I'm just back from a week away in Spain, and although for myself it was a bit of a working holiday (I took PhD work away with me), whilst I was out and about, I was observing other people and it got me thinking about a few things; things which I intend to write about over the next few days / weeks ....
Holidays mean different things to different people. For myself, when I'm away anywhere, I want to make the most of my days and of my experience of being in a new place. I'm up early and out and about. And I like to be out all day; maybe returning to my hotel / appartment early evening just in time to get changed ready for a nice evening meal out, trying the food and meal rituals of wherever I'm staying. It was interesting to see how many British people in Spain were eating 'English breakfasts,' 'Sunday lunches,' and the kind of fast food so readily available in Britain; when I'm away, I like to eat as much of the local food as possible. When I'm in a different country, I want to experience the local foods and drinks; I don't want simply what I can get at home.
I also like to see as much of the place I'm visiting as I can; if I'm going to travel to a new town, city or country, I want to see as much as possible. Holidays, for me, are full of movement; full of new experiences, sights, sounds, tastes and adventures. I'm not someone who could lie on a beach or sit around a pool all day. Yes, I like to pause for a while with a coffee or a drink and sit and watch life happening around me, watching the local culture taking place, but for me, no longer than an hour or so ... I'm too worried about missing something. I have to see everything!!!
I think we can learn so much from the different cultures we visit. It can be interesting to see different ways of life, different ways of thinking about things, different ways of doing things; and for me, that's an opportunity to stop and reflect on how I do things. Can I learn anything from the culture I'm visiting? Can I change anything about how I live my life as a result of watching other cultures in action. And isn't that what life's about....experiencing new things, reflecting on old things and considering maybe changing things in our own lives?
Holidays for other people though mean different things, and it's important to accept those differences. Some people like to go away simply to lie in the sun and do nothing; for me though, that would feel like a waste of time and a wasted opportunity to visit the sights of wherever I was. Other people like to party as much as possible; making the most of their evenings, and maybe whiling away each day recovering from the previous evening's hangover and preparing for the evening ahead. Neither of those options hold any appeal to me, but doesn't that just show how different we all are.
Holidays mean different things to different people.....what does a "holiday" mean to you? And might that change depending on where you are in your life?
For me, my recent week away was a combination of getting out and about and seeing new things from early every morning until early afternoon and then after lunch in the sun, working on my PhD before getting out to different restaurants each evening to sample the local cuisine....even if a lot of it seemed to be more Italian and Chinese than typical 'Spanish'!?
Saturday 18 September 2010
Sunday 5 September 2010
Self-discipline
I've had a really tough few weeks with the workload for my PhD. I had a list of things which needed completing before a supervision session the day after tomorrow. At times I thought I might not get everything done, but I also knew that I had to; I had to find the time from somewhere. So....I had to decide to be firm with myself & set time aside to do everything. And yes, it's involved sacrifices; I've had to work when I'd have rather been outdoors walking in the sunshine, reading novels, even doing housework, etc., etc. But, I've achieved everything I needed to; and to see all of my documents printed out feels good.
And isn't that true about a lot of things in life. The things that are really worthwhile do tend to involve time, effort and sacrifice. Self-discipline doesn't always come easy to us. But I believe, you get out of life what you put in. If you put effort in, you get the sense of achievement and self satisfaction afterwards. And especially those things which are a challenge to us; they're the things you have to put most effort into, the things that are probably easiest to put off, but they're also the things that you get most satisfaction from when they're completed.
It can be hard at times, when people are inviting you out, asking you to do fun things & they're things you'd really like to do. But sometimes, you just have to say 'no'. You have to learn to prioritise. Life is sometimes about putting off pleasure in the short term to achieve a greater satisfaction in the future. And I think this is something a lot of people struggle with. It's easy to go for the short term fun option; what isn't always as easy is turning down something fun & easy in the present and instead, having to confront a challenge, work hard and push yourself that little bit harder.
And it's not just about self-discipline; it's also about self-responsibility. It's about taking responsibility for the commitments you make; making that promise to yourself to achieve something and taking responsibility for your actions in achieving it. Which consequently has to mean taking responsibility if you fail to achieve what you set out to do or fail to reach the goals you set. No one else can be blamed for one's own shortcomings....& that's quite a big responsibility to accept. We try to blame others for distracting us, for putting things in our way, but ultimately, it's up to us to choose what we want to do; to say 'yes' or 'no'.
And for me, if I commit myself to something (as I have to the 5 years plus, this PhD will take), it's important to me that I do my utmost to achieve my personal best. I want to get to the end of the research project and know that I've put my all into it and done it to the very best of my ability, with no regrets.
And isn't that true about a lot of things in life. The things that are really worthwhile do tend to involve time, effort and sacrifice. Self-discipline doesn't always come easy to us. But I believe, you get out of life what you put in. If you put effort in, you get the sense of achievement and self satisfaction afterwards. And especially those things which are a challenge to us; they're the things you have to put most effort into, the things that are probably easiest to put off, but they're also the things that you get most satisfaction from when they're completed.
It can be hard at times, when people are inviting you out, asking you to do fun things & they're things you'd really like to do. But sometimes, you just have to say 'no'. You have to learn to prioritise. Life is sometimes about putting off pleasure in the short term to achieve a greater satisfaction in the future. And I think this is something a lot of people struggle with. It's easy to go for the short term fun option; what isn't always as easy is turning down something fun & easy in the present and instead, having to confront a challenge, work hard and push yourself that little bit harder.
And it's not just about self-discipline; it's also about self-responsibility. It's about taking responsibility for the commitments you make; making that promise to yourself to achieve something and taking responsibility for your actions in achieving it. Which consequently has to mean taking responsibility if you fail to achieve what you set out to do or fail to reach the goals you set. No one else can be blamed for one's own shortcomings....& that's quite a big responsibility to accept. We try to blame others for distracting us, for putting things in our way, but ultimately, it's up to us to choose what we want to do; to say 'yes' or 'no'.
And for me, if I commit myself to something (as I have to the 5 years plus, this PhD will take), it's important to me that I do my utmost to achieve my personal best. I want to get to the end of the research project and know that I've put my all into it and done it to the very best of my ability, with no regrets.
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