Checking out to Check in

I have had a gym for 15 years. I love the NCFA. I check in 6 days a week. I bring my knowledge and the love for MMA everyday, which is why I feel my academy is such a positive environment for everyone. Some people tell me I need the vacation or to take time off. I have an addiction to jiu jitsu. I feel the need to roll every day.

The summer time is my vacation. I leave my 5 bedroom home and stay in a 1 bedroom cabin 45 minutes away with my family...Yes all 5 of us...I wouldn't call it a complete vacation because I commute to the academy to teach and get my roll in every day, 6 days... but for me, its enough, its enough to check out during the day and spend the day at the beach with my family. I get to fish with my boys, take rides in the golf cart and relax on river time. The cabin is my peaceful place, it helps me regroup and refocus. Check out for a few hours everyday and focus on what matters the most...my family... with the kids out of school I get to spend all day with them in a beautiful place surrounded by the redwoods.

Summer is and always has been my favorite time of the year. As a kid I loved being out of school, as an adult I love it when my kids aren't in school. Its a time for them to regroup and  be a kid... which kids don't do much of anymore. The Cabin is where they can be a kid... They run, collect sticks, look for banana slugs, make s'mores daily and for them check out as well. Seeing my family enjoying this magical place for the entire summer is my vacation. Its my way of feeling better about showing up 6 days a week and for my wife and kids its 5 days a week. We all show up. yes all 5 of us. its a way of life for the kids, fortunately they don't know any different, all 3 of them have been in the gym since they were born. The summer helps all of us show up to the gym refreshed everyday, we all need the 3 months in the redwoods every year.

I didn't always have a cabin... in fact we just purchased it a few years ago. but before that I always had something for me to check out for a few hours each day, for a while it was a car I restored. There is always something somewhere that can help you check out. A book, a beautiful drive, a nap. something daily even 15 minutes of time thinking about goals can help. What are some of the things that help you when you feel the urge to check out? Something that helps you get through your job everyday? Maybe its Jiu jitsu, Maybe its NCFA?
Dave