{"id":6782,"date":"2017-05-19T04:45:23","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T09:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/?p=6782"},"modified":"2017-05-19T04:45:23","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T09:45:23","slug":"reboot-your-soul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/reboot-your-soul\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Away From It All"},"content":{"rendered":"

As summer approaches, you might be deciding if you have the time or money for a vacation. Americans have been taking fewer vacation days.
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\nAt one time Americans used their vacation days, according to research by Project: Time Off<\/a>. We took an average of 20.3 days a year right up until the turn of the century. That\u2019s when the findings reveal a sharp drop off of about 4 days. Project: Time Off worries the loss may be a permanent reduction in vacation.
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\n2015 was a typical year. Americans left 658 million vacation days unused and \u201clost 222 million of them,\u201d according to Project: Time Off. \u201cThose days cannot be rolled over, paid out, or banked for any other benefit\u2014they are purely lost.\u201d
\nSeveral years ago, I found myself in the same boat.<\/p>\n

Chasing Waterfalls<\/h3>\n

I had scheduled a short time away at a lodge in British Columbia at the invitation of my friends Bob and Maria Goff<\/a>. But there was tons of work to complete and only so much time. Then a week before leaving I found out we would have neither cell phone service nor Internet access.
\n\u201cNo way,\u201d I thought. \u201cI cannot be offline right now. I have too much going on.\u201d But I reluctantly went along with it, and I\u2019m forever glad I did.
\nIn just a few days it helped to change how I think about vacations as a time of rejuvenation. Afterward, I identified five elements that made it so amazing. These represent five ways anyone can get away and reboot their soul.<\/p>\n

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  1. I went someplace beautiful.<\/strong> Bob and Maria Goff\u2019s lodge is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. There is also something about being in the great outdoors that connects you more directly to God and to your place in his world. It provided me with much-needed perspective.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
  2. I was fully present.<\/strong> The Internet and cellphone fast turned out to be exactly what I needed. It allowed be to be fully immersed in the experience without the temptation to be somewhere other than where I was.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
  3. \n

    I had deep conversations.<\/strong> I don\u2019t naturally seek out people I don\u2019t know. Here I was in the wilderness with twenty people, most of whom I didn\u2019t know\u2014at all. Yet, I found endless delight in hearing their stories, comparing notes, and crying when I left them to come home.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    We spent time alone.<\/strong> The retreat had the perfect balance between structure and spontaneity, group time and alone time. My friend Don Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz<\/a><\/em> was there. Periodically, Don shared with us his thoughts and then asked us to spend some time on our own reflecting on a specific question. I prayed, wrote in my journal, and just enjoyed being.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n

    I had an adventure.<\/strong> The first afternoon, Bob Goff took us to Chatterbox Falls, located at the end of Princess Louisa Inlet. We squeezed behind the waterfall, in the slim corridor between the solid rock wall and the falling water. The sound was deafening and the water was freezing. At Bob\u2019s prompting, we walked through<\/em> the falls, feeling the full force of the water as it pummeled us from above. The experience was exhilarating!<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Unplug and Reboot Your Soul<\/h3>\n

    My time at the lodge wasn\u2019t long\u2014only two-and-a-half days. But I learned from the experience the importance of getting away from it all and unplugging to reboot my soul.
    \nNow, every year Gail and I take a solid month off and we weave all five elements of that lodge experience into our holidays. I can\u2019t wait to get away later this summer.
    \nYou might not be able to manage a full month off. But I bet you can take more time off than you think. I urge you to take time, unplug, really get away from it all and have an adventure.
    \nIt will rejuvenate you, and you\u2019ll come back stronger than ever.
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