittered away if we don't consciously put some aside and save for the things we want.

Whilst writing this I'm aware many people don't have disposable cash and times are hard. Finding things within our budget isn't always easy.

Thinking through what we want to do with our money and being intentional will help us get more out of life.

Life is for living!

Because it's flippin' wonderful

The feeling of being on holiday compares to no other.

Holidays can be fabulous!

Holidays tick a lot of boxes

So in summary, holidays tick a lot of boxes. Here's the things we've talked about:

A holiday might be just what you need...

- because life is full of difficult stuff, so let's balance it out

- as an investment

- to make a birthday or celebration extra special

- because everyone needs a break sometimes

- to mark a loss

- because life is short

- to make memories

- because your kids grow up quickly

- because a change of scenery does us good

- because stepping away from normal life helps put things in perspective and allows us to see the bigger picture

- because YOU deserve good things

- if you don't use the money on a holiday it could soon be eaten up by other things, likely much less memorable.

If you'd like to book a holiday with us then here's the link to our website: https://www.holidayvillaalgarve.com/

Tel: +44 (0)7814 669 639

Casa As Andorinhas, CC1 111A, Corta Porcas, 8550-254 Monchique, Portugal

All photos in this blog have been taken at this property or whilst on holiday there.

If not this holiday home, then why not find somewhere more suitable to your needs, wants, budget etc.

There's good times to be had. Go get them.