Do you ever feel stuck?

I laid in bed wide awake night after night, feeling anxious and overwhelmed. “Is there all there is to life?” I thought. “With all the success, why do I feel stuck?”

On the outside, it looked like I was living the American dream. A first-generation immigrant to the U.S., I completed my MBA and launched my own agency based on more than 20 years of a successful marketing career. 

A hard worker, I immersed myself into the hustle. This earned me a Rolodex of clients that would make most marketers’ jaws drop: Madonna, Steve Nash, UFC Gyms, 1-800-Flowers, Dr. Weil. 

Winning at work yet losing at life.  

But while I was winning marketing awards, I felt like I was losing at life. 

The 100-hour workweeks left no time for reflection. Sleep deprivation turned me into a zombie during the day. My friends slowly stopped calling me, after too many: “Um, I’m crazy busy right now, maybe next weekend” excuses. I suffered from chronic stomach aches. My work was my identity. I felt overwhelmed. Since I was doing social media for clients, my brain was scrambled like eggs and ham. I was tired. Burnout. Despite the success on the outside, I felt empty on the inside. I was stuck. I thought this was the norm—what society expected of me. 

Until I went to Baja. 

Wellness sabbatical – using travel & adventure to shift your perspective

One day, a friend insisted that we visit his new home in Baja California Sur for a week around Thanksgiving. It was the first vacation I took in four years. With every mile through the big Cordone cactuses on the way from the airport, my stress and anxiousness slowly dissolved. It was as if I had been holding onto a beach ball underwater for months, maybe years. and somebody just pulled the airplug. My senses awakened. My phone turned off, laying somewhere in the bag, no longer demanded my attention. My mind started to clear. For the first time in months, I could think. I began to get in touch with myself again.

Always ready for adventure, I decided to learn to kiteboard. This is when it hit me. In the middle of the ocean, floating behind a green and blue kite, I realized there is more to life than working. I wasn’t living. I was simply existing. What happened to joy, freedom, courage, authenticity, wellness—the values that had been driving me my entire life. What happened to my creativity? 

Bending reality

“There has to be a different way,” I thought, deeply connected with my body in a state of flow. 

I decided to make a change. Back home, I could still taste the salty ocean and the saltier margaritas. I began to dismantle the very company I put my sweat and tears into building. I realized that if I had solid Internet, I could work from anywhere—even the places where people vacation. I just needed a different mindset to do it.

A life-changing wellness sabbatical

We returned to Baja the following March for a full month and I embarked on what is now known as a global trend – a wellness sabbatical. In between working at a coffee shop and kiteboard sessions, I fell in love with Baja. I made real human connections with the smiling locals and expats bursting with positivity and that replaced my phone addiction. The slower pace of life kept my hustle mode in check. Long beach walks in the place where green mountains meet the blue ocean allowed the right environment for deep conversations with my husband. These life-changing commitments can only be born with sand in your toes. The fresh seafood and organic vegetables and long talks with the farmer market vendors put me in touch with healthy living again. The incredible paintings in the sky at sunrise and sunset reached into my soul and unleashed boundless creativity. The birds chirping from dawn to dusk accompanied my dreamscapes and made them reachable. This magical place I called home for a month changed me and my life forever.

What is a wellness sabbatical?

Taking 3+ weeks to go and work from somewhere else. You don’t disconnect from work. You actually take your work with you. 

“The need to strike a balance between the pursuit of wellness and the need to work is the central concept of the wellness sabbatical.” – Susie Ellis

And is now becoming a global wellness trend. 

My wellness sabbatical included sand in my toes

Walking barefoot, with no technology to zap my focus after work, my circadian rhythms returned to normal. I slept soundly to the rhythms of the ocean, getting in sync with my own rhythms. Bonfires and friends sparked boundless joy and energy. Morning yoga and meditation sessions in the sea air, kitesurfing, and mountain bike rides helped my emotional health and body get back in shape. The fresh local food eased my stomach aches. My newly met friends, all like-minded souls became my new tribe. Working on my Spanish quickly turned into a new hobby. I felt energized, alive, awake. I welcomed the freedom, boundless creativity and healthy living I had been missing for years without realizing it.

Slowly I became more present. My mind, content. My body, alive. I was fully living again. Work became joyful again.

When you get yourself out of your usual environment, it’s easier to overcome limiting beliefs. It’s easier to see the big picture. You find the courage to make the change you crave. 

Now, I return to Baja every winter to escape the winters in Lake Tahoe.During these four month of sabbaticals, I continue to heal myself and pursue my deeper purpose. On one of these trips, I made a major life decision—to pivot my career and help other people live healthier, happier and more fulfilled lives. I started Unhustle—a revolutionary approach to the way we live and work by, putting humanity before hustle. The colors of my logo draw inspiration from the Baja sunrises 

If you are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, tired, or burnt out, then a change in scenery for a longer time period is a way to connect with your heart and soul. You can work during your sabbatical and enjoy the new environment—it may just be the perspective shift you need.

Modern Elder Academy is now offering wellness sabbaticals

When I visited Chip at the Modern Elder Academy I fell in love with the place right away. It’s steps from the ocean to allow for long beach walks. Beautiful decor for the perfect Instagram pic. Places to chill. Opportunities to get curious and let your creativity flow. Healthy local food on the terrace while counting the whales go by. Just like Baja, this place is pure magic. I hear they are planning on doing sabbaticals this year. And I may have to go. 

Because if not now, then when?

Milena Regos is the Co-Founder and Visionary of Unhustle.com, a revolutionary approach to the way we live and work by putting humanity before hustle. Get a free copy of her upcoming book when it publishes in 2020ish.