I am a HUGE fan of what I call “GETAWAYS“.
I just came back from one last week.
And I attribute them to being a major part of my mental health regime, my physical health regime, and from a business perspective they are creativity on steroids.
I reckon that my creativity, productivity and sheer volume of really powerful ideas for life and business are multiplied by a factor of at least 10!
A well organised and intentional GETAWAY is like a Quantum Leaping event.
They are raw POWER as opposed to sweaty and messy FORCE.
In your tool-bag of ‘Tips to help you flourish in life’, GETAWAYS are right up there.
Convinced yet?
I hope you are well on your way, BUT HERE IS THE THING…
The GETAWAYS I am talking about are not about sipping martini’s on the beach.
Those might be relaxing (until the dehydration sets in), but they have nothing on what I am talking about.
I am talking about a GETAWAY back to SELF.
Something else entirely.
(The martini’s on the beach are actually numbing yourself to feeling self; so they are very different).
The GETAWAYS I am talking about are evolutionary.
Now are you convinced?
What a Quantum-Leaping, Life-Enhancing, Soul-Stimulating GETAWAY is all about
I like the idea of a getaway towards your self.
Along the lines of “Know Thyself”.
And very much about self-growth, personal development and co-creating your destiny.
In our modern lives we are all DISTRACTED to an enormous extent.
In our noisy and distracted environments, how are we ever likely to hear the inner whispering of our yearning soul?
How can we hear our wise inner guidance?
How can we hear the sacred sound of the cosmos nudging us towards the greatness we were made for?
The answer is, we rarely can.
I do my weekly meeting with Me Inc., which works pretty well, but it is nothing like the GETAWAY I am suggesting.
What I am suggesting is getting away, by our SELF, to a place of silence, so you can connect with, and hear your inner wisdom.
This wisdom can tell you to lean in or lean away.
Helping you make the big and impactful decisions in life.
In my book Decision Making Mastery, I talk about my favourite method for making the big decisions in life (those with the greatest consequences), and it is very much in alignment with the idea of I am suggesting here. Create a GETAWAY with self, by self and for self.
Solitude for many people is a challenge, but it is essential if we want to hear our true heart’s yearnings.
Your mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, friend, kids, boss, or mentor, cannot truly tell you what is best for you. They don’t know your inner heart’s desire, like you have the potential to, when you get silent, and focus on you, and all around you.
Are you convinced now??
What if I said in my 53 years, and with the curious obsession I have for what things have the greatest ROI on our joy, fulfillment, meaningfulness, peace and harmony; that a GETAWAY is in the TOP 3 Best Things You Can Do in Your Life to get the absolute most out of life, and to fully express your potential.
Okay, what’s this GETAWAY thing look like?
You know I love the practical.
The first thing is, you need to go by yourself.
If you are in a relationship, your partner stays at home. So does your dog, cat or kids. Stuffed toys are okay to bring along.
If you have a partner and kids, then you might organise a tag-team with your partner, so you can go solo (and they can go solo later if they want).
I recommend 2 nights away as a minimum, and not more than 4-5 days.
Here are some of the things when selecting a location:
- You find somewhere quiet and in nature.
- The place is relatively low tech.
- There is good airflow.
- It is no more than 1-2 hours from home.
- There is a place where you can sit, write, contemplate, with a view preferably looking over nature (ocean, fields, forests, etc.).
Here is what you do while you are there (this is just a summary of the main things):
- You move slowly.
- You eat super healthy life giving food (as Michael Pollan would say – “Real Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”).
- You drink plenty of H2O (water).
- You sit. You ponder. You get up and move around when you need to.
- You ask yourself great questions.
- You start the day with movement and meditation.
- When you arrive, you get things organised, and then you sit down and get clear about what you would like to get out of your getaway (you set an INTENTION – “where attention goes, energy flows”).
- You write answers to your great questions.
- You ponder your answers to the great questions.
You could ask yourself great questions like:
- “What do I really want out of life?”
- “Am I heading in the direction of my life’s desires?”
- “If I could do anything with my life, what would it be?”
- “What would I love to create this year?”
Things I take with me:
- Healthy food.
- Herbal teas.
- A clipboard (so I can write anywhere), different coloured pens and highlighters, and plenty of blank white paper (A4).
- My most comfortable clothes (no thought goes into how I look).
- A great book or two (one personal development book and one fiction book)
There is a whole lot more detail I could go into, but that would make this post way too long. What I encourage you is to stay plugged into my Newsletters, as later in the year I will be launching a new venture (Getaway to Self) around supporting people to create their own GETAWAYS, with all the Tips, Tools and Strategies (plus connection and support) to get the absolute most out of them. So watch this space.
My main message
Most of us live a busy, noisy, distracting and separated-from-nature sort of life.
It is very hard to hear our heart’s wisdom and guidance in that environment.
We need (in solitude) to get still, silent, and prompt our hearts to speak to us.
Creating (by conscious intent) an environment and experience that is conducive to hearing your inner voice and inner guidance (and even cosmic or divine guidance), is essential to not only get the most out of life, but to design a life that is in ALIGNMENT with who you truly are.
And finally, I recommend doing a GETAWAY every 1-3 months.
My Parting words
A lot of the good stuff in our life happens because we make good choices.
And part of making good choices, is setting up the right environment to support your creativity (and solution-finding).
I think you and me can make our best decisions, without distractions.
And without perceived haste (or pressure).
I actually believe for many of us, a GETAWAY, as I have described it, is not desirable, but ESSENTIAL.
It is essential to Co-Creating your ideal destiny (and lifestyle).
But don’t take my word for it though.
Try it out, and then report back to me.
What did your heart reveal to your mind?
Hmmmmmm.
Have a wonderful day and a getaway-planning-rich kinda week.
See you next week.
Take care,
Carl
