How to Upgrade Instead of Escape - Redefining Retreats from Guatemala

In this episode, I’m recording live (well, not quite live, but you get it) from Guatemala after an incredible one-week retreat at Lake Atitlán. But here’s the thing—retreats aren’t just about escaping reality, they’re about amplifying it. Too often, we think of retreats as a way to run from life’s chaos. But what if a retreat could expand your life instead of just giving you a break from it?

I break down a new way to think about retreats—not as a withdrawal, but as a chance to re-treat yourself. Whether it’s a day-long reset, a weekend escape, or a full immersive retreat, the real magic happens when you bring something back into your daily life.

Key Takeaways:
✔️ Reframe Your Retreats: Instead of escaping, see them as an opportunity to refuel and expand.
✔️ Life is Already a Treat: When you see your daily life as something special, retreats become a way to add more flavor, not run away.
✔️ Small Shifts = Big Change: Even 1% improvements from a retreat can compound into massive life transformation over time.
✔️ Reconnect with Joy: What experiences light you up? Whether it’s dancing, swimming, or connecting with nature—bring more of that into your daily routine.
✔️ Practical Travel Tips: Insights from my Guatemalan retreat experience, including why the world is safer than the news tells you and why you should travel with an open mind.

Reflect & Engage:
What’s one way you can bring more of a retreat mindset into your daily life? What’s a treat you’re already enjoying? Comment and share your thoughts!

Watch the full video episode at Justin Wenck, Ph.D. YouTube Channel!

Check out my best-selling book "Engineered to Love: Going Beyond Success to Fulfillment" also available on Audiobook on all streaming platforms! Go to https://www.engineeredtolove.com/ to learn more!

