Sometimes the days run together and I feel overwhelmed. I see pictures of couples headed to the beach and I’m reminded of my secret hope. When we got married we honeymooned in Estes Park. Not the honeymoon destination of dreams, really. But we had a good time and in the back of my mind I secretly thought, I’ll get him to a beach on our 10th Anniversary.
Photo by Shannon Etherton
Well, 10 years came and went and last month we celebrated that 10th Anniversary. We talked about a variety of ways to celebrate and then together we made a decision. It would be nice to escape our life, but right now we’d rather invest in it. I recently heard author Michael Hyatt say that rather than escaping his life, he wanted to create a life he didn’t want to escape from. Brilliant.
Right now, right where we are, we want to grow as people, together. Aaron and I are both highly dedicated to our individual work and we desire to feel more a part of what the other person is doing. We really want to feel like partners. And really, what better way to realign our goals and support one another than to seek out a growth getaway together?
We didn’t intend to go to Nashville together, initially. But when my original workshop was postponed from September to October (read about the Emergency Cancellation here) we decided to turn my disappointment into an opportunity for both of us, so we headed to Nashville for our 10th Anniversary Growth Getaway.
(Did I just coin a new term?! Probably not…)
We went to a small business workshop led by New York Times bestselling author, Donald Miller. We soaked in his mastery of the framework of story and how to utilize it to communicate in a variety of business related ways.
We had dinner at the new home of some old friends.
We visited Belmont College where I went to school for my freshman and sophomore years of college. He probably got tired of my amazement at how much the campus changed in 15 years, but it was really fun to show him around.
And the last night a couple of tickets opened up right before the show of the Grand Ole Opry so we could soak in the Nashville vibe.
All of our time together at the conference and seeing the sights of Nashville gave us a number of gifts that we brought home with us.
Benefits of a Growth Getaway
- Common Experience. I was fully planning to go to Nashville by myself, but it was so nice to create those memories with my partner.
- Common Language. The workshop gave us a common set of terms and ways of thinking that make it easier for us to communicate what we want to say to one another.
- Intentional Conversations. We had time to talk! Woohoo! But the best part was that we were able to be intentional about discussing and applying the things we learned at the workshop.
- Intentional Living. Our growth getaway gave us the opportunity to come home and live out the things we discussed.
- Partnership. Since Nashville we have felt more aligned in our mutual purpose and more actively supportive of each others’ personal endeavors.
Not every getaway will be a growth getaway for us, (someday I’ll get him to a beach!) but this year it was just what we needed.
Are you interested in a growth getaway? Watch for Born For This registration, opening soon!
CLICK HERE to receive a free 15 minute-read eBook from the creators of Born For This.
