Having just come back from a much-needed break on Martha’s Vineyard, I am reminded that there’s a myth in leadership that rest is weakness and/or dangerous. That if you’re not working, you’re falling behind. For many of us, there is the fear of chaos or potential loss if we step away. But what if stepping away on a vacation is the very thing that elevates our performance—and protects our profitability by re-energizing us and shifting our mindset?
As I’ve mentioned before, in my years of guiding high-level leaders, I’ve seen this truth again and again: pausing with intention creates space for clarity, creativity, and renewed purpose.
When you don’t step away:
- Your nervous system stays on high alert
- Decisions can become reactive, not strategic
- Your emotional reserves and health drain faster than your bank account fills
- You don’t recognize that burnout whispers… until it roars
But when you do give yourself permission to step away – for a full vacation – something powerful happens:
You reset your internal compass.
You reconnect with your why. You see things from a very different perspective.
You return with ideas that weren’t possible when you were buried in noise.
This isn’t indulgence. The most emotionally and financially successful leaders I know schedule space as intentionally as they schedule meetings. They are protecting and nurturing their vision by protecting their energy.
If you’re always on, you can’t see what’s missing, or even what’s happening, with pure clarity.
So, this is your reminder:
You’re not here to survive your work.
You’re here to live—with joy, with freedom, and with the power that only presence can bring.
Reflection:
What would it look like to give yourself a break—not as an escape, but as a strategy?
My suggestion:
Whether it’s two hours off the grid, or two weeks on the coast—step away. Not to disconnect from life, but to reconnect with yourself. Your next great idea, solution, or shift might be waiting in the space between doing and being.
