The wealth hidden in your summer break
I wonder if you’ve ever noticed that there’s often a tiny moment of change around day three of every holiday? When your shoulders finally drop, your phone stays face-down on the table a little longer, and you find yourself actually listening to the breeze instead of the constant hum of productivity in your head. It’s that moment when you realise you haven't checked your emails in hours, and also, that the world hasn't ended.
To me, this is where true wealth reveals itself. Not perhaps in the way you think it would – in the numbers that afforded you the holiday – but in your ability to slow down, to create intentional space, to just be. Let me explain…
The shower effect on holiday mode
If you ever find yourself having the best ideas, or breakthrough thoughts, while doing something completely absent mindedly - in the shower, during a walk or while stacking the dishwasher, then you’re not alone. This can be explained by the fact that brains, finally released from the day-to-day treadmill, are distracted enough to allow the subconscious mind to come to the fore. A similar thing can be said to happen on holiday, but amplified. When we step away from our usual routines and environments, we create space for a different kind of thinking.
When we're constantly ‘on’, caught up in the relentless pace of everyday life, we lose access to this deeper level of thought. Our brains need downtime to process, connect ideas, and gain perspective. In many ways then holiday mode isn't just about rest - it's about cognitive renewal.
The adaptability paradox
What's interesting is how quickly we adapt to this slower rhythm. By day five of a week away, wearing flip-flops suddenly feels completely natural, and the idea of putting on proper shoes almost seems strange. You forget half of your passwords because you haven't used them. This adaptability is both wonderful and telling because it shows us how flexible we are as humans, and how quickly what feels ‘normal’ can shift.
Yet when we return home, the reverse happens just as quickly. The stillness that felt so natural suddenly seems like an impossible luxury. Real life takes over, and those intentions to "read more books in the evening instead of turning on Netflix" quickly fade.
Wealth beyond money
True wealth isn't just about having enough money to take holidays - it's about recognising that you have the ability to shape your life the way you want it, when. Some might call this ‘Being the CEO of your own life’ - or building in time to stand in the garden, not just grow it. It means understanding that if everything is ‘on’ all the time, it becomes increasingly difficult to break away.
For busy professionals, particularly those approaching retirement in the next 5-10 years, holidays offer a crucial trial run. They show what intentional living might look like, what financial freedom could feel like in practice. Are you comfortable with the stillness? Do you know what lights you up when work isn't filling every corner of your identity?
For those already retired, holidays can serve as a check-in: is your plan still relevant? Is there something else you'd like to do? The beauty is that it's all flexible, all changeable - if you're willing to listen to what emerges in the quiet moments.
The fear of stopping
There's often a resistance to this stillness, what we might call ‘cortisol addiction’ – the fear of stopping because then we might have to face who we really are without the constant ‘doing’. Many people approaching or entering retirement experience this acutely when their sense of purpose and identity, so closely tied to workplace achievement, suddenly shifts.
The summer presents an opportunity to gradually trial this transition rather than facing it as a cliff edge. Those moments of enforced stillness - listening to birdsong, being ok with a lack of structure, or routine (or being ok with ‘boredom’) - can be great preparation for life's next chapter.
There's often huge pressure for holidays to be perfect, for this ‘one time of year’ to deliver complete renewal. We can find ourselves on high alert for anything that might spoil the experience. But what if we reframed summer not as the solution to all our stress, but as an opportunity to practice a different way of being?
What if we used these breaks to check in with ourselves: How are we really living? Are we enjoying our lives? Is our wealth - however we define it - actively aligned with what brings us joy?
And it’s not just important to access this clarity when on holiday - the real challenge is bringing it home. How do we hold onto that moment on day four when the sunshine is warm, the day feels long, and everything seems possible? How do we carry that sense of wealth into the weeks when it's difficult to be intentional, when we're metaphorically on a train we can't get off?
Could the answer lie in recognising that we can change things, that we can be intentional about how we live life all the time, not just for those two weeks of the year? We might have taught ourselves that to be successful, life has to be hard, that we must work endless hours, and take every opportunity. But what if it could be easier? What if we gave ourselves permission to simplify, to distinguish between what's important and what's merely noise, between what's real and what's performative?
Making it happen
The path forward isn't about maintaining holiday mode year-round – which is neither realistic nor necessary. Instead, it's about:
Building stillness into your regular rhythm: Just as you put holidays in the diary, schedule moments of intentional rest
Practicing gratitude for what is: Not just during the golden hour of day four, but in the ordinary moments
Distinguishing between seasons: Accepting that some periods will be easier than others, and that's ok
Listening to what emerges: When you create space, pay attention to what your inner voice tells you
As summer unfolds and holiday thoughts naturally turn to how we're living our lives, consider this your invitation to explore what wealth really means to you. Not just the financial freedom that enables choice, but the wisdom to make choices that align with who you're becoming.
The stillness you find on holiday isn't separate from your ‘real’ life - it's revealing what's been there all along, waiting for you to slow down enough to notice. That's not just wealth; that's who you are – the core of your truest self, no longer buried, but finally visible.
Your next holiday is already teaching you something about the life you want to live. The question is: are you ready to listen?