When I think of the word retreat I have a few things that come to mind. I imagine this little turtle that pokes his head out of his shell, then decides the world is too scary and he heads back inside his protective shell. Or the opposite image of being at a place where everyone meditates all day and they take away my phone and computer when I get there. Neither of these images sound very appealing to me, mainly the idea of giving up my phone and computer for any lengthy period of time frightens me. Until the last couple of years as a business owner did I really come to understand what a retreat is and why it is so essential to every entrepreneur and the growth of their business.
Day to day we deal with the stuff that we have to and many times we forget to eat and, maybe sometimes, even breathe. Last I checked we kind of need to do both, so here’s a little something I learned over the last two years.
By stepping away from my business, and in some cases my life, to revisit my goals and my accomplishments gives me the opportunity to realign my world. I feel like I’m on the go so much and have so many people relying on me that I just hit the next ball that’s lobbed at me. I have these great ideas that I want to implement but the ideas rarely get revisited because I’m just too busy doing.
When I attend my quarterly retreats now, I go in focused on what I want for myself and my business. I come back with a clear action plan of what I need to do next and who I need support from and real deadlines to see it all come to fruition.
Take the opportunity to put yourself in a different environment, surround yourself with others that make you want to strive for more and be open to all the perspectives you will see as there will be many.