It’s been about a month since I attended The Southern C Wellness Retreat in Watercolor, Florida. After attending any conference, I tend to go through a couple of phases. First, I’m completely refreshed and can’t wait to implement EVERYTHING I’ve learned. Then, a few weeks pass and real life begins to sink in, and my focus shifts from working on my business to just trying to keep up with the day-to-day operations. As each day passes, most everything I originally wanted to do gets pushed to the bottom of my to-do list, and eventually completely falls off. Does this ever happen to you?

Because the focus on this particular retreat was wellness, I knew I wanted my experience during and after the retreat to be different–and fortunately, it has been.

What I liked most about The Southern C Wellness Retreat this year is that the speakers were incredibly honest about their journey to the top. For most, that journey wasn’t easy and some included nervous breakdowns, unhealthy comparisons and the pressure of constantly trying to reinvent to stay relevant. After a tough year personally, and trying to figure out the future of LL, it was comforting to hear that I’m not alone in the journey.

It was also helpful that the setting of the Retreat was innately peaceful + serene. The Watercolor Inn was truly the perfect backdrop for the three-day wellness programming. The grounds are filled with winding bike paths, white sand beaches, cotton candy skies (seriously) and lake views. During breaks, I’d hop on my bike and leisurely ride through the neighborhoods and neighboring towns (Seaside, Alys and Rosemary Beaches). I also opted for a beach stroll in the afternoons to recenter myself. I’m already planning a trip for next year to show my husband around the picturesque towns. If you are looking to unplug and unwind, check out Watercolor, Florida.

To help combat that sense of overwhelmingness when I came back, I consolidated all of my notes into three categories. For me, these were the key takeaways from the presenters that I planned to implement:

• Find the work/life balance that works for YOU. This past summer, I didn’t blog much on Lavin Label. Summer is the prime time family visits, so I decided to spend more quality time with guests. During a trip that I took earlier in the year, I’m pretty sure that I had a panic attack on the plane. I actually had to cut my trip short by a few days and head home. Looking back, taking the summer off was the best thing that I could have done for my health. Now I’m completely energized and even more excited and ready to tackle Lavin Label. There is no such thing as the perfect work/life balance. You just have to make the best decisions you can (keeping you and your family in mind) and then don’t second guess them.
• Talk to a therapist. I learned that once one area in your life is suffering, it’s a whole lot easier to let the unhappiness creep into other areas. A husband and wife duo/successful business owners at the Retreat mentioned that they go to counseling to keep their relationship healthy. Wow. How awesome that they shared this information with a room full of peers?! This has been one of the best things that I’ve been doing on a regular basis to stay healthy, well-balanced + positive. Life is not perfect and it’s impossible to do it on your own. Don’t be embarrassed to seek help. It’s actually one of the smarter things that you can do.
• Master the art of saying no. Up until this summer, I said yes to everything. The word hustle is glorified on social media. But when hustling continually interrupts family, faith + health, it’s not worth it. Over the next few weeks, I will be working a lot (I have some pretty exciting projects coming up) but then I’m taking a break! I now know my boundaries. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t hustle and work hard just make sure you find the right balance that works for you.

Because the key takeaways from this retreat could help improve my health and well-being, I didn’t want these items to fall off of my to-do list. I think consolidating my take aways into three actionable areas made them very attainable. Now, a month after the Retreat, I really feel like I’ve accomplished something that truly has a positive impact on myself, my family and my business. I actually met with my therapist again last week and it helped me say no to a project in late December in order to spend more time with family + enjoy the holidays.

This retreat came at the perfect time in my life, especially since Lavin Label is shifting away from the blog and more toward consulting. I’ll still be writing blog posts and keeping up my social channels, but I’ll be blogging with more intention. Instead of  just trying to find content to fill 3-4 days a week, I’ll be blogging on topics + partnerships that really mean the most to me. This also frees up some of my time to travel and start offering webinars and online classes to help give back.

This post is pretty personal but I wanted to give you a true snapshot of where I am in my life right now because Instagram can make everything look rosy. A big special thanks to Whitney Long and Cheri Leavy for your continued support and for including me as a mentor at the Retreat. I can’t wait to welcome everyone to Sea Island for next year’s Summit scheduled February 7-9 (tickets on sale soon).