The quarterly meeting to unlock your life and your business

Hain mental clarity and achieve your goals

Author

Jo Yang
September 19, 2024

We're all confronted with those phases of life when we feel like we're losing the desire, losing the enthusiasm and feeling lost...

It manifests itself in :

  • weariness, creative saturation and general demotivation

  • A loss of meaning

  • Difficulty in planning ahead

  • The feeling of responding to emergencies and building nothing for the future

  • A loss of confidence and self-esteem (a feeling of failure).

I assure you, it's normal and human to go through these phases. The trick is to avoid staying there...

I've developed a routine which, over time, has become an appointment that prevents me from getting into or out of this spiral:

When you feel lost

This kind of phase transforms our reality. We close in on ourselves, convinced that we've failed in our lives, and it takes up most of our thoughts.

It becomes difficult to step back, think in the long term and differentiate between real problems and our anxiety (projection of the worst).

So we can't get the ideas and trigger points we need at that moment! There's a common reason:

You're in your routine, your environment, your usual framework that makes you think and respond in the same way to your blocks, problems or doubts.

You have neither the height nor the depth to take stock of your situation, your desires and projects in a truly enlightened way...

The turning point that changed everything

In 2020, after the first confinement and the months that followed, I was in that phase of questioning, doubts and weariness... Like so many of us!

Having been confined in a “closed” and similar environment for so long was precisely the most “extreme” manifestation of this stagnation phenomenon.

So I went on “retreat” to the Basque Country, and took advantage of the opportunity to make a Vlog that has become a concept on my french Youtube channel “Les Bilans du Game” !

And I've decided to make these retreats every change of season, every quarter at the solstices and equinoxes.

The idea is to take a break for several days in a new place outside my usual environment.

Spending a few days in another environment unlocks a part of our intelligence that is difficult to use when we're in our usual environment and routines.

Ever wonder why you're more creative away from home? When traveling? In a stimulating environment (alone or with people whose discussions are enriching)?

That's why integrating this kind of habit on a monthly, quarterly or half-yearly basis keeps you out of a “stagnant routine”.

That's when you can have big ideas or huge breakthroughs, and I'll tell you a few examples:

The power of these types of “retreats

All my big projects and moments of doubt were unblocked there!

Here are the highlights:

  • I got the urge to launch myself on Youtube in 2012 during a trip to New York, where I launched vlogs documenting my journey.

  • A trip to Thailand in 2013 inspired me to become a Digital Nomad and create Positive Revolution.

  • Gamentrepreneur was born from an initial idea during my roadtrip to the American West Coast in 2016, then a roadtrip to Spain in 2017 where I announced the project in the Bardenas desert. The launch was shot in Florida 1 year later!

  • The Gamentrepreneur Live was imagined in a swimming pool during a Mastermind in Thailand.

  • The idea for Flowtasking was born in a jacuzzi on the Ile de Ré in early 2023.

My great ideas never come from behind a screen between 4 walls!

I can't cheat, it's all documented on my Youtube channel over the years :)

It was really in 2020 that I realized how powerful this “pattern” was and formalized this quarterly retreat routine. Here's how you can organize it yourself:

How to organize your own clearing, stepping back and planning retreats:

The idea is to get away for several days in a different environment and limit your mind's preoccupations as much as possible, let me explain:

1- Find a place, preferably a quiet one, where you can spend a few days (the duration is up to you, but ideally a minimum of 72 hours, just long enough for your brain to detach itself from your habits): Hotel, rental... as long as it's quiet!

2- Make sure you have everything you need and don't have to worry about: housework, shopping, meals (plan ahead).

3- Take notes: diaries, notebooks, notepads, sheets of paper... and keep distractions to a minimum (email, social networks, etc.).

4- You can plan a list of introspective questions to ask yourself (guided approach), a list of problems/headaches to solve and/or simply go with your intuition.

5- Don't force things: If you don't have any ideas, go for a walk, do some creative or manual activity... And when you do have ideas, write them down!

What can help you make the most of these retreats is :

  • frameworks for taking stock, clarifying goals and direction, making decisions and planning (I suggest some below)

  • Preferably being alone (or if in a couple, being clear about the need for time for oneself)

  • Keep daily concerns to a minimum, such as “What am I going to eat tonight?”

But going into it intentionally, telling yourself it's a moment of self-reflection, is already a good start!

And if you really want to push the concept...

Over time, I've developed my own methods of introspection and perspective-taking, and here are the 3 that can help you:

C.L.A.R.I.T.Y. The general method for taking stock of my life and projects every quarter. It allows me to take stock and think strategically, while planning what's next. I do it every 90 days!

L.I.G.H.T. The complementary method that helps me sort out and lighten up when I'm feeling “heavy” and overwhelmed. I mostly do it during the Spring and Autumn equinoxes (the famous spring cleaning and autumn lightening).

Decision Flow : When I'm faced with dilemmas or choices, I use some of the models to help me make big decisions on a personal, professional and business level! (It's a toolbox).

You can take them if you feel the need for support and tools to guide you through these moments. (All 3 have printable workbooks for screen-free use).

You can plan it for yourself, as I do, especially during the Christmas and New Year vacations, at the end of March/beginning of April when spring arrives (sometimes even on Easter weekend), at the start of summer and then at the end of September. This way, you can prepare for each season :)

It becomes a “routine” and even a quarterly appointment.

It's by far the most useful, powerful and transformative appointment of my years!