What ignites your dreams, happiness and passions, on a vacation?
That’s it, summer holidays are over!
I’ve just got back from a family trip to the Scottish Highlands that included a week in a remote part of the Inner Hebrides. It rained a bit and it was 16C not the 26C where I live. Hmmm, “interesting choice” one of my friends said to me; I couldn’t help but feel that was a euphemism for “why on earth did you do that when you could’ve gone somewhere with better weather and a bit more luxury?!”
Why indeed? Why do we choose the type of holidays we do and what do we hope to ‘get out of them’? That’s a pretty straightforward question and answer for a lot of people: Seek out some sun, unplug from the usual routine, chill out and de-stress by not doing a lot, catch up on sleep and spend time with our families, that kind of stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I like a bit of that too.
I’m not some sort of global traveller who lives for travelling and I don’t have a unique perspective on this by any means, but I did question why we chose to go to the misty Isle of Skye for our summer holiday when we could have gone to a beach resort somewhere, probably more easily and cheaply, and would’ve been a lot warmer and a really chilled out break? Well, in part, our family holiday choices are driven by what memorable experiences we hope to create and what we class as our definition of spending quality time together.
In fact, when you consider the PurposeFused discovery model in relation to our family holiday choices (and what we do when we get there), we nearly always cover off every aspect of the top left circle; Passion, Happiness and Dream. Maybe that’s why we feel they so often hit the mark, and why I hope yours did too for you if took some time off. Different people will have their own idea of what’s important to them for the type of holiday they want; and therefore the choices that they make will meet their criteria. That’s why their choice of location and type of holiday will work for them in the same way that ours work for us.
Just considering our PurposeFused model for a moment – What are we Passionate about? For my family its exploring new places, new food, other people’s heritage and culture. What brings us Happiness? For us, spending time together and doing things that are a bit different and finally how about the Dream? Well, that’s about creating and living shared impactful experiences as a family that live long in the memory. Don’t get me wrong, I remember some of the very nice beaches I’ve been on in my life but I’m also not sure that those holidays have always completely fulfiled the ‘impactful shared experience’ box which is an important component for us.
So maybe next time you’re considering where to go and what to do on holiday have a think about Passion, Happiness and Dream and check off whether your choice of location, who you’re with and what you do meet your own purpose-led holiday criteria, it might help make it the ideal break!
If you’d like to learn more about how to discover and apply your purpose across every sphere of your life – including vacations; please get in touch!
Author: Neil Turnham, Founding Partner, PurposeFused