CEO Norman Aquilina’s ideal summer is equal parts exercise and nature

Be it eating, sleeping, or watching TV, there really is no room for judgement when it comes to how you spend your free time; that is, as long as it puts a smile on your face and doesn’t hurt anyone.

That being said, there are a number of past times which one can argue are objectively better than others on the basis that they actually improve our long-term mood and benefit our overall health.

Reading, for example, is one of such past times.

Nothing quite broadens your mind and gets you ready for bed like reading a couple of pages from a good book. Same can be said for journaling, meditating, or even drawing.

For Farsons CEO Norman Aquilina however, nothing hits the spot quite like some peaceful time in nature and a long, strenuous, yet satisfying run.

And what better time to enjoy the great outdoors and engage in some high intensity cardio than the sweet summer months?

No wonder Norman’s a self-proclaimed ‘summer person’.

“I’m an outdoor activity person and I love the summer lifestyle which, I find, brings out a better sense of mental and physical wellbeing,” Norman tells MaltaCEOs.mt.

“As a triathlon enthusiast, there’s nothing I’d rather do during summer than swim, cycle, or run. Of course, these aren’t restricted to summer, but despite the heat, this season brings out the best of such an outdoor sport,” he continues.

Practically nothing will discourage Norman from embarking on some physical activity – even if this means waking up at the crack of dawn to make the most of the cool, morning air.

His disciplined exercise regimes even propel him to go overseas on a very particular type of holiday.

“My dream summer getaway is practically anywhere I can actively enjoy the beauty of nature,” Norman confesses,

“In my mind it would therefore be a choice of two – either enjoying the unspoilt scenic greenery on the mountains, or swimming, kayaking, and engaging in other summer sporting activities by the seaside,” he continues.

Having said that, when pressed for a definite location, Norman’s holiday destination of choice is “some pristine island in the Caribbean.”

Until then, he’s making the most of what Europe has to offer, with his most recent venture taking him to Slovenia.

“The choice [to go to Slovenia] was clearly based on my love for sport and nature, with the holiday consisting of superb mountain and countryside trekking combined with white water rafting down some of the great rapids the country has to offer,” he recalls.

But Norman’s active holidays get even more extreme than that – and it’s all because of his “love for mountain marathons”.

“I’ve done some [mountain marathons] over the past years – notably up the Alps and Dolomites – but my best experience was the Swiss Alpine Irontrail marathon in Davos,” he says.

“In all senses, it was a ‘breath taking’ experiences,” he smiles.

When it comes to choosing a holiday destination, Norman takes on the ‘if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it’ mentality. He knows what sort of holiday he enjoys, and thus, gravitates towards similar places or countries.

The common denominators between most of his holidays are nature, exercise, and relaxation.

“What I try to avoid as much as possible when going on holidays is ‘big city chaos’,” Norman says.

“Personally, a holiday is best experienced when one is allowed to unwind and relax, and as contradictory as it may sound, for me that means being as physically active as possible within an unspoiled natural environment,” he concludes.