When you consider the idea of “resetting” or “a reset”, what does that mean to you?

A few weeks from now, I have an opportunity to spend a long weekend at a Men’s retreat.  I have gone to one of these in the past and enjoyed it so much that I’m heading back, but this time with an all-new group of guys.  This “Guys Weekend” if you will, takes place out in the middle of nowhere and when we arrive all cell phones are confiscated.  Once we park, there is an initial 1-mile hike into basecamp where a sold-out crowd of almost 1000 men will set up campsites.  Some guys like me are coming in with a group while others are traveling across that country and getting hooked up with others they have never met before outside of a few initial ZOOM calls.  

We are responsible for bringing everything ourselves; outside of water, and what amounts to almost 200 kegs of beer, which is unlimited and on tap whenever you want.  You can bring any legal guilty pleasure; alcohol, cigars, dip, etc. you want and for 48 hours, our unit is going to eat together, work together, and bond together.  We will have group time, alone time, and cigars by the fire time all in order to create an environment in which to share and grow spiritually and emotionally.  It’s a place where we openly share what’s really going on in our lives and during this time, no judgment or condemnation is allowed.  It gets raw and it gets real.  It’s a chance to reset and recenter, allowing each of us to focus on our true values and ultimately what is important to us.

So why should you care about this?  It’s because everyone reading this needs to own the fact that sometimes you have to remember to take care of yourself first.  Now. I fully understand that some of you read the above and are going, “I would rather shove pens under my fingernails” than spend 48 hours in the woods with no bathroom and no showers while others of you are thinking, “that would be frickin’ awesome!”

Ultimately, it’s not about what you need to do to unplug and reset, it’s that you choose to actually go and do it.  As a society that is inundated with information, deadlines, expectations, false realities, and much more, it’s important to make sure you take the time to get away and truly find your way back to what makes you…you.  So many are responsible for taking care of others that we neglect the fact that we need to take care of ourselves first in order to effectively help others.  You’ve heard this spoken, preached, and taught but let me tell you if you are responsible for others, those others are watching what you do to take care of yourself.  

If you are blessed to work for a company that offers retreats or opportunities for you to get away and develop yourself then fantastic, but I would imagine most of you do not have access to this.  It’s also important to state that “vacations” are not what I’m talking about here either.  You know as well as I that for many, vacations really are not the Pollyanna escape that we all daydream about.  During those vacations many of us still work, stress out, feel too exhausted to have fun, all the while trying to create the perfect getaway for others.  The problem with this is that when you get home from your time away, you actually need a vacation from your vacation.

If this resonates at all for you, here is a recommendation.

• First, figure out what your top 3-5 core values are.  These can be anything from family, faith, loyalty, trust, and adventure, to others like hope, hard work, success, etc.
• Second, set aside some time with close friends or even just by yourself to unplug from the world and process WHY these particular values are important to you
• Finally, commit to yourself that this won’t be the last time you step away and refresh

Value your balance as much as you value everything else in your world and you will be a better you.  I think what you will find by doing this is that many of the individuals you share life with will thank you for doing so, including co-workers, family, friends and most importantly…yourself.

In the coming weeks we will be launching our next full program inside our Braintrust Academy, NeuroCoaching.  Value creation and understanding is just one small part of this robust program so stay tuned for more announcements to come.