06/09/2025
Your business, your team, your family doesn’t need you 24/7. But they do need the healthiest version of you!!
I just got back from a week in the Outer Banks with my family. It is a trip we plan every other year and always look forward to a week with no plans.
The only items on our agenda were big seafood dinners. Oh how I could eat like that every day! Other than those, it was a week filled with morning runs on the beach, afternoons playing slightly competitive pickleball, workouts by the pool, jumping the waves with my niece and nephew, riding bikes everywhere, and being completely present.
And I have to say... I feel recharged in a way that nothing else could offer.
I returned feeling more grounded, resilient, focused, and motivated about my future goals than I have in a long time!!
If I am being completely honest, I did try to "check in." BUT, I work with such an amazing and supportive team who all hold each other accountable, that I was told to "check back out." Thank you, Kirsten Jones 🙏
I think it is important to recognize what this time away provided, for my physical and mental health, my focus and drive, my clarity and spirit.
Research from the American Psychological Association shows that time off reduces stress, improves productivity, and lowers burnout risk.
The Harvard Business Review found that professionals who take more vacation days not only perform better but receive higher satisfaction scores and are more likely to stay in their roles long-term.
In my work with high-level executives and teams of professionals, I’m often surprised by how many don’t take their vacation days—oftentimes, wearing burnout like a badge of honor and wondering why creativity, clarity, and joy are beyond their reach.
What I was reminded of from this past week:
🌟 Clarity, creativity, and strong leadership are sparked by rest and presence.
🌟 Leaders who step away for a time come back stronger, more focused, and more connected to their purpose.
We can and need to implement this practice as vacation time, but also into our weekly and daily routines.
So if you're feeling like you can't step away...that might be the very sign that you must!! Your best ideas, your strongest leadership, and your most aligned growth might be waiting for you after that break.