How to Re-Integrate Into Life After a Break
Re-integrating into one’s natural environment (life, work, family) after an extended break can be bumpy and full of learnings. After spending 5 weeks in Southeast Asia in “monk mode”, here’s what I’ve found to be helpful as I re-emerged into my normal life.
5 ways to re-integrate back after a break:
- Focus: What we focus on grows. Coming back, I notice that many of us are scattering our energy in too many directions (people, projects, etc) or into too many negative thought patterns. Choosing where our focus and energy flow directly impacts our long-term results. Choose wisely and deliberately.
- Commit: Too many people expend energy on things that they don’t need to, because of a lack of a system. I have been revising my habits to help me sustain the gains I had during my break. This takes commitment and discipline, but ultimately frees me up to focus my energy on the things that matter.
- Be-friend Old Beliefs: Being back in our familiar environment will often bring us right back to old behaviors driven by old beliefs. Fresh out of break, we can often see more clearly our recurring unconscious beliefs and their root cause. Be-friending them helps us alleviate their power over us.
- Integrate Self-Identity: Trying to hold on to the version of us from vacation is useless. Instead, it’s more productive to integrate the perspective shifts we had into our self-identity. This involves how we view ourselves, speak to ourselves, and present ourselves in the world. We are ever-evolving beings. Rather than getting attached to our old ways of Being, it’s about participating in our ever-evolving ways of Being more consciously.
- Be Declarative: When I came back from my sabbatical, I wrote and re-wrote 8 vows on how I want to orient towards my life. They were a synthesis of 4 notebooks full of journaling and “thoughts in the shower” during my travels. I shared these with loved ones to hold me accountable. Being declarative about who we are Becoming is a powerful way to commit to our transformation beyond moments of transcendence.
What are some ways you’ve re-integrated after an extended break full of break-throughs? Feel free to comment below.
Journeying on,
Nancy
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