Retreat Before You Die!

Well, maybe not a literal death. But in a figurative way, not taking time to step away from your endeavors can be the death of realizing your goals.

Fall is a great time to fall back and regroup. Treat yourself. Plan a retreat and spend focused time away from your day-to-day environment.

Length of Your Retreat

Short Retreats

One of the simpler ways to plan an effective retreat is taking advantage of a long weekend. Plan on arriving at your chosen destination late Friday afternoon and staying through until late Sunday afternoon. This will give you enough time to disengage from your normal routine.

These long weekends make great quarterly retreats.

Long Retreats

At least once a year, plan on spending a minimum of five nights away to maximize your retreat benefits. This longer time away gives you a chance to recalibrate by separating yourself from the daily and weekly routine.

An extended retreat has an added benefit of combining different types. For example, focusing on both your wellness and spiritual life together will have a synergistic effect and impact your whole being.

Different Types of Retreats

Spiritual Retreats

This is a time to focus on God. It may include meditation, prayer, fasting, worship, and just being in a heightened awareness of God’s Presence. If you don’t consider yourself to be spiritual, a good alternative is a Nature Retreat with a focus on creation.

Wellness Retreats

Rest and relaxation combined with healthy eating or fasting with light exercise can offer your body much needed recovery. It can also lead to changes in your lifestyle that bring more health and healing to your body. Don’t forget that wellness includes your mind and emotions as well. Take some time to renew these with meditation and fun, playful activities.

Marriage Retreat

For couples, a marriage retreat can significantly impact your intimacy with your spouse. Many couples learn new things about each other and new ways to respond to one another. Marriage retreats are most effective when led by facilitators for a group of couples who share similar core values.

Leadership Retreats

Do you have responsibility for others in a leadership role? As a leader, you shoulder things that others would not be able to relate to. Gathering with other leaders in a retreat setting will bring you encouragement, vision, and fresh perspective.

Team Building Retreats

If you are part of any type of team, a team building retreat is a great way to explore your common values, vision, mission and strategy. Your role becomes clearer, especially as it inter-relates to your other team members.

Your Retreat Logistics

Location

Anywhere away from home, including a different neighborhood to a different country. Remember, this is not a vacation so you don’t want to choose a location where you’re tempted to fill you days with sightseeing. Choose places that are inspiring, peaceful and relaxing.

Activities

Keep activities to a minimum. Maybe walks, short hikes, and other moderate exercise to get the blood flowing. If you are able to gain access to mountain summits via trams or other means, take advantage of this heightened perspective.

Facilities

Anything from a local hotel or AirBnB to an all inclusive retreat center works. You’ll want to be sure you can have some uninterrupted quiet time. An outdoor setting, especially in the mountains, can add inspiration.

Dining

Will you be fixing your own meals, eating out, or a combination of both? Explore your dining options to see if choices are available that will fit well with the type of retreat you are planning.

Retreat Expectations

This may be contrary to traditional planning, but… approach your retreat with no expectations. Many of us set our expectations too high. When you don’t meet your expectations, you may experience dissapointment and discouragement.

Going into a retreat without expectations allows you to experience whatever comes about. You might be pleasantly surprised or maybe nothing earth shattering takes place. You simply get rest. Whatever you do get out of your retreat, the outcome will help you continue to move forward in life.

A great resource for gaining ideas for your retreat or finding that perfect retreat center can be found at RetreatCentral.com.