Thank you Rachel Fugate for providing the images for this post.

Can someone pinch me? Did I actually stay in a luxury pavilion in the desert in Southern Utah?

I joined Kristin Sweeting’s Dangerous Creatives Mastermind in 2020 and stayed on through the 2021 year. With the mastermind on a hiatus for the 2022 calendar year, I jumped on the only retreat Kristin is hosting this year that I can fit into my schedule: the vision retreat to Amangiri.

Y’all… I had no clue how timely this retreat would be.

Prior to the holidays, I felt like everything was aligning with the new direction I’ve been moving towards. But after the holidays… not so much. January 2022 felt like one frustrating moment or set-back after another.

Needless to say, I had a LOT of questions about vision going into the retreat.

One of the things I love about Kristin’s coaching style is that she’s rarely telling you what to do. And even though sometimes I desperately want someone to tell me what to do, she has a way of asking the right questions to help you get to the answer that’s truest to you.

One of my biggest takeaways from this business retreat at Amangiri is how I actually need to simultaneously constrict and expand my vision.

If that just made you say “huh?” Don’t worry, that’s exactly how I felt for the approximate week it’s taken me to process this revelation.

How I Need to Constrict My Vision

Me to me: “Girl, ya gotta stop living in the future.”

It’s so, so hard when you’re building something you’re passionate about to let go of the future-focused mindset. But when we live in future mode all the time, we’re punching our own ticket for the bullet train to burnout.

Look, Kristin knows what she’s doing. We didn’t simply go to Amangiri because it’s drool-worthy, Instagram fodder. I keep saying the earth feels ancient there. In low-profile buildings built in and around the thousands-of-years-old mesa, there is an otherworldly, grounding sensation that reminds me of summer camp in a way. It felt like time stood still.

And now I want that level of presence in my every day.

So K asked me, “How are you already in your dream life and business?”

Um, excuse me while I cry again because, ooff, ma’am, did I really pay you to personally attack me like that?!?

As I started to make my list, I realized there are so many ways that I’m actually already living the life I’ve been wanting, but I’ve been so future-focused that I allowed the feeling of “not good enough” to steal my presence and my joy in what I’ve built so far.

How I Need to Expand My Vision

Kristin also respects that growth is one of my core values. From our conversations, I’m learning we can both appreciate what we’ve built and keep growing toward the next-iteration of our dream life.

The problem is my vision has been too small. My focus has been deliverables not on the greater whole of who I am and who I want to be beyond a title or income level.

The next questions centered around imagining how I’d feel, act, and be in my future dream life so I can create routines now that help to cultivate those feelings, actions, and traits.

To no ones surprise, I’m sure, much I uncovered related directly to my word (simplify) and intention of the year (to create simplicity and peacefulness in my day).

As I reflected the question, I found myself wanting feelings of security, peacefulness, fulfillment, and expansiveness.

I dreamed of having confidence in my work, traveling with Matt, and working only 4-days a week.

And future Skylar? She’s confident, financially independent, and creatively fulfilled.

Constrict and Expand

I’m not going to lie, I’m still working on the balance of these – presence and growth, but I’m here for it. As humans we are a compilation of paradoxes. I’m sure I’ll continue to have epiphanies and then backslide because that’s what growth looks like.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you ever attended a retreat that felt like time stood still? What did you takeaway?

About the Photographer

Rachel has been a wedding photographer for ten years and specializes in artfully candid wedding photos. She never forces moments, but instead, takes a step back and allows them to unfold. Legacy is a huge part of her work, and she like to think of herself as a family historian. It’s really important to her to take photos of the people around you – your parents and your grandparents, the people who raised you and brought you to this day. And in the same sense, looking forward to your children and grandchildren. What will these photos mean in fifty years?

When Rachel isn’t photographing weddings, she’s spending time with her husband and their two dogs, traveling, reading a book, or cooking a way too ambitious recipe