A few months back, my wife noticed that our team seemed tired. After speaking with everyone, we discovered that everyone needed a break. Not an optional break—a mandatory break.
So that's exactly what we did at Avenu Fitness. We powered down from July 1-5 to reboot, refresh and refocus our vision and energy for the second half of the year.
Think about it this way: Every night we plug in our phones to recharge from all the day's usage. Sometimes we have an emergency where we have to find a charger halfway through the day. Sometimes we could go days without a recharge. The same holds true with our lives. The need to recharge is a necessity, not a luxury. Recharging helps us operate at our absolute best, give more of ourselves to our loved ones and be fully present in our daily lives.
As leaders in the fitness industry, I know we take this seriously, but are we leading by example? Think about your daily grind since the beginning of the year, your team's countless late night group sessions and endless client questions about which diet is the best.
When the alarm goes off at 4 a.m., we typically hit the ground running, not stopping until late at night. It adds up, and it is self inflicted. We love what we do, right? But at times, a daily recharge isn't enough; you need to shut down to completely reboot. What if you, your team and your community were to power down for a week to reboot so you can come back:
- recharged to lead with the passion, drive and energy we had back on Jan. 1,
- refocused around why we're in this industry in the first place, which is to serve, and
- renewed to re-establish the deep relationships with our community that drive our facilities forward.
I challenge you to take some time off. Take some time to sleep in. Take some time to eat breakfast or sit down for dinner with the family. Heck, even go play at the park with the kids. Whatever you decide to do, enjoy the chance to slow down.
For a short period of time, forget worrying about numbers at your studio. Simply focus on your quality of life by unplugging from your daily routine and slowing down to enjoy the friends, family and loved ones around you.
The following is what a recharge break did for my facility:
- My community of 500 clients collectively said: "Good for you. I wish my company did this."
- My team is buzzing with energy like we're a fresh new start-up.
- For myself—priceless. I can honestly say I have not been this refreshed since I opened my studio 10 years ago. It's been one of the best business decisions I've ever made.