These days, I tend to avoid retreats, and instead go on what I call advance expedition scouting. Why? These days, I don’t need to retreat, nor is it the best option for me.
In military terms, retreating isn’t always defeat — sometimes it’s the smartest way to survive. Pulling back gives an army the chance to regroup, tend to its wounded, and plan the next move. A well-timed retreat can preserve strength for the big battles, the ones that must be won to move forward.
Retreat From Your Life
That same strategy applies to our lives. In certain seasons, we all need a similar kind of retreat — not a battlefield, but a physical step away from our daily routines. There were times in my life when retreating like this was what helped me win the battle. Time to rest, recover, and renew our strength. A place where we can think clearly, feel deeply, and begin to rebuild what has been worn down.
But the goal is not to live in a state where you have to retreat in order to feel whole. The goal is to bring the calm, clarity, and connection of a retreat into your everyday life — to make your “normal” feel like the sanctuary you once had to run away to find. Until, hopefully, there are no more battles to win.
Once your life becomes the retreat, something new is needed. You no longer have to run for cover; now you can step out front. Instead of pulling back, you send out expeditionary forces — scouts to look ahead, test the terrain, and make sure this retreat-like life you’ve built can continue to thrive.
Scouting Ahead
That’s where I began what I call my Advance Scouting Expeditions. They often happen on work trips when I have long stretches of free time. I’ll fill my hotel room with sticky notes, the walls turning into a map of possibilities. I take long walks, sit in restaurants with my notebook open, swim, think, plan, and think some more. These expeditions are a blend of exploration and excavation — discovering what’s possible out there and digging deeper into what I’m capable of in here.
Just as military scouts move ahead to map safe routes and spot opportunities, an Advance Scouting Expedition sends you out ahead of your own life. You go to see what’s possible, then return not only with renewed energy but with a clearer map for where you’re headed.
Retreat when you must. Scout when you can. And keep building a life that needs neither escape nor repair — only a steady, joyful path forward.