The High Value of A Deeper Reset from Work This Summer

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reset from work this summerSpring is upon us, and chances are you’re already planning your vacation days away from the office this summer. If the mix of life, work, and the world has you longing for more than a fleeting getaway, it’s the moment for a deeper reset.

A retreat, focused on reconnecting with yourself, can bring rejuvenation and clarity and be a huge antidote to overwhelm and burnout. Especially if you’ve begun to question your current career trajectory, or simply how you navigate your priorities within it, taking a step back to check in with yourself is invaluable, and can bring you back to your deeper resources of inner power.

Are your life and work aligned with who you are now, what you value, and what you find most fulfilling? Do you still want what you once thought you wanted, when it comes to the career choices you are making? No matter what the answers may be, taking a pause to gain perspective will bring clarity to the path.

A retreat isn’t just about pressing pause; it’s about resetting, realigning, and stepping back into life and all of your choices with renewed vision and energy.

1) Take a break from distractions.

Social media overload? As executive and leadership coach Nicki Gilmour writes, “In a world overflowing with distractions, tapping into your own voice and ignoring nonsense is a powerful act of self-care and productivity.”

In a week-long retreat, full of relaxing and beautiful surroundings, nurturing and connective gatherings, and therapeutic body treatments, you’ll spend far less time on your phone and receive the benefits of digital detoxing – such as better mental health and better sleep – as you turn the noise way down.

2) Be nurtured and rest your decision-making.

Vacations from work can be fun, but they often leave you just as exhausted as when you left. At a women’s retreat, you can relax into simply being a guest and being nurtured by your hostess, the retreat center, and your surroundings.

Retreat activities like meditation, yoga, and somatic movement can help to relieve stress from the body. Even brief retreats have been shown to reduce stress and anxiety levels and improve biological markers of inflammation. A women’s retreat will also remind you that self-care is not something you prioritize for one week.

3) Get out of the well-oiled thought loops.

Do you ever feel like your mind is on repeat? In a given day, up to 90% of your thoughts are repetitive, and this reinforces the same beliefs, sense of self, habits, and choices. This makes it difficult to tune in. By stepping into a different context, usually outside of your comfort zone, you disrupt your habitual thought patterns.

At a retreat, you can also rest your decision fatigue and responsibilities, and relax into an experience curated to allow spaciousness and reflection. When you clear the busyness, new rhythms and insights arise.

4) Reconnect with your body’s wisdom.

The office can push you to live in your head and disconnect from your physical self, even when it comes to overriding your body’s natural rhythms for rest and play. At a retreat, you will get out of your mind and move into your body and your heart. When you do, you have more access to feel what you really feel, be as you really are, and sense what you want to create in your life now.

Whether breathing, meditation, tai chi, yoga, or somatic movement, a women’s retreat will encourage you to connect with the rich and embodied insight that lives in your being and cellular awareness. You have the space to establish the feminine connection with your deep knowing and intuition. You become more aware of how life wants to uniquely move through you, so you can embrace a more heart-led adventure.

5) Put down roles and get back to your essence.

High level professional woman wear so many hats, sometimes it can feel like you simply go from one role to the next, faster than you can change them, which leads to craving time for yourself. Who are you beneath the identities, labels, and real and perceived expectations?

Who were you before them, who are you with them, and what of yourself have you put away? A retreat helps you detach and remember your essence. This often includes remembering vivid energies that have gone dormant in the push and pull.

6) Discern your inner voice from your energetic ecosystem.

What we don’t realize is how much the energetic eco-system is determining how we live. It’s easy to fall into living life from the outside-in simply based on consensus. Similar to the notion we are the average of the people we spend the most time with, your beliefs, mentality, values, ways to spend time and money, and sense of possibilities are impacted by what is normalized in your culture and immediate social circle.

Stepping away and listening within gives you space from outside influences to discern your own heart and values. You unearth the truths poking at you from under the surface, guiding you to live from the inside-out. Sometimes this includes admitting what you know but are trying to deny knowing.

7) Get distance from habitual socializing.

It’s easy to slide into routines of social contracts with others whether a partner, co-workers, or friends. You create blueprints related to how you spend time together, what you talk about, what you do, what you eat or drink together. Which of these things enrich you, and which are simply habits you’re going along with?

When away from your usual social routines, and engaging in nourishing activities which reconnect you with yourself, you begin to consider if your habitual social dynamics resonate with who you are now. Do they fill you up? Or are some things ready to go so you can cultivate more of what nurtures and enlivens you?

8) Experience next level support from other women.

A third of daily speech is small talk. In a women’s retreat, you are given the opportunity to immerse in far more than surface chats. Because when you get a bunch of women in the same room who are asking deeper questions or focusing on reconnecting with themselves, the conversation changes, and it impacts the conversation you have with yourself, too.

Another advantage of going on a women’s retreat is nobody has preconceptions of who you are. You have a space to explore openly. The level of trust and authenticity able to be built between a group of women is amazing. Far more nourishing than networking is a room in which all agendas are checked – and you can be seen, heard, and validated for who you are.

