I used to associate the idea of retreats with self-indulgence. Time-boxed escapes from reality, infused with spa water. Executives in golf shirts pretending to work, pretending to care. No thanks, not for me.

That started to change on the train back from an experiment in self-hosted, weekend retreats with my friend Marion. We were reading dictionary definitions to orient the idea and encountered this: to withdraw or retire in the face of or from action with an enemy, either due to defeat or in order to adopt a more favourable position.

Withdrawal is a vital play to replenish our reserves, to stand a better chance when we go out again.

I don't think we're alone in grappling with the need to justify taking time to replenish ourselves. We say it's a great idea, we might even believe it, and yet we struggle to make it happen. To move away from that line of thought, the matter-of-fact military context is helpful.

Plan to retreat before you "need" it.

Is there a more favorable position that you want to adopt, that bolstering your physical-mental-spiritual reserves would help make possible? Does it make sense to do it sooner rather than later? If the answer is yes, cook up a version of a retreat that's accessible to you.

• What might it look like?

• What resources are you comfortable putting towards it?

• Whose permission do you feel you need?

• Who can help you move forward with it?

• When will you do it? (Put it in your calendar!)

Once you start seeing its outline, the retreat will feel like a future-oriented move that you're energized to make.

Let me know how it goes?