Do you agree that no man is an island? I do. Human beings are social beings; therefore, we find it challenging to live alone, however possible it might seem for some. Besides co-existing, we need to form deeper bonds with the people around us. We need to establish relationships aside from those that we are born into. 

1. To go through life, we need more than ourselves. Can you imagine facing all the challenges of life without someone to encourage you to continue moving forward? To lend a helping hand when you become overwhelmed? Or to guide you to the right path when you go astray? We need family and friends to help us go through life and enjoy it. We also need to help them go through their lives and fulfill our roles. 
2. To belong, we need to be a part of another person’s life or a group of people, for that matter. The sense of belongingness is innate to us humans. We are genetically programmed to be part of a whole, so we are gifted with different talents. When we do not build relationships and even distance ourselves from our own family, we deprive ourselves of our need to belong and deprive others of their need for our gifts.  
3. To learn and grow, we need to engage with other people. Each of us has different characteristics, personalities, and experiences. We can all learn from each other because of such differences. We get to motivate ourselves because of other people’s successes and learn from their mistakes.

Some people say that they made it through life on their own, especially when they did not receive any financial support from other people, but they discounted the people’s moral support. Our relationships keep us going when the going gets tough. They may seem inconsequential, but the little things that these people do for us might have been the push for us to move towards the future rather than staying stuck in the past. 

How are your relationships with your family and friends? Have you told them you are grateful for them?

(Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels)

When we are too busy, we fail to appreciate the things around us, especially the little things. We think that there is nothing more important than our work or life responsibilities. We tend to forget about other aspects of our life, like our health or well-being. We tend to put our work and other people’s needs above ours. We have to know that resting or recuperating and enjoying ourselves is essential. We can’t possibly do well with our responsibilities and in helping others if we are exhausted. We have to take a vacation, and when doing so, we have to be on vacation as well – body, mind, and soul. We have to make sure to be in the moment at all times. Here are rules that I impose upon myself when I go on vacation:

1. Avoid thinking about other things such as work. When you think of your concerns about work or other problems during a vacation, you ultimately ruin it and defeat the purpose of such an occasion.
2. Engage in activities that you enjoy. If you are forced to do activities that aren’t enjoyable for you, you will not relieve yourself from stress. You go on a vacation to do good for your well-being and not bring more stress and unhappiness into your life.
3. Lessen your social media engagement. One of the reasons behind people’s tendency to always seem preoccupied and busy is the non-stop social media use and engagement. When on break, we tend to make it a habit to use social media and other gadgets to pass the time rather than engage in other social activities or use the time to rest. How can we appreciate our vacation if we fall into this habit?
4. Enjoy and appreciate your surroundings. Looking around and appreciating the little things around you is a primary key in ensuring an enjoyable vacation. You can find joy by just looking around you and revelling in the beauty that you don’t get to see every day. The change in scenery will refresh your mind.
5. Give your body an equal amount of rest. Getting yourself cranky because of lack of rest will not help you thoroughly enjoy yourself. A tired body does not allow you to have fun. After all, rest is the main reason we need a vacation.

We don’t need expensive trips to enjoy a vacation. We can just go somewhere that offers peace and away from all the hustle and bustle of your everyday life. Wherever you go, just make sure to enjoy it, and the time off will be worth it. 

(Photo by Nubia Navarro (nubikini) from Pexels)