How stepping away from the hamster wheel might be the smartest investment you'll make this year

We've all heard it. Maybe we've even said it ourselves.

"I'd love to travel, but I just don't have time right now."

"Once things settle down at work..."

"After this project wraps up..."

"When the kids are older..."

"Maybe next year..."

I get it. I really do. Your to-do list is endless (you should see mine!). Your inbox is overflowing. There's always another deadline, another responsibility, another person who needs something from you. The idea of taking a week off—or even a long weekend—feels impossible. Irresponsible, even.

But here's what I've learned after taking hundreds of people on transformational trips around the world: the people who think they can't afford to step away are usually the ones who need it most.

The Trap We Don't See

Dawn Mullarney spent over two decades in corporate leadership before her body literally forced her to stop. At 35, doctors thought she'd had a stroke. She'd been so consumed by work—so convinced that stepping away meant falling behind—that she nearly destroyed her health in the process.

"I was that person who couldn't take steps away from work," she told me on a recent podcast episode. "But I've realized now that sometimes when you have those habits of always being 'on,' you're not letting other leaders step up. You're not giving them the opportunity to learn and grow. And sometimes it's diminishing the trust with your team."

Sound familiar?

Whether you're running a business, climbing the corporate ladder, managing a household, or juggling multiple roles (because let's be honest, most of us are doing all of the above), there's this pervasive belief that we can't afford to disconnect.

But the truth? We can't afford not to.

What Actually Happens When You Step Away

Here's the thing nobody tells you about that relentless grind: you're not actually being more productive. You're just creating the illusion of productivity while slowly burning yourself out.

Think about where you get your best ideas. I'm willing to bet it's not at your desk at 10pm, grinding through emails.

It's in the shower. It's when you're half-asleep. It's on that rare morning when you have time to just sit with your coffee without immediately reaching for your phone.

Your brain needs space to work its magic.

When you're on the hamster wheel—answering emails, putting out fires, checking boxes on endless to-do lists—you're in constant execution mode. You're not thinking strategically. You're not seeing the bigger picture. You're definitely not questioning whether you should even be doing half the things on your list in the first place.

Travel forces that space. It removes you from the noise, the notifications, the daily demands that keep you in reactive mode. And that's when the clarity comes.

The Myth of "Perfect Timing"

Let's be real: there will never be a perfect time to travel.

There will always be another project. Another deadline. Another reason why "now's not a good time."

I decided to get divorced while standing 20 feet away from Adele at a concert in Barcelona (thanks, Adele!). I decided to quit my job while floating in a hot air balloon over Cappadocia, Turkey. These weren't small decisions. They were life-altering, terrifying, necessary choices that I'd been avoiding for years.

Woman watching colorful hot air balloons float over the fairy chimneys and valleys of Cappadocia, Turkey at sunrise - a moment of clarity and perspective while traveling — *The moment I decided to quit my 14-year career—riding in a hot air balloon in Turkey.*

And I can tell you exactly why I made them in those moments: because I finally had enough space to hear what I already knew.

When you're drowning in the day-to-day, you can avoid the big questions. You can tell yourself you'll deal with it later. You can keep your head down and push through.

But when you're removed from your normal environment—when you're standing in a Cuban tobacco field or watching the sunrise over the Sahara or sitting in a tiny café in a country you'd never heard of six months ago—the truth has a way of bubbling up.

It's Not Just About "Getting Away"

I'm not talking about the kind of vacation where you lay by a pool checking your email every 20 minutes.

I'm talking about actually disconnecting. Being present. Engaging with people and places that have nothing to do with your normal world.

Dawn brought 14 women to Cuba with me in January—her first time co-leading a group trip. She didn't choose Cuba because it was on her bucket list. She chose it because of what the experience would do for herself and her travelers.

"There's something about giving back, experiencing community, being in discomfort that forces you to confront things about yourself," she explained. "That's what I was all about."

And here's what happened: Dawn came back and started releasing things. Letting go of shoulds. Questioning the to-do lists she'd been operating from for years.

"You get a new perspective on some of these expectations that have nothing to do with how you really want to operate," she said. "It's all these external factors creating this hamster wheel. And sometimes you need to step away to understand what the vision is. What the dream is. Why you're even doing this in the first place."