9) Shift your perspective on life.

While a change of scenery brings a fresh outlook, a transformational women’s retreat challenges your perceptions at a deeper level. Our perceptions define much of our life experience, but how many of the lenses you carry about yourself and the world are serving you?

Within a women’s retreat focused on honing attention inwards, you may uncover limiting beliefs, outdated narratives, and hidden desires shaping your life which you no longer wish to ascribe to. Where are you still telling yourself you “should” or “need” to be or do or have something? Where are you committing to something you don’t actually want to?

10) Awaken to new possibilities.

Whether it’s a renewed sense of purpose, clarity about a life change, or simply remembering the connection to your inner voice, retreats unlock something powerful. Emboldened by the support of other women, you are more inclined to move from a place of possibility in your life.

If you’ve been in a liminal space, aware you are moving towards change but unclear of what it even is, a retreat can be a place that helps you to find more clarity and courage to begin making steps in a new direction.

More Than a Getaway—A Gateway to Your Inner Power

This summer, instead of another trip that fades into memory, why not embark on a journey that rejuvenates and transforms you from within? A women’s retreat isn’t just a trip away —it’s an invitation to return to yourself.

Aimee Hansen is founder and lead facilitator of Storyteller Within and is based on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. The Journey Into Sacred Expression women’s retreat has been recommended by Lonely Planet Wellness Escapes and The Write Life. Join her amidst volcanic landscapes for a self-exploratory writing journey, meditation, yoga, movement and ceremonies. Summer dates are June 21-28, 2025 and July 26 – August 2, 2025. Follow her and Storyteller Within on instagram.

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International Women’s Day: Stay Focused on What Matters to You

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focus on what matters“You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.”
― Pema Chödrön

It can be tough to follow arbitrary advice to be less stressed, do more self-care, and spend more time ‘sparking joy’ while writing emails and trying to eat a salad. Our advice this Women’s History Month is much like Nike’s clever advertising campaign of “You can’t win, so win”. If you want to go all the way, then go all the way in your career in Corporate America, do not let anyone tell you that you cannot succeed. We would go further and say win on your own terms, define your own success however that is to you. Know what you want and what you are ready to do and if it resonates with you to avoid stress, overwork and overwhelm in these strange times then that, too, is a message to listen to.

In a world overflowing with distractions, tapping into your own voice and ignoring nonsense is a powerful act of self-care and productivity. We take in over five times more data daily than we did in 2011 and being stricter about the scroll in our lives allows us to preserve our energy, focus on what truly matters, and build lives that are more fulfilling and less cluttered with irrelevant noise.  According to experts, fear based topics like wars, erratic leaders, fear of layoffs, financial loss and reduction of rights—which seems to be our daily fare so far in 2025—creates more overwhelm and attentional bias than cat videos. Ignore the noise.

Start with You

You learn from others that inspire you and then spend time figuring out how to live your values. This year instead of the hashtags for International Women’s Day, I invite you to spend thirty minutes going deeper with yourself to figure out how to embrace what aligns with your values to create space for growth, happiness, and success.

Is the course you’re following leading you to the destination you want to reach? Are you living “outside in,” following a path where others have set the milestones and dictated how you should take each step? If this works for you, great, but if you find yourself asking “Is this it?” then consider what Bonnie Wan writes in her book “The Life Brief- A Playbook for No Regrets Living!”. She recommends “inside out” living, meaning getting real about what you want, however unconventional. And, if that means being the CEO or a dog spa owner, do everything you need to do to make it happen.

Know your Values

If you listed your values on paper, what would you write down? How would you say you lived those values? Give yourself some examples to test for accuracy as you may find you want to change words. Make your values verbs as it is in the doing of them that matters. What percentage of the time do you spend living those values?

If this feels daunting, then consider a few exercises to ensure you are spending as little as an hour per year on ensuring you know your values and are living them. Imagine you are celebrating your 100th birthday – where are you and with whom? What are you saying about what your life has looked like? What are the people around you saying in their speeches? What do you have to do now to make that a reality?

Increase your Mental Clarity

When we stop allowing ourselves to be distracted by trivial matters or irrelevant opinions, we free up mental space for things that truly require our attention. Focusing on what’s important helps us sharpen our thoughts, increase clarity, and make better decisions. Ignoring nonsense isn’t just about avoiding distractions; it’s about consciously choosing where to direct our energy. It is about being mindful and intentional about what we are doing but moreover, why we are doing it. Ignoring unproductive conversations or toxic comments allows us to maintain control over our reactions, helping us stay calm, composed, and more emotionally resilient in difficult situations. We can spend the time building trust with our colleagues so that we can get to a place of saying and hearing hard things and having radical candor.

Time is our most valuable resource. Every minute spent on trivial or irrelevant matters is a minute taken away from what truly matters. By ignoring nonsense, we reclaim that time and can devote it to more meaningful and productive activities—whether it’s pursuing personal goals, focusing on work, or spending quality time with loved ones. By being selective with your attention, you can cultivate relationships that matter and spend time on people and experiences that energize you. Not everything deserves your time and energy. Recognize what’s important and focus on it. Whether it’s in your personal life, at work, or online, ask yourself: Is this worth my attention? If the answer is no, let it go.

