You can be sitting on the beach.

Sun on your face.

Feet in the warm sand.

Blue skies.

A mild breeze.

Paradise.

And have your brain be consumed by worry.

Worry about your work.

Worry about things that might go wrong.

Worry about what people might be thinking about you.

You can be sitting in a fancy restaurant.

The 3-star dinner you’ve always dreamed about.

With the person you love.

And be consumed by the thought that you don’t belong there.

That this happiness can’t last.

That the other shoe is about to drop soon.

You can have achieved your goal, reached that important milestone.

You can have gotten the degree, the certification, the accolades.

And be consumed by the thought that you are not good enough.

That soon everybody will find out.

The situation – where you are, what you accomplished – are not what drive you how you feel about yourself.

Though that is often what we tend to believe.

Having us work hard to get more, do more, achieve more.

But never finding the feel-good we are looking for.

You can put yourself in a new space –

the beach, a fancy restaurant, a bag full of achievements and degrees –

heck, even people throwing compliments your way –

as long as you take your old thoughts with you,

you’ll be thinking the same old things, feeling the same old way.

It’s only when you change those thoughts,

it’s only when you change the way you look at yourself, that you will feel differently.

No matter where you are.

The best retreat is upgrading the way you see yourself – without changing anything in your outside world.

That is where your true power lies.

That is what will allow you to truly enjoy yourself – no matter where you are.

That is what will allow you to truly appreciate yourself – no matter what others do or say.

That is what will allow you to truly value yourself – no matter what happens.

That is what will give you that breath of fresh air that you might be longing for.

The way the beach, the fancy restaurant, the achievements or compliments never can.

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