1509. The Difference Between Renewal vs Escaping

Most of what people call “renewal” is actually just escapism wearing fancy athleisure.

This difference matters, and getting it wrong means you’ll keep burning out no matter how many retreat weekends you book.

Genuine renewal changes you.

Escape just postpones the inevitable crash.

The telltale signs you’re escaping rather than renewing:

• You return to exactly the same patterns immediately after your “renewal” activity
• You need increasingly intense experiences to feel restored
• You’re using renewal activities to numb awareness rather than heighten it
• You carefully curate a narrative about your “balanced lifestyle” while privately feeling just as depleted

Real renewal isn’t about temporary relief—it’s about transformation.

It doesn’t just make you feel better momentarily; it helps you see more clearly what needs to change in your everyday life.

That camping trip last weekend for me worked because it wasn’t just about getting away from work emails. It stripped away the distractions that usually prevent genuine connection—with yourself, with others, with the physical world around you.

And that clarity is the whole point.

The hard question worth asking: Are your renewal practices creating meaningful change in how you approach ordinary life, or are they just elaborate coping mechanisms that allow unsustainable patterns to continue?

It’s not about being some woke zealot, we all need escape sometimes. The world is intense.

But it’s about not confusing momentary relief with actual renewal.

True renewal isn’t just about feeling refreshed. It’s about returning with new eyes—seeing the unnecessary commitments you can drop, the relationships that need more or less attention, the projects that actually deserve your energy.

The most valuable renewal experiences are often the ones that make you slightly uncomfortable because they show you truths you’ve been avoiding through busyness.

So next time you’re planning your renewal practice, ask yourself: Am I doing this to temporarily feel better while changing nothing? Or am I creating space to see more clearly what actually needs to change?

The difference will determine whether you’re actually breaking the cycle or just hitting pause before the next inevitable burnout.

Renewal isn’t about escaping your life. It’s about creating a life you don’t need to escape from.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Boom bitch.