‘Summertime and the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high
…
One of these mornin’s, you’re gonna rise up singin’
Then you’ll spread your wings and you’ll take to the sky’
Nothing captures the optimism of a lazy summer day better than Gershwin’s lyrics, especially when sung by the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald.
The song Summertime touches something that we often experience on holiday: a freedom to see things more clearly, generate new ideas, believe we can fix things and sense that there are opportunities out there.
If only our minds could be open to think like this more of the time. Instead our brain gets clogged-up with problems and limitations.
There is a phrase that is used to describe the vacation mindset and it is called ‘abundance’. A person who views the world abundantly sees many opportunities, numerous exciting things to try and if they fail at something, they will learn and move on. So, my challenge to you in this blog is to do one thing differently when you return to work after your holiday - to keep your sense of abundance alive.
If you are naturally a ‘thinker’ try to find an activity that’s positive, like practising your bread or pizza making skills; if you are a ‘doer’ then maybe continue with some of your inspiring holiday reading. Try to find one new thing that is going to challenge you and keep alive that spirit of experimentation, learning and being open to opportunity.
To spur you on why not write down your abundant holiday thoughts so you can return to them later when summer is over, and you need to rekindle some of that positivity. Thinking abundantly is a way to overcome fears and limiting beliefs about yourself – it helps you take risks and to not be overwhelmed by the downside.
The concept of abundance is discussed at length in Tara Swart’s book ‘The Source’. She looks at the science behind the idea and argues it is too important to be dismissed as ‘self-help candyfloss’.