Laughter. Pee in your pants kind of laughter. Bloated. So bloated. I ate way too much. I laughed more than I ate. Tears. I cried. I opened up probably more than I thought I would. I didn’t quite get to the bottom of why the tears came, but each time I open up with my RF tribe, I let my guard down a little bit more letting out feelings I kind of didn’t know existed. As a successful woman, I am definitely not where I thought I would be. Sometimes it’s important to just acknowledge that. I don’t see myself making the moves I need to make to get rid of those feelings, yet. But I will.
It’s been a while since I went on a retreat. In college we used to have retreats all the time. All. The. Time. Spiritual, sisterhood, religious, service all kinds of retreats. I probably ended up take them for granted after a while. I remember thinking as I led a meditation, I should really be meditating too, but I couldn’t quite get myself there because I was concerned with the control I had while I led others and to make sure I did a good job, I couldn’t really allow myself to get there.
Have you ever been to a retreat? I sure have and really enjoyed it, because let’s face it, retreating away from life for a few days/hours is kind of good for the soul. To retreat is to literally go away, move away from the everyday and contemplate some things. In my life, I always seem to contemplate change. Back in my high school days that change came and I hated it. I plainly hated change. I thought it would be better if everything stayed the same. My best friend would remain, I wouldn’t have to miss him, and nothing would have to change. What a load of crap. Everything changes. You do know, that right? It took time, but I became a big fan of change the years that followed y senior year of high school.
Ok back to retreats. So this retreat was everything I thought it would be and so much more. See I knew we would do yoga. By the way I am a big fan and will incorporate monthly yoga from now on in order to build myself to biweekly and later weekly yoga. I really love stretching and can possibly make it a form of exercise and worse I case I can use the “me time” to stretch, become more flexible and just slow down for a little bit.
Ok back to retreats. I knew this retreat would allow me to get to know 3 of our leaders a little better, nothing like seeing and getting to know strong women who lead. I knew I would get to know these other women who, like me are working on strengthening their businesses and are looking for more. So this retreat was all that, plus fun, delicious and adventurous. But it was even more than all that.
The retreat taught me a few things. Here’s some of what I learned, realized or re-confirmed…
Assertiveness about this business equals assertiveness about me.
My husband and family are indeed my biggest cheerleaders
My team and my tribe need to realize the goldmine that is RF and drink the Kool-Aid because it’s delicious, smart and fabulous.
I can't make people see the "way", they have to want to open their eyes to see it.
Charleston is a beautiful town with rich history, gorgeous architecture, creativity and lots
of very kind people. From the restaurant waitress at the airport who noticed my plane was boarding and didn’t charge me for me for my soda, to the uber drivers, neighbors and passersby as we walked the town. All were kind and the city is super hospitable. I would recommend a trip to this beautiful city, any day!
There is still so much to learn, but the conversations I had with this particular group of women… each entrepreneurs, moms, all with degrees, some with advanced degrees, military wives or in the military themselves, all with goals, gave me life, perspective and a renewed focus. This group is definitely making an impact, each in their own way and I can't wait to see what we will do next.