“It is never too late or too early to Stand Tall.” – Zita
How to retreat and strategise.
We have created a world in which not one day goes by where there is not someone selling us, telling us to buy this, watch that, be this, do that, de – stress, watch your weight, be mind full of your mental health issues, meditate on your lack of this, telling us that you are not enough of this and you are definitely far too much of that and you could certainly do better at that. Buy this new face cream now so that you can have the skin of an undernourished pre-teen as you glide towards your 40s and 50s. Why? Because all of this will “change your life.”
Sadly, we are never told what exactly it will change our life to. Clearly it is not something better because if all of it were working proportionately to the amount of it sold, we would surely have enough of it by now to have made a noticeable difference. We would all feel relaxed and very happy. Right? Apparently not. Other than a few fleeting moments of joy, some hours of euphoria at best, life stumbles on and you continue to do the best that you can with what you are given.
The true question is: When was the last time you experienced a real radical shift in your life outside of the major life events of growing up, getting married, having children, getting a great job, getting a great promotion, a remarkable pay rise at said job, a difficult time in your relationship? The constant low level, deep hum of stress buzzing around your ears, now managed mostly with wine and a massage hovers. Hopefully, one day, there will be time – you will make the time – to deal with whatever unprecedented life event has made life a bit more challenging than you had hoped.
When was the last time you really shook things up? When was the last time that instead of brushing another thing under the rug, you lifted up the rug to see what you were actually storing under it? My guess is probably not very often, if ever. It’s not normal but it is accepted, more or less, that after a while you just sort of give up and get on with it all as best you can. People become too afraid to look under the rug, they lie awake at night, hoping, praying that the rug won’t misbehave, jump up and bite them. You never really smile on the commute to work anymore because the stuff under the rug is quietly sucking away your joy. And as life gets faster and busier, the moments to truly reflect become fewer. The sugary silt of the food and drink consumed to act as a buffer between you and the stuff under the rug starts to settle in. Before long, whole years have slipped by without you even noticing that the rug is now on the ceiling drip feeding the unresolved mess into the parts of your life you wish you could avoid or get away from. All you notice is the tension, the colds, the stress, the disappointments, frustrations and challenges rising up each morning to greet you. If it is not the nanny or the cleaning lady, it’s the boss, or that creepy annoying guy from god knows where. Strained relationships tugging at the seams of loosely woven lies. Papering over the cracks as you look for another pot of miracle cream, another detox diet, another remedy to keep the rug in place, all perfect and nice as your whole being starts to feel the fizzle and crack. Last question. When is enough, enough?
It is a great tradition for many to take annual leave, go on holiday and effectively press pause for a few weeks or so. You’ve earned it. There are a plethora of holiday companies offering getaways in paradise to help you take the weight off your shoulders as you exit the arrivals hall at destination X, Y or Z. Only to then return home buoyed by a renewed sense of joie de vivre and good intentions to make some serious changes.
Constantly evolving we are. A spa-retreat was the new upgraded version of a holiday for those high achievers as more and more people realised that to be on top of their game they had to rejuvenate their body. First, it was the retreats that offered detoxes, fasting, dieting, mega fitness pump, boot camps, fire eating, womb lighting and man caving. Like anything that is worth doing well, these too are starting to become more refined, too much high intensity of anything creates more burn out for the burnt out.
Thankfully, the new wave is wellness and wellbeing retreats; these are the holidays of choice for those who sense they are not realising their full potential whether they are hard working, high achievers or are among the many whose dreams never seem to get off the ground. The difference: a more long – term approach to your wellbeing, they seek to touch upon your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual systems to bring them and you into harmony. So instead of coming back a few pounds lighter, glistening with good health that soon fades, there are programmes tailored by exceptional coaches and therapists that serve to allow you to embrace change, meaningful and lasting change, not just for your body, but for the whole of your life too.
Life Therapy Retreats.
Zita invites you to join her on Life Therapy Retreats. Tailor made for the woman who wants to come back with the resources to be fully, wonderfully her best self and to be present for her life. From under the rug comes what you have been afraid to look at.
From my years of experience as a coach and a therapist what you will find under the rug is yourself, including all the hidden gems, the parts of you that you did not feel you had a right to own. Whilst you were busy getting everything else right, taking care of others needs, doing 150% to be as good as a man worth your 100%, you lost touch with who you really are. What is your true potential? I doubt you even know the answer to that yourself. I imagine by now you are starting to grasp that it is far more than you dared hope or imagine.
Its not enough to just get by anymore. If you are serious about the life you are living then your wellbeing matters. I can assure you there is nothing fun about a life where your wellbeing is not high on the agenda. You can’t really sit and say it’s because of men that you aren’t seen or acknowledged, when you resist seeing and acknowledging yourself. That makes no sense at all. Sure men have their stuff to look at, but women do too.
Make a strategic manoeuvre, change your life and find your purpose.
Come and join us on the Stand Tall retreat.
