After lots of discussions as a family, we finally decided upon Naples as a holiday destination.
As someone who doesn’t like the heat (the Scot in me beats the Pakistani in me when it comes to weather) I thought I was up to the challenge of 30 degrees or so.
We’d be at the coast, it’s not as humid as The Netherlands, we’ll be on holiday and all that.
It was a wonderful break, and we all switched off from work and school and fully vacationed.
But the heat. 37c-39c every day. Above 30 from 8am. Every. Day.
Everywhere I went, I stayed in the shade. Until Vesuvius. It was only 24 degrees up there, so we all got our vitamin D fix.
While in Rome for the day, we managed to see the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the Colosseum.
We had entry tickets to the Forum too, and were all looking forward to checking it out. But by 4:30pm, having spent hours in 39c, I gave the kids a choice.
Want to walk through the Forum to the other side then go to dinner, or walk 3 mins that way to the metro and go get dinner?
It was a unanimous “metro and dinner”.
As my kids said, “we can go online and check out the pictures”.
We all knew it’s not the same. But we took care of ourselves that day, with a plan to come back one day, probably in the spring or winter.
But it got me thinking about how much of our lives we can live online. And how many options there are for online learning.
But it’s not the same, especially not for power skills like leadership: having difficult conversations, developing strategic thinking, handling stress.
We can learn the concepts from online resources, but to really learn, you’ve got to experience it.
So I’m happy to be back and coaching. My first morning’s sessions were full of experiential exploration, learning, and putting into practice.
Despite the heat, and no tan, I’m refreshed and ready to do this work I love.
Perhaps it’s time for us to work together?
This is part of my Thought Piece Series, where I explore topics related to leadership and provide both answers and questions. My intention is to start meaningful conversations that help us move forward. Want to connect? Click here.