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Transcript

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So I'm curious what's a way that you can find your current life a treat. I've done a lot in my life, and so many times when I've accomplished that big thing, it's felt so empty, because it really isn't about the accomplishment, it's about the journey. It's about the enjoying it along the way, and what you get to experience and who you get to become. Perhaps, how would you like to retreat yourself? What's a way that you could perhaps step away? Where would you go, or what sort of event would you get into to retreat yourself? Are you ready to live a life with enough time, money and energy have relationships and connections that delight you. Are you ready for the extraordinary life you know you've been missing? If so, then this is the place for you. I'm a best selling author, coach, consultant and speaker who's worked in technology for over two decades. I'm a leader at transforming people and organizations from operating in fear, obligation and guilt to running off joy, ease and love. It's time for engineering emotions and energy with me. Justin Wenck PhD, Hi there. Today I'm gonna be talking about what are the amazing benefits and the life changing experiences you can bring back to your life to make it even more amazing, if you go on a retreat, I'm live recording this. Well, I'm not live. I'm recording this in person in Guatemala, after having finished a one week retreat at beautiful Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, and so really sit back, relax, whether you're driving, whether you're walking, doing the laundry. We're going to be talking about retreats in a way that you probably have never thought about before, because a lot of people look at a retreat as it's it's an escape, like I like to do retreats often, whether they're just a full day, a weekend, or perhaps even an entire week, like I just, I've just finished. A lot of people look at it as, oh, I'm I'm leaving, because one of the definitions of retreat is it's an act of moving back or withdrawing, which is kind of like, oh, regular life is too much. It sucks. It's no good. I don't enjoy it. So I need to, I need to escape. I need to get back. It's, you know, very much associated, like, with, you know, retreating in a military sense, right? Like, ah, this is, we're not winning, we're losing. I need to get, get out of here. And I feel like many people have this mentality when they go on retreat or even vacation, is it's just like I'm overwhelmed with life. It's too much. I'm losing. I just need to regroup. And there's a little bit, but I want to, I want to shift how you might consider your life, because let's break apart the word retreat, you know, to the prefix re, and then treat at the end, because one incredible definition of treat that I love is it's an event. Did you ever think of a treat as being an event or usually as something yummy you eat? But one definitely it's an event or item that is out of the ordinary or and or gives great pleasure. So if life is a treat already, and even as bad or as challenging or as awful, I encourage you to view your life as a treat, because I've probably done some episodes on the power of gratitude, or at least mixed it in with previous episodes that just to have the fortune of getting to wake up in the morning, because every day there's more people that don't get that treat. Their life has ended, but yours continues to go. You get the treat of being alive and having the opportunity to have great pleasure and have out of the ordinary experiences. So however your life might be going, if you can view it as a treat, and then if you go and retreat, because Re is a Latin prefix, meaning back or again. Yet, in a lot of words, to me, I kind of get this feeling of like even more like, like rerun or redo or rejuvenate, reflect. It's kind of like getting getting even more out of you know what's already happened. And so it's like, if your life is already a treat, and then you retreat, you go somewhere, and it's like you're getting even more. And that's really what I felt like I've gotten out of this. And when I look back at all of my retreats. It's most recent one. Very incredible, getting to be in the amazing I took some pictures and some video. And so if you're you're watching this on YouTube. I think my, my amazing, my amazing producer, Christina, likely put a little bit of videos or pictures here for you to enjoy. Otherwise. Do make sure that you are following me, you know, on all the things Justin Wenck PhD, make sure to probably have some some pictures or some videos as part of promoting this, this episode, so you can kind of see the beauty. And that wasn't only just the beauty, but just the experiences of connecting with other people, of connecting with myself, getting to remember some of the things that I love to do, like dancing. I had some great experiences dancing, and I'm like, re inspired to go, make sure that I go and dance more often, because I love it so much, and to get to swim in the lake, and again, reminded that, oh my gosh, I love being in the water, and how great it feels to my body to be in the water. And these are, these are things that look back at the past year, and it's like I really haven't done much of them at all, very little, very rarely, and there's no reason for me not to, and just getting to have, you know, experiences that either are reminding or opening me up to the possibilities of, how can I retreat my life even more? How can I make it even more out of the ordinary? How can I make it even more pleasurable? Because a lot of times we think, Oh, someday later, I'm going to get to enjoy life like if I just work hard enough, if I just accomplish this, or if I'm seen in that way, or if I get this credential or that that then, then you're going to get the treat, then you're going to get the prize at the end. As someone who has accomplished so much in my life, not to be I'm not here to brag. I'm not here to boast. It's just, it's just a fact. I've I've done a lot in my life, and so many times when I've accomplished that big thing, it's felt so empty, because it really isn't about the accomplishment, it's about the journey. It's about the enjoying it along the way, and what you get to experience and who you get to become. So when you view what you already have in your life as a treat, and then when you go somewhere else or have a different experience, that it's just bringing you even more, to bring back into that treat of your everyday life. Just imagine what that that can bring. Because as I, as I said in the beginning, I've, I've once went to a place and and one man said he's like, I'm so glad I'm here, because I just I can't have any of this in my ordinary life. So this is the only place where I can have