The Power of a Hard Reset

Learning to pause, to make room for more

written by Julie Johnson

In case you’re not already aware, Vivero Leadership is made up of a husband-wife team.

Back in 2024 when Roger started the company, he quickly realized that when you launch a new business, you have to spend a disproportionate amount of time selling before you can spend your time acting as the expert, coach, and consultant.

Lucky for Roger, he happened to marry someone who loves marketing and making connections. So, I [Julie] stepped in as the Head of Marketing and Revenue.

As you can imagine, it’s a constant struggle for us to know when to turn work on and when to turn it off. If you ask our kids, we weren’t very good at it at first—and to be honest, we’re still trying to figure out how to do it well.

So, a few weeks ago, we did something that usually sends panic through the heart of this business owner: we completely turned off our computers and work phones, stepped onto a cruise ship with our family, and totally unplugged.

I’ll admit, the first 24 hours were tough.

My hand kept reaching for my phone to check emails, monitor notifications, or peek at LinkedIn.

But as the boat left the port and all you could see for miles was the ocean, something incredible happened. The constant, low-grade nag of work thoughts began to dissipate. My mind cleared.

For the first time in a very long time, I wasn't managing every hour and minute; I was completely present with the people I love most.

It was a powerful reminder of a truth that I believe in deeply, but have a hard time practicing:

Constant work, performance, and busyness is soul-sucking.

In our hyper-connected world, we tend to wear our busyness and availability like a badge of honor. But there’s a strange paradox that exists when we actually lay down our work: we become more.

When we refuse to step away, holding tight to the reins of control and achievement, we start spinning. Our minds keep racing, never able to stay present in the moment.

Our bodies often pay the most obvious tax, bearing the physical burden of our stress. Maybe it starts with exhaustion, but eventually, it turns into unwanted weight gain, high cholesterol, migraines, or even an autoimmune disease.

Or worse, the tax is paid in our relationships.

The people we care about the most are left feeling unimportant, unnoticed, and worst of all, unloved.

Yet, we convince ourselves that it’s worth it. We tell ourselves we have to perform. We have to keep going. Or else….

Or else what?

What I had to realize (again) while out at sea was that when I unplug, when I turn down the noise, and when I make space in my life for things outside of work, I somehow return with more.

More capacity to work. More capacity to write. And more capacity to actually look at people, listen deeply, and lead with empathy.

I want to practice what we preach here at Vivero Leadership. If you want to build an engaged, resilient, and thriving team, you have to model what it looks like to protect your most important leadership asset—and that asset is you.

The Challenge

When was the last time you gave yourself permission to do a hard reset? If your business can't survive a week without you, it’s time to look at your schedule, delegate, and take a real break.

Speaking of what happens when you finally slow down enough to connect with the people around you, I spent part of my time at sea reading a book that gets straight to the heart of what I believe is the deepest desire of humankind: the desire to be and feel deeply seen by another human being.

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