Welcome to Catch Yourself Smiling. My name is Missy Rentz. Like many people, I have been on the edge of burnout while committing 100%, or maybe more, to what I “should” do. Every time I would inch towards burnout and exhaustion, which happened multiple times, I would dream of taking a break from the real world and packing my car to camp and hike all around the United States.
In 2020, I was living in New York City on Friday, March 13 when the world shut down due to Covid-19. I continued to work from home while trying to process all that was going on around me. One August evening I was on the phone with a friend and mentioned this dream, one I hadn’t thought about in a very long time. She said “Missy, maybe it’s not a dream. Maybe the Universe has been trying to tell you something and you just aren’t listening.” That evening I said “I’m doing it. I’m taking this trip”.
After 5 months of moving and planning, I hit the road in January 2021.
I spent 355 days on the road. I drove 46,070 miles, and visited 39 states. I visited National Parks, state parks, regional and city parks. I hiked, camped, kayaked, swam, paddle-boarded, made snow angels. I slept in my car through wind storms, had to gracefully escape the frustrated eye of a bison, and took close-up photos of a rattlesnake. I started the journey of healing, restructuring my beliefs, and acknowledging my passion for living in joy.
While I was hiking in the Gallatin Mountains, I had an aha moment. I spent the first half of my career creating opportunities for people to escape life to find moments of joy. It was in that moment I decided that the second half of my career would be dedicated to helping people find moments of joy in the every day.
We are all on a journey. Let’s choose the one that makes us smile.