Stepping Back to Move Forward

An interesting thing happened during summer vacation. For the first time ever, at least as far back as my memory serves me, I took a week off with no laptop, no email access, no CNN.com, no MarketWatch, no stock tickers, no Facebook, Twitter, or free teleseminars.

Now as I look at this list, I see a common theme emerge. Most of these "necessities" of my everyday life have only existed during the last decade or so. Certainly things like Facebook and Twitter can only be accounted for as part of my day-to-day living in terms of months. But the important consideration is that I left them behind at home while I spent eight days at the shore and I'm a better, more focused, and energized person for it.

I have been absorbed in self-reflection recently. The turn in the economy and deepening recession has left me, like many others, thinking a bit differently about things than usual. If anything I would describe my thought process as having become somewhat "scattered." I felt myself losing track of the overall purpose of decisions made over the past few years and where they were leading me. I started focusing more of my energy into how I was going to generate cash instead of creating the life I wanted to have. I disconnected from with my inner "gut," which had up until now never failed or abandoned me. In essence, I lost faith in myself. As Stephen M.R. Covey puts it in his book, The Speed of Trust, I wasn't following through on my commitment to my goals. I had broken my self-trust.

But my technology-free vacation taught me a lot. I reconnected with my inner voice and started to remember why I do what I do. I gained a new sense of clarity in my thinking about what I wanted. I remembered what one entrepreneur coach attested to in a free audio download: focus on creating a business that works for you and how you want to live. I revisited my mission and realized my greater purpose. That purpose involves very special people - my family. I took inventory of my values. Most important, my faith was restored.

All because I silenced the electronic hum around me and instead listened to me.

When I returned I waited awhile before logging on. I deleted emails but held off on replies. I finally posted a Facebook update Sunday. I glanced at MarketWatch briefly this morning. But otherwise I've been focused on making things happen. My inner voice is still speaking and I'm listening, coming through loud and clear.

Comments

[Christa]

Great post, Anne! Our professional and personal lives move at warp speed these days, in part because of the constant bombardment of information. You've inspired me to "tune out" as well - I'm going to schedule a full day in the near future to turn off the BlackBerry, shut down the computer and silence the TV. Thanks so much for setting such a positive example!