Summer Holidays and Personal Development

The summer holidays offer plentiful opportunities and refreshing new experiences. It’s a time when we can relax and connect with our friends, to visit new places, abroad or at home. And it’s a time when there are opportunities to try activities we may not usually have time for.

Many of us yearn for a well-deserved escape from the mundane routines of day-to-day life. So we make arduous travel arrangements, cope with crowded airports and endure dull flight journeys to long-awaited destinations. Time flies at unbelievable speed whilst we are on holiday, and soon we find ourselves back on the plane, unpacking suitcases and returning to the usual routine… and dreaming about the next opportunity to escape.

Get Out Of The Building!

The good news is we do not have to travel far to enjoy a refreshing, energising summer break. We certainly do not have to spend a fortune on another exotic holiday. Here’s how you can enjoy a rewarding and relaxing break this summer.

Stephen Blank, a professor at Stanford University, gives excellent, succinct advice for students wishing to hone their skills: “Get out of the building”. In context, he means engaging and interacting more within your local area and gaining fresh perspectives. You might visit a magnificent stately home, volunteer as a gardener in your local community, go along to a jazz concert or take up a new course you always wanted to try; Creative writing, glass painting, bush craft, wood carving or even bee keeping, if you’re brave enough.

New experiences could gently move you out of your comfort zone, help you interact with people from different backgrounds, and experience the world at a richer, deeper level. You will be kinder to the planet and reduce your carbon footprint by becoming a local tourist.

Summer holidays are the perfect time to experiment with new personal development paths. If you are interested in working in the education sector, you will find a number of short-term opportunities both in the UK and overseas. You could try leading international students on excursions, teaching languages or coordinating activities.

If you are fascinated by event management, why not dip your toe in the water, help out at conferences and get to know people in the sector? It could lead to a job later on which you may have considered impossible to get.
The opportunities for personal development are boundless.