Q: What delivers your highest ROE?

I’ve noticed over the years that the more time I take off to rejuvenate, the more focused and effective I become personally and professionally. One of my favourite ways to do this is by going into nature to hike and/or canoe. To have no phones or e-mail for an hour or a couple of days and just be in the moment; to meditate and appreciate everything in my life delivers the highest ROE (return on experience) for me. So in other words, by doing the activities I’ve always loved but didn’t create as much time for in the past as I do now, it actually pays off in so many ways.

Here’s what I’ve discovered over the last couple of years by ever-increasing my time in nature and decreasing just doing stuff: I have more time for me; I’m not my company or job; I’m going to live longer; I’m getting younger; I have awesome partners and support teams that can handle all “the stuff” and thrive on it; I can work on the business and not in it; I gain clarity and perspective and I have a strong bottom line that travels in a continuous positive direction.

If you haven’t already realized it, my call to action is to figure out what gets your groove on! Take some traditional “business hours” time off to play and test what works for you. Personally, I went through several stages over the years of feeling a little guilty, like I was playing hooky from school, but then I let that pass and REALLY embraced it. The results have been and continue to be positively life-altering. So go ahead—take some time to determine your highest ROE activity. If you already know what it is but haven’t taken the time to do that activity, schedule some “me” time to do it. Either way, get your GROOVE on—your company will love you for it!

~Gary Evans~

image by alexindigo on Flickr