this kind of experience, and that was one. That's one of those I've I've learned that I don't like to argue with people that don't want to change their mind, how for people that are open minded and want to hear different things, they don't necessarily even have to change their mind. But I've learned to be a lot more careful with who I share my opinion and how I share it. I used to be a big, a big arguer of trying to, you know, bring people to my opinion or how I think, because I wanted to be right, and I'd much rather be happy and just be secure knowing that, like, Yep, I have valid opinions, and that opinions are opinions. There is no right and wrong for for most things in life. So that was one of those where I just kind of like, Thank thank him, but in my head and I go like, that's, that's not how it's going to be for me. For me, what I'm having here, this experience at this that was a weekend workshop. I'm I'm going to be taking that back into my life and seeing how much I can shift my life that's every day to be more like whatever I enjoy in this experience. And is it 100% No, no, absolutely not. But is it? Is it like 1% it absolutely can be, and that 1% over time, just like if you you know, if you're good at, if you know math and finances, the power of compounding 1% every year can have great, great returns over a lifetime. And so if you're doing like a retreat a year, that's 1% on top of 1% on top of 1% you are going to have a huge shifts in your life if you go on these retreats and you bring back 1% of what you found magical, enjoyable, fantastic, life shifting, if you bring back just 1% into your everyday life, that every day that you can see as a treat, as a gift, as something that's that's not ordinary, just think it. Think of most people who have ever been alive, they're not alive anymore, right? So you are one of the special few that's ever been alive, that is still alive, and getting to have this fabulous experience as good, as bad, as awful, as horrific as maybe some of your things have been and currently feel, there's probably been some nuggets where you're just like, holy shit, that's incredible. Like where I'm staying here in San Marcos Guatemala on the lake Attilan, right after the retreat, got to my place, and there's like a little stair stairway, and underneath there's a litter of puppies, a litter of fucking puppies. It is adorable. I mean, as I don't think I've seen puppies since I was, I was a child, and they are just adorable and cute, and the mother is really sweet, and been very let me pet her, and things like that. It's just been incredible. And it's one of those like, oh yeah, is there ways that I can connect with, connect with animals, and there's, there's certain special magic. So just these opportunities that come and let us know maybe what, what we're wanting to bring in, or maybe what we're wanting to do less of, right? Because I know for me, it's I it's like, oh, less of trying to go after things and just be more, more intentional and being very intentional with my time and my words. So this is going to be a short episode, because I am about to start my journey back home to the United States. I've been here for about nine days, nine days already, and been a great a great journey, because to get here, I flew from San Francisco to Los Angeles, so I got to see kind of the cloudy, perhaps still smoky skies, pardon me, like A little smoothie fresh tropical fruits. Oh so good. And then I went, went to Dallas, Texas. Was able to get some barbecue. I love barbecue. It was delicious. And then I made it to Guatemala City, where I got to experience two nights. So one day I had this incredible, incredible mall, which made me laugh. It's called Oakland place, because I live in the Cal the Bay Area, where Oakland is right across the bay from San Francisco. So it's like I go from being near one Oakland to near another Oakland. And this mall was just incredible, just a lot of beauty. It's still very commercial, because it's a fucking mall, yet I was really able to enjoy it. Have some good food, get a massage, get a pedicure, and then was able to buy some stuff to enjoy a bath at my hotel later, which was really spectacular. Everybody's so helpful. So I would definitely, you know, recommend Guatemala. A lot of people get worried and be like, Oh, it's going to be dangerous again, it's Be careful. The world is much, much safer than the headlines and what you hear, it really is a much, much safer place. And you can find so much beauty, so much joy. And after Guatemala City came through car and then to get to the retreat center, was by boat only, which is just I have land, air and sea followed my travel, and then, kind of reverse, took the boat back to this little, little village area, San Marcos, and been here for for two nights, and I'm going to take a car back to Guatemala City so I can fly out. And it's going to be pretty looking forward to because it's, it's pretty well, except to spend a night in Miami. So we'll see what happens in Miami for just one night. I'm planning to hopefully get a lot of sleep, because sometimes when you're retreating, it can be actually way more active than your normal life. And that's really what it's what it was this this retreat, was incredible. Really, had some fantastic perspectives on myself, how I've been living my life, what I want, and there was a lot of work. It wasn't hard. It was. It was a pleasure to be able to get the experience, to get the connection and to get just the the more, even more of treats that I'm looking forward to bringing back into my life. So I'm curious what's a way that you can find your current life a treat, and perhaps, how would you like to retreat yourself? What's a way that you could perhaps step away? Where would you go, or what sort of event would you get into to retreat yourself? Or maybe you're you're curious, so I'd love, love for you in the comments, please let me know either what you feel is a treat about your life currently, or how you would like to retreat yourself going forward and like, get those ideas and the suggestions, because maybe something that you've done that has been helpful for you is going to help somebody else. Like, I didn't even know that was a possibility. You can go spend a week learning how to do aerial silks or or acro yoga, like everything is a fucking thing, and you could do it just about anywhere in the world. So with that, gonna let you go, because I gotta check out this place in my 15 minutes so I can start my journey back to the United States to get back to the treat that. My life and wishing you all the treats for your incredible life. So thank you very much and good day. Thanks for tuning in to engineering emotions and energy with Justin Wenck PhD. Today's episode resonated with you. 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