A Discipline Highly Successful People Practice That Elevates Their Brand
You know that feeling when you’re headed for a vacation or going away for a long weekend. You begin to imagine the feeling of leaving the daily routine behind, no schedules or stress, and doing the things that fill you up.
Are you taking a break to recharge regularly?
Taking regular breaks is a discipline highly successful people follow. They completely unplug a minimum of every ninety days to totally recharge. It could be a long weekend or a planned vacation or simply a totally unplugged vacation at home.
Taking regular breaks energizes you and is good for your mental and physical health. It increases your level of productivity, creativity and makes it easier for you to focus.
Taking a break from work not only gives you greater mental and physical capacity, clients have also shared that it provides the space to reconnect with those they love without the distractions of what has to be done, which robs them of their ability to be totally present.
Having days without a set schedule allows you to relax and consider making time to do what you enjoy.
An Observation
Recently I was down at the waterfront observing a family with young children. The father was teaching his two young children how to skip rocks. The mother was standing at a distance behind them on her smartphone seemingly checking emails, on a Sunday morning! She was totally oblivious to the joy that her kids were experiencing and wasn’t present with her family.
Don’t get me wrong, I realize how challenging ‘doing it all’ can be but part of the exhaustion felt is the guilt that consumes us from never fully disconnecting or being fully present for those that matter.
A client shared that her young daughter drew a picture of her to hang on the refrigerator. It was of her sitting at the table on her laptop. She knew in that moment, being in the same room with her daughter didn’t mean she was present.
Are you tired of not being fully present and ready to invest in recharging your battery?
What You Can Do
You can decide to incorporate a break every ninety days. If that seems too drastic at first, work your way up to it. You can begin by scheduling a minimum of two vacations a year and also incorporate individual days in between so you can recharge.
Here are a few ideas for vacations and mental health days that either clients or I have done over the past month to fill up and recharge:- Spending quality time with family playing board games
- Volunteering
- Rollerblading at the waterfront
- “Going dark” (totally unplugged) for an entire week
- Having a patio lunch with a friend
- Attending a live concert
- Picking a random day to go do something just for yourself
- Reading a good book
- Going to the cottage for two weeks
- Taking a two-week vacation in Italy
- Taking the entire family with grandchildren to Mexico for ten days
- Taking in the sites of Boston for an extended weekend
- Hiking in nature
- Walking the dog every morning
- Going to a movie in the middle of the day, during the week
When engaging in these activities people reported feeling happier, calmer, more relaxed, fully present and connected to what was important to them. You need to give to yourself first even if it goes against what you may have been told as a child. At the end of the day, you can’t give what you don’t have.
Now You
What are the activities you can do or plan that would fill you up? Is it a family vacation? Is it a trip with your friends? Is it blocking time for you? Plan family time although make sure to also include time for you.
If it is permission you are looking for, you have mine! Get it into your calendar now.
Align yourself with what matters most to you. Live your brand fully expressed with intention and purpose to play bigger!
Are you interested in having a conversation to explore how you can define your personal brand and accelerate your growth as a leader, individually or as a team? Send an e-mail to book a complimentary 30-minute consultation.
