Not all butterflies are about love

Summer is over, back to work

You'll still recognise that fluttery feeling from years ago. It turns out it's not just reserved for love. That feeling of first summer love, somewhere on a campsite or a beach, when your stomach does a little flip the moment you spot them again. Innocent, light, and above all: wonderful to be in. But holiday butterflies have another side to them.

Summer break

Finally away from the rush of everyday life. No meetings, no calls, no deadlines, and for once no phone constantly demanding your attention. For the first time in months, nothing you have to do. And it's precisely in that quiet that a different kind of flutter surfaces: a nagging feeling about your work, one you'd successfully pushed down all year. One simple question: "do I actually still enjoy this?"

Headspace

IIn the rush of daily life, there's simply no moment to stop and sit with a feeling like that. You run from meeting to deadline, and the feeling never gets any space because your diary keeps pulling you forward. And now you're on holiday, and suddenly that space is there. No wonder that it's precisely then that the question surfaces of whether you shouldn't be doing something else.

Doubt

Your head says stay. It pays well, you know what you've got, nobody has anything to fault you for. But your gut says something else. That feels illogical, doesn't it? Why would you doubt something that, rationally speaking, checks out? And yet that's exactly what holiday butterflies do: they bring up something that appears to have no factual grounding whatsoever. And still, that feeling won't let go.

Silence

The difficult part is that this doubt is rarely spoken out loud. Not to a manager, not to a partner or a close friend, often not even to yourself. You've been putting off that conversation with yourself for months, maybe longer. Until your holiday finally gives you the space to sit with it. And then what?

Discovery

Most people who recognise this don't want to make a rash move. Not resign on impulse after a few weeks of rest. What you do want is to know what's actually right and what isn't — before making a decision you might later regret. Taking the time to work out whether the issue lies in the role, in the organisation, or somewhere deeper.

Support

You don't have to do that alone. Sometimes it's enough to talk it through with someone who has no stake in whichever answer you land on — simply to get clarity on what those butterflies are actually trying to tell you.

Holiday butterflies usually pass. The only question is whether the answer behind them does too. Perhaps this is just the nudge you need to listen to how you feel, and to properly close out this holiday.

Plan a free introduction