Need a Vacation to Refuel this Summer?

The following blog is from Darren Bosch.

Let me guess, do you long for a vacation to de-stress and refuel this summer? Running low on steam from nearly 16 months of “this thing”? I get it. 

But, as challenging as this may sound, time off this summer may not be the elixir for refueling. Let me explain why, and what can actually fill our tanks.”

I recently met with some Christian business owners who, although not physically tired, were feeling emotionally spent and mentally exhausted. Stress and even anxiety were creeping in. I saw that the extra strain of managing their business during COVID was beginning to take its toll. One owner told me how his recent vacation didn’t even really help. The waterline still seemed so high and the ability to unplug and reconnect with God and loved ones felt fleeting… even disconnected. Hmmm… As a busy leader, does this sound familiar?

If we’re honest, many of us would affirm. It seems so tough to completely de-stress and recharge on your time off, doesn’t it? – especially if it’s only a few days. And even if you get a fleeting glimpse of peace at some point during your vacation, it usually evaporates the moment you head back to work or, even worse, the few days leading up to your return.

If you're not sure that’s you, just ask your loved ones. They may let you know what it’s really like to be on vacation with you. I remember my kids telling their mom, “Dad is here, but he’s not here. He’s here in body, but not in mind. He seems to be in another world.” Yep, a crushing reality.

So that leaves us with 2 critical reflections: Why do I find it so hard to recharge on vacation? And what can I do about it?

Why?

Why doesn’t time off necessarily “work”? The problem with most of us leaders is not how we spend our time off. It's how we spend our time on. As one leader put it, “Your time off can't save you if the problem is how you spend your time on.”

That’s why as Christian business mentors, we spend so much time coming alongside business leaders helping them operate from a framework of:

• Deliberately living on purpose
• Deliberately living out the 168 hours we have in a week—underpinned by a clear purpose, roles, and goals.
• Deliberately investing in self-care—spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. This means intentionally planning, setting into motion sustainable habits that keep us refueled along the way, and having a “band of brothers” to encourage and hold one another accountable. ‘Cause if we shoot for nothing… we’ll hit it every time!'

So, ask yourself this summer:

• Where am I at?
• What am I experiencing?
• Am I exhausted?

Although vacations are wonderful—and I strongly recommend them—how you spend your time off isn't the only solution. How you spend your time on (all the other times of the year) is also part of the solution. Time off won't necessarily solve everything if my problem is how I live out my purpose, and how I regularly refuel (or don’t).

So, what can we do about it? If the problem is how you spend your time on, here are a few things that can help:

Pause and Reflect

First, when you're off, take some time to reflect and journal what’s going on. You have been through so much with this whole COVID thing and my guess is you've hardly stopped to process it fully. If your answer to complete exhaustion is that “everything” is too much, the fatigue or anxiety may be deeper than you first thought, and that might take a little more time to process.

In the moments of stress or exhaustion, do you acknowledge what you’re enduring? Don’t ignore it. Reflect and record the reality you’re experiencing.

Take it to God

Call it out. Bring it to God in confession and hopeful petition, asking Him to reveal to you what’s really going on. He will every time—whether we like to hear it or not. So, let’s tune our ears and focus our eyes to hear Him. His promises will remain faithful and He will meet us where we’re at. Guaranteed.

Share with a Confidant

God has designed us to live and work in community, carrying each other’s burdens and sharpening each other. Process what’s going on with an accountability partner or a close peer group for actionable support... because God uses people as instruments in His redeeming hands to come alongside you! An intimate and intentional Christian peer group can allow you to implement new rhythms and habits you couldn’t implement on your own.

Develop that Actionable Support into your Intentional Weekly Rhythms. Because it’s not how we spend our time off. It's how we spend our time on.

As I read these words, my heart and mind are refreshed in the reality of Christ renewing me again.

Friends, where do you go when you feel the world pressing in on you? Do you escape, hoping a vacation will solve it all? Do you lead yourself in a way that has you disconnected from the One who loves you? Or do your regular rhythms take you to the place of offering yourself back to Him, the One who says, “Take heart, because I have overcome the world”?

God bless you as you sit at the feet of Jesus in your reflection and refueling.