June 15th, 2020
“Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.” - Mark Black
There are many factors that can contribute to your health, both physically and mentally. Most of the time, the importance of these factors are not as much the areas themselves, but instead involve having an appropriate amount of these factors in your life. In other words, it is important with most things to have moderation, and to incorporate a balance in your life.
For example, when eating it is important to consider that it is not as much about the food that you eat (to a degree) as it is the amount that you are eating. It is important to moderate the intake of calories to ensure that an appropriate health and level of weight is maintained. This example can carry over to many other aspects of one’s life. One specific area is on work and rest, and the importance of balancing the work to rest ratio in one’s life.
Before exploring the reasons it is important to have balance from work by resting and taking a vacation, it is crucial to understand the benefits of working…
First and foremost, we must acknowledge that work is both important and beneficial. Having a job can provide many things to an individual’s well-being and these should not be overlooked. Many times, people look at work as a necessary evil, just as a means of getting money. And, a job is great for that, as a way to earn an income and provide for oneself and one’s family or loved ones. Without a job, most people would have difficulty paying bills and providing essentials and necessities of life – such as shelter and food.
Aside from the monetary benefits from work, there are many other benefits that people get from having a job. Many times, jobs will involve a component of both mental and physical work. Staying busy, whether it be mentally or physically, is good for humans’ well-being. Working can also give people a purpose and a sense of meaning in their life as well.
We have now established that work is good for people. However, too much work can be detrimental as well. This is why it is important to consider moderation with the amount of work and rest that one engages in. Both too much work and too much rest can have profound implications on one’s life.
It is easy (especially in the rat race of life and the society that we currently live in) to work to the point of extreme exhaustion trying to get everything done that is on one’s to-do list. Anyone with a high demanding job (or even not that high demanding) knows that it is easy for things to pile up and the work load to increase to sometimes unbearable amounts.
Going through the day in and day out grind of working with so much on one’s plate can increase stress and anxiety. It is for these reasons that taking a vacation is so important – to break away from the daily grind and to get a new perspective.
It may sound easy enough to just “take a vacation”. However, it may be more complicated than it sounds.
First, there needs to be some planning that is involved in taking a vacation. While it is possible to take a spur-of-the-moment trip and to get away without prior planning, to ensure that one gets an actual vacation, it is best to plan ahead.
Sometimes, people take vacations where they end up not going anywhere and staying around where there is more work to be done. For example, when people take a break from work and stay home, they may end up doing chores or house work instead of resting and relaxing.
This defeats the purpose of a vacation! The purpose of a vacation, after all, is to recharge one’s battery and to enjoy relaxation. Therefore, planning a trip (or at the very least a break) can help ensure that one gets away from work and gets some rest.
Taking a vacation also requires some awareness. It is crucial that people check in with themselves and monitor their levels of stress, anxiety, and fatigue to know when it is best for them to take a vacation. The experience of a vacation will be best when it is most needed. Therefore, if one is burnt out from work, a vacation would be extremely beneficial. If a person is not feeling tired or stressed and is still enjoying their work, then that may not be the best time for a getaway.
Altogether, it is important to remember moderation is extremely important in life. This idea of moderation extends out to many aspects of life including work. While work is inherently good and beneficial to humans, too much of it for too long can be detrimental.
Therefore, it is a good idea to break up the amount of work one does with breaks, or vacations. Vacations do not need to be huge, elaborate plans, but planning ahead and having an awareness of when one needs to take a vacation can be extremely helpful in reaping the benefits of taking a vacation.
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