What Travel Actually Teaches You

When you travel—especially when you travel to places that push you outside your comfort zone—you learn things about yourself that you can't learn any other way.

You learn how resilient you are when your flight gets canceled and you're stranded in a foreign airport.

You learn how adaptable you are when the power goes out and you can't use your hairdryer (spoiler alert: you survive).

You learn what actually matters when you visit a place where people have so much less but somehow seem so much more present, more connected, more alive than you've felt in years.

And you learn that you are capable of so much more than you give yourself credit for.

The Business Case for "Wasting Time"

Still not convinced? Let's talk ROI.

I can't tell you how many people have come back from trips and told me:

They finally figured out how to restructure their business
They realized they needed to hire that person they'd been putting off hiring
They got clarity on a problem they'd been wrestling with for months
They made the decision to finally leave the job/relationship/situation that wasn't serving them

I've seen travelers come back and restructure how they work, realizing they'd been caught up in busy work rather than meaningful progress.

This is the stuff that happens when you give yourself permission to step away.

When the Backup Plan Becomes the Best Part

One of my favorite examples happened on Dawn's Cuba trip. We had this beautiful day planned—hiking, exploring, all these activities. And then it rained. Like, really rained.

Plans canceled. Itinerary out the window.

And you know what we did? We hopped in a classic car with our driver Robertico, went back to the tobacco farm, and spent the entire day playing dominoes and drinking mojitos with Cuban cowboys in the rain.

It became one of the most memorable days of the entire trip. Not because it was what we'd planned, but because we rolled with it. We were present. We were flexible. We made the best of an imperfect situation.

*Memorable moments from our very rainy day.*

That's the lesson right there.

Life is messy. Plans fall apart. Things don't go the way you expect. And you can either fight against that reality, or you can learn to dance with it.

Travel teaches you how to dance.

The Real Cost of Not Going

I know what you're thinking: "But Laura, I really don't have the time. And I definitely don't have the money right now."

I hear you. And I'm not going to tell you that time and money aren't real considerations.

But I am going to ask you this: What's the cost of not going?

What's the cost of another year spent grinding, stressed, disconnected from what actually matters to you?

What's the cost of burnout? Of health problems? Of relationships that suffer because you're always "too busy"?

What's the cost of looking back five years from now and realizing you spent all that time working toward a goal you're not even sure you want anymore?

Because here's the thing: shit could hit the fan tomorrow. And you've got to take those opportunities while your body's working and you’re physically capable.

It Doesn't Have to Be Cuba

Look, I love Cuba. It's one of the most transformational destinations I take people to. But this isn't about Cuba specifically.

Maybe for you it's a weekend road trip to a state park you've never been to.

Maybe it's a long weekend in a city you've always wanted to visit.

Maybe it's finally booking that international trip you've been talking about for three years.

The destination matters less than the decision to go.

The decision to prioritize yourself. To invest in experiences. To create memories instead of just checking boxes.

The decision to show up for your own life instead of just managing everyone else's.

Your Turn

So here's my challenge to you:

Stop waiting for the perfect time. It's not coming.

Stop waiting until you've checked everything off your to-do list. It's never going to be empty.

Stop waiting until you feel like you deserve it. You deserve it now.

Open your calendar. Block off a week. (Or a long weekend. Or even just a day. Start somewhere.)

And then book something.

It doesn't have to be expensive. It doesn't have to be exotic. It doesn't have to be Instagram-worthy.

It just has to be different from your normal routine. It has to give your brain a break. It has to create space for you to breathe, to think, to remember who you are outside of all the roles you play.

Because here's what I know after years of doing this work: the people who think they can't afford to travel are almost always the ones who need it most.

You might come back with a new business idea. You might come back with the clarity to make a big life decision. You might come back with a renewed sense of purpose and energy.

Or you might just come back having had a really good time, having met some incredible people, having been reminded that the world is bigger and more beautiful than your inbox.

And that alone is worth it.

Ready to make it happen? My Cuba trip in January still has two spots left. Or if Cuba feels like too big of a leap right now, that's okay. Start somewhere. Just start.

Soooo—let's go!