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Comment by onion2k | Hacker News Reader

I agree with the majority of the article, but one thing leapt out - the first question that the author suggests might 'help you to pinpoint your resentment';

Why do you want to take a break, go on holiday? What are you really running away from?

Taking a break and going on holiday is not running away from things. Even if you're working on something that you absolutely love, with an amazing team of people, doing something that will change the world - it's still a good idea to take a break. Experiencing different cultures, seeing new things, getting out of your comfort zone, and looking at things from a different perspective is fantastically useful. It makes you see things differently. Going on holiday is a good thing in itself; it isn't merely a cure for the bad things.

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I think the article exactly agrees with you.

If you think that going on holiday will make things easier at work, you're probably wrong. Work is work, and taking a break from it doesn't make it not work. More importantly, if you take a break for a bit, then come back to the same grind, it's still going to burn you out.

If you are worried that you're burning out, and you find yourself trying to solve it by taking more vacations, ask yourself, "Why do I want to take a vacation?" You will probably find you want to get away from something (the "wrong" reason), vs. trying something new or doing something different (the "right" reason).

Like you said, take vacations that are a change of view (even if that view is just the beach for a week), not to quit missing your Tuesday Night Dinner.

Exactly what I meant. Thank you.

While you don't have to agree completely with me, and holiday are always nice. But if you need to take a holiday, then perhaps you do have something on your mind that you want to get rid of.

My take was that the author was talking about situations where people say "I _need_ to take a holiday" with the implication that work is too much for them right now. E.g. a holiday for the sake of getting away from a burnout work situation as opposed to a holiday for the sake of experiencing different cultures, seeing new things etc. The former is good and healthy, but in the former you are running away from something.

Very often it really is. It's just that people don't admit it. It's not the regular annual vacation break. You know what I mean.

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