Not all who wander are lost. – J.R.R. Tolkien
Do you ever feel like you are procrastinating or distracting yourself when you feel like you should be focusing more on your work?
Yeah. I get it.
Too much Facebook. Or Twitter. Or Instagram posting. It happens to me too.
It’s easy to get sucked in.
If we are truly being honest with ourselves…
- Sometimes we procrastinate or distract ourselves from our work because we are afraid of failure.
- Sometimes we procrastinate or distract ourselves from our work because we are afraid of success. (Yep! It’s true!)
- Sometimes we procrastinate or distract ourselves from our work because we KNOW we are at our growing edge and it can feel a little scary looking over the edge of that cliff, right?
But, sometimes procrastinating or distracting yourself is part of the exact RECIPE for success. #surprise
Taking a detour can be EXACTLY what we need to refuel, refresh, or reinvigorate our creative genius.
That’s why taking time away from work and going on vacations is so important.
I myself just got back from a totally unplugged week-long vacation in Iceland. It was the first real vacation that I had taken since becoming a full-time entrepreneur.
(Fortunately, I have a fabulous VA, Amy, who I completely trust, who was keeping an eye on my business while I was gone so I could actually give myself permission to take time off and get a little R&R.)
I made a conscious decision to step away from my computer and from Facebook (except for 1 daily post of photos from the trip!), and completely remove myself from outside communication.
Honestly, it felt a little scary to not reply to e-mails for a week because I was afraid that I would be letting my clients down by not responding to them quickly enough.
But, truth be told, my mind, body and soul needed to wander.
To see the world again.
To step out of my life and into a truly magnificent, other-worldly country.
In Iceland, we saw gorgeous waterfalls, Icelandic ponies and sheep – and baby lambs everywhere! We saw expansive mountain views and went to fishing villages above the Arctic Circle. It was windy and freezing cold with all of the glaciers, icebergs, and snow on the ground…but also warm and toasty because of the geothermal hot springs (some of which you could bathe in!), volcanoes, black sand beaches…and more.
We saw scenery like this…
And this….
(Yes, those are reindeer. Real life reindeer. It’s so easy to see why they filmed the wintery scenes from the Game of Thrones in Iceland, right?)
You know, I hadn’t even realized how much I needed to turn my left brain, legally minded brain OFF and my right brain, creative, open explorer brain ON so that I could fill up with yumminess and come back with a new perspective.
As a result of my vacation:
- I now feel ready for my next level of growth.
- I am more open to possibility.
- I am calling in new partnerships and opportunities.
- I am expanding my capacity to receive.
All because of a trip and a week away from routine and normalcy. #whowouldhaveguessed
Have you given yourself the gift of stepping away from your work lately?
Have you designed a detour from your regular routine – whether it’s a vacation or a staycation?
Have you let yourself wander and explore new places, ideas, concepts, or people?
If so, what shifted for you after you came back? Did you create a new course? Get a burst of inspiration? Simply feel more rested? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
Remember…. not all who wander are lost. In fact, often, it is through the wandering that they are found again.
Here’s to vacations and staycations and to taking intentional detours away from work!
