Last week saw us engaging with our clients in San Diego for the 3rd annual Rewire Retreat. The Retreat is a time when we do just that: retreat. We get away for 3 days from the daily cycle of phones, emails, typical work and family responsibilities, etc. and engage with other people in a way that we could not otherwise. Make no mistake, we had fun (think ocean kayaking, laughing, bonfires, more laughing, making friends, and jumping out of airplanes). But we also got away to engage ourselves in deep thought about our professional and personal lives, meditate, and plan out new success habits along with specific ways to ensure those habits stick with us for the long-term. It was a transformational time: both for the people who came and for me and the Rewire Team as we ran the event. Today, I wanted to share a few things I learned from my time in San Diego that may be helpful to you.
1. Mornings matter - A LOT!
How you spend your morning shapes how the rest of your day goes. And your days shape your weeks, which in turn determine your months, years, and (eventually) your life. We spent Thursday morning at the Retreat working through a tool we call The First 120 which helps you think about and then make changes to the habits surrounding the first 2 hours of your day.
For many attending The Retreat, this was an eye-opening experience. If you would like to work through this tool yourself, click HERE, and we’ll get you the tool free of charge, no sign-ups or strings attached.
2. Community also matters (even more than your morning).
We humans are social beings and we are built to be around and help each other. This fact was driven home for me by the amazing community we had gathered for the three days of the retreat. I got to watch people very intentionally support each other, encouraging, sharing and challenging throughout the time. But we also agreed that this dynamic was equally possible and necessary back in our work and home environments. Just as we would help others in our communities, we know we have people around us daily that are willing to help if we ask. But that’s one of the key take-aways: we have to ask.
3. Creating new habits sucks!
That might sound unprofessional, but I’m using that word intentionally. And, frankly, sometimes the process just… sucks. Thursday, we learned that due to our lizard brains we do not like change at all — even if that change is good for us, or makes us happy or better in some way. Our brains make it so dang hard for us when we try to create a new habit by telling us that the couch (or social media, or that donut, or the television, or that beer, etc.) looks so much better than the new habit. I know this point does not seem very positive, but setting the proper expectations is important so we don’t get blind-sided by the “suck,” but rather know about it and can plan to navigate like it’s hot (ode to Snoop here - think “drop it like it’s hot”).
4. The suck ends.
This is something the Navy SEALs said when we worked out with them at dawn. Oh, did I not mention that? Yeah, we worked out with Navy SEALs on the beach and in the ocean.
And they pushed us hard. There was yelling and swearing and harsh nicknames. There were overturned boats and plenty of bruises. There was sand in every crack and crevice. But, even in the midst of the pain that comes with training, they called out to us, “The suck ends!” And that’s definitely true of new habits: at some point in time, the suck ends. Knowing that the suck ends helps you to be more equipped to push through and persevere to where it is that you want to go. That line of thinking works really, really well for the SEALs and it will work for you and I as well.
5. Skydiving is crazy. Fun, but crazy.
I’m not totally sure how this helps any of you, but it’s one of the most amazing things I’ve gotten to experience. I and some of my fellow retreaters jumped out of an airplane at 10,000 feet strapped to a Navy SEAL. I’ve done it twice now and it really has not gotten any easier. If you want to have a good laugh, click HERE.
I am more confident than ever that if you want to change your life for the better, you’ll want to attend next year’s Rewire Retreat. At least that’s what this year’s attendees have said. If you are interested in being with us next Fall at The Retreat, let us know today and I’ll see that you get a discount.
