Are you having the summer you desire?

We just got back from a work/family trip to the east coast–our first time to visit Maine! While I am beyond grateful for this opportunity and loved seeing our beloved friends and family, visiting five cities in 10 days after leading a weekend self-renewal retreat for 50 women was not relaxing. We knew this trip would be more adventurous than restful, but it was not the respite I was craving to feed my nature hungry soul and over-active mind.

So after my husband and I unpacked the experience (literally and figuratively) and discussed lessons learned, I felt myself drawn back to my recent blog posts on mindfully planning a vacation and setting your summer intention. And I thought of all of you. If you have plans to take a vacation in the weeks to come (or if you know you need one), I strongly encourage you to read

8 Ways to Have a Mindful Vacation

Setting a Summer Intention (+ 9 Ways to Say No)

… so hopefully you don’t need a vacation after your vacation (like I do!). And if a getaway is not in the cards for you this summer, consider taking a one-day digital detox (read more).

We’re now more than halfway through 2015!  And with the invitation to move a little slower, summer is a great time to consider any course-corrections you want to make to your life/career before fall arrives.

September has always felt like the true start to my New Year; in typical Renee fashion, I get so excited about all the possibilities available to me and my family, I tend to over-commit. Again and again.

So this week I’m pausing and looking at what I can say “no” to this fall to create more breathing room for myself and my family during one of our busiest times of year.

I’m also reminding myself of all the stress management and happiness research I’ve done (and wisdom I’ve tapped from friends who are neuroscientists and psychologists): We’re happier when we do less, have fewer choices and keep things simple. Amen. Here’s to doing less and experiencing more.

TAKE ACTION: Are you 40+, in transition and asking, “What’s next?” I’d love to personally support you in September and introduce you to an amazing tribe of like-minded women! You’ll explore and receive resources/support/inspiration for one of the most important times in your life and learn how honor/accept exactly where you are right now.  Learn/more register for Embracing the Wild Unknown: Nurturing Yourself in Mid-Live & Beyond–a live telecourse (that means via phone). Early bird rate of $99 ends July 31st-reserve your spot today! 

Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by life balance speaker/coach and Career Strategists president, Renée Peterson Trudeau. Offering custom self-renewal workshops/retreats, training, books/telecourses and individual career coaching her work has appeared in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Spirituality & Health and more. Thousands of women in ten countries are becoming RTA-Certified Facilitators and leading/joining Personal Renewal Groups based on her award-winning curriculum.  She is the author of The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal and Nurturing the Soul of Your Family: 10 Ways to Reconnect and Find Peace in Everyday Life. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and 13 year-old son. More on her background here.