When you are travelling you make more friends, get offered more opportunities, stumble on more good luck and in general just have more fun. Does this actually all happen because you are in a sunny, care-free place with palm trees or simply in an open and welcoming mental space?

I often wonder if the people that you befriend when you are on holidays would act the same if you met them in their home environment.

Would they be the same person, or are they a care-free travel version of their real self?

I do think that the holiday mode kicks in, and because you have less time constraints, less structure and generally less on your mind, you are more open to distraction in everyday activities. Sometimes this distraction can be chatting to the person sitting beside you on the bus, asking for advice or directions from a stranger at the traffic lights or talking to the waitress in a restaurant. All these interactions that you would usually avoid because you are busy thinking about the next thing you have to do, can lead to opportunities. Whether it be discovering a new place, learning something about the history of a town or trying a new type of food. All which are exciting and adventurous and open up a new little pocket of your mind.

So why is it then that when we are home, set in our routine, we close ourselves off to these opportunities?

It is almost like we are too busy to let any interaction deter us from the path that we are on so we keep our eyes down just incase. We become a less approachable and disinterested version of our holiday self. Last week I wrote a post about how sometimes being a little lost is good for us. This is the same concept. But in an everyday approach. Trying to bring some of that carefree attitude to your ‘normal’ life.

Allowing your holiday self to enter into your working day life will also lead to opportunities. Being open to deterrence can result in great things.

I ended up on a deserted island in the Andaman Sea, sleeping in a hammock and eating coconuts all because I was in holiday mode and that turned out pretty well. Just imagine what could happen if I brought that welcoming mental space to work… especially with online collaboration tools, my Mac Air and a love of the cloud.  Ah the possibilities…

For the month of March I am writing a blog post every day as part of #b03. Thanks to Steve for the challenge.