Take a Breather, Then Get Back In the Game!

Last night, our family returned from our annual lake trip. Lots of pool time, too many good eats, and countless memories filled our time together. While I always look forward to this trip, I'm equally excited to return.

While I absolutely love these family trips, I think context is important. For many, vacations are an opportunity to temporarily escape the rigors of life. Considering 70% of Americans either dislike or hate their job, I suspect more people than not can relate to this concept. Vacations and time off allow us to receive temporary relief from a day-to-day, week-to-week grind that simply wears us down. I can relate to this feeling, though it's getting further in my rearview mirror.

These days, my family vacations feel entirely different. I'm not escaping anything, because I love my day-to-day, week-to-week life. Instead, my family vacations offer me the opportunity to take a breather. It's a time to catch my breath, get my bearings straight, and regain my focus, so I can jump back into the game with fresh legs. I look forward to the break, but I'm just as excited to get back on the court as I was to get some rest.

I couldn't be more excited to get back to work next week. Lots of good things are in store. People to serve, impact to make, content to create, concepts to launch. But the breaks are important. If we're not able to catch our breath, we aren't able to give our good work everything it deserves. While I don't feel fully rested (traveling with two six-year-olds....), I have a renewed focus and excitement for what's about to happen.

Can you relate? If so, that's so amazing. If not, just know that reality does exist. You don't have to pursue it, but just know it's out there. A life where we look forward to returning to everyday life as much as we look forward to our vacations. It's beautiful.

Getting a Reset

We just got home a few hours ago from a fairly grueling trip back from LA. It certainly wasn’t the most grueling travel day I’ve ever had, but when you endure a 2-hour flight delay with two six-year-old boys, “misery” is an appropriate word to classify it. Nevertheless, it was a great trip. My talks went well, it was amazing to catch up with old friends, and we created some wonderful family memories.

All that being said, I’m toast. This trip took a lot out of me, and I’m stepping back into a lot of intensity. Lots of client e-mails to send, a large client project to engage in, people to catch up with, and a 4-day work trip in Texas next week to do some on-site client work.

This brings to the forefront the idea of getting a reset. If I’m being honest, I’m not great from a day-to-day perspective for getting breaks. Life often sweeps me away, bouncing from one thing to the next. Don’t get me wrong, these are all great things…..there’s just a lot of them. One of the best ways I know how to get some reprieve is to get what I call resets. These are periodic intentional acts that seem to provide me with a degree of rest, relaxation, clarity, and recharge. Here’s my list:

• Bike rides: For me, there’s nothing that clears the mind and gets the blood flowing like a good bike ride. I can sometimes find a way to sneak in a 10-mile ride during the week, but I absolutely love getting a 20-mile ride in on a nice Saturday afternoon.

• Massages: A few years ago, I decided to splurge with my personal spending money to get a membership for a monthly massage. I didn’t know how much I would enjoy it, but wow! This easily turns into one of the most anticipated days of my month.

• Sensory Depravation Chamber: Picture a large metal coffin, filled with 10 inches of 98-degree water, with 1,000 pounds of salt added to it, while also being completely light-proof and sound-proof. This makes for a surreal but amazingly relaxing experience. Your body floats on top of the water, but because of the temperature, you can’t tell where the water ends and your body begins. It’s one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever had……every time I do it. Some of the best ideas of my life have come from time spent in this chamber.

• Retreats: About once per quarter, I’ll get a hotel for a few nights where I’ll isolate myself from the world. Sometimes I go to a different metro and sometimes I’ll stay in my metro. I’ll experience some good meals, read books, write, sleep, brainstorm, and maybe even catch a movie at a theater. This is probably the best source of reset for me right now. I anticipate these getaways for months.

Well, that’s me….what about you? How do you find resets in your life? I’d love to learn some new ideas and find ways to keep getting better on my journey. Please hit reply to your e-mail or drop a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!

Work From Rest, Not Work For Rest

I have an amazing assistant named Paige. To be more precise, she’s my future former assistant. She’s leaving our company to pursue a bigger passion, and she will be dearly missed. I couldn’t be more excited for her and I try to be her biggest encourager every step of the way. But, man, I’m going to miss her.

A while back as we were wrapping up a team meeting on a Friday afternoon, she added a closing statement. “Remember to work from rest, not work for rest.” I thought a lot about this idea after our conversation. I think it’s a beautiful way to put work and life in perspective.

For many, work is a necessary evil. We grind it out all week, counting down the days and hours until the weekend arrives. Once there, we need that rest to heal from the brutal week we’ve just experienced…..before begrudgingly heading into the following week which may be just as brutal. I’ve been there! Sometimes the anticipation of the approaching weekend was the only thing getting me through the slog of my work responsibilities. I think most people can relate to this. This is what it means to work for rest.

The alternative, as Paige puts it, is working from rest. Rest isn’t an escape from our work, it’s a preparation to eagerly jump back into the work. This is a sweet spot to be. We enjoy our work all week, look forward to resting on the weekend, then get excited to do it again the following week. If it sounds counter-cultural, it’s because it is. Not many people live this existence, though we each have the ability to access it in our own lives.

This weekend we have a handful of family events planned. It will be fun and it will be restful. Then, I’ll be excited and ready to do the good work in store for me the following week. Working from rest, not working for rest.