Instead spend time reminding yourself of your personal and professional priorities. This helps you keep perspective and make decisions about where to focus your time and energy. When nonsense arises, you can quickly assess if it aligns with your goals or if it’s something you can afford to ignore. Social media is a breeding ground for nonsense. Whether it’s heated debates, inflammatory opinions, or people airing personal grievances, it’s easy to get sucked into the drama. Consider taking regular breaks from social media or curating your feeds to include only meaningful content.

Strengthen Your Confidence by Being True to Yourself

Letting go of the urge to please everyone or respond to every negative comment builds self-assurance. By ignoring what doesn’t align with our values or doesn’t contribute to our growth, we assert our boundaries and reinforce our self-worth. Over time, this enhances our confidence and makes it easier to focus on our goals without being derailed by irrelevant opinions.

Of course, there are times when engagement is necessary—whether it’s addressing genuine concerns, advocating for yourself, or standing up for others. The key is knowing when something is worth your time and when it’s just noise. When in doubt, pause and evaluate the potential impact of engaging.

At the end of the day, success—however you define it—begins with clarity, confidence, and the courage to ignore the noise. By tuning out distractions and aligning your actions with your values, you create a path that is both fulfilling and sustainable. So, as you move forward, ask yourself: What truly deserves your time? What will you let go of to make space for what matters?

Define your own version of winning—and go all in.

Work with us as you navigate your career. Coaching starts at $300 per session and we offer a fifteen-minute exploratory needs call for assessing how we can help you and for a chemistry fit. Book HERE

By Nicki Gilmour, founder and CEO of theglasshammer.com and Evolved People Coaching

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Pamela Codo-Lotti: Partner, Global Chief Operating Officer of Shareholder Activism Defense, Goldman Sachs

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Pamela Codo-Lotti“Throughout my life, I’d often find myself in situations that were unfamiliar, but having the will to take the harder path typically leads to greater rewards,” says Pamela Codo-Lotti. “When I left Côte d’Ivoire for France, and later France for the U.S., my parents would ask, ‘Why do you always choose the most difficult route?’ But I’d remind them—that’s the example they set.”

Resilient and driven, Codo-Lotti is continually inspired by the values her parents instilled in her from a young age. As a newly minted partner at Goldman Sachs, she has embraced challenges with relentless determination, a strong intellectual curiosity, and an unwavering commitment to her clients and colleagues. From her early love of numbers and education to her passion for mentorship and financial independence for all, Codo-Lotti shares how persistence and purpose are central to her journey.

From Associate to Partner

Fueled by an early interest in numbers and giving advice, Codo-Lotti found a career in finance to be the perfect fit.  After moving to the U.S. from France to earn her MBA at the Wharton School of Business, Codo-Lotti joined Goldman Sachs as an Associate.  Over the next two decades, she rose through the ranks up to her recent promotion to partner.

“It was a great moment because it’s a recognition by your peers and by your clients, of all your hard work,” she reflects. “I look forward to continuing to focus on building a stronger business, giving advice to more clients, and mentoring more people.”

For Codo-Lotti, the partner title is not just an accolade but a platform to amplify her impact.  “As a senior leader, I have a deep understanding of the firm, allowing me to offer practical guidance and support to others in achieving success.”

Codo-Lotti credits her natural curiosity as an important element in her career evolution.  “Finance is an expansive and ever-evolving field, and there’s always more to learn. Curiosity drives me—I’m constantly reading, exploring, and deepening my understanding of different areas, even in my current role.”

A Foundation of Education and Determination

Codo-Lotti notes how her insatiable curiosity and determination are rooted in her childhood and the inspiration of her parents, whom she considers trailblazers.

“They came from a small African country, Benin, and were sent to study in France on merit-based scholarships. They always told us, ‘Your brain is the most important thing. Nurture it.’ They went out of their way to get us to the best schools, no matter what.”

Her parents’ determination to give her a solid educational foundation was equally matched by Codo-Lotti’s internal drive. She highlights this quality as an important element to her success.

“There is a little white dog in a famous French cartoon named Idefix (“Idee Fixe”), which literally means ‘fixed idea.’ My dad nicknamed me that because even from a young age, when I want something, I go after it. Persistence and staying focused on the end goal really helped me in my career and got me through difficult and challenging moments.”

An Empathetic Approach

“People often tell me that I’m very empathetic,” she says. “It has been a tremendous asset because my clients know that I genuinely care. When someone has a problem, I really want to find a way to help. I think it has played a significant role in my career.”

Empathy also shapes Codo-Lotti’s leadership style. She explains, “In a team there will inevitably be a lot of opinions, so it is important to understand where people are coming from and what they’re looking to achieve.”

In addition, she tries to be  intentional about being accessible to her team, recognizing that as she becomes more senior, the perception of her availability and approachability may change.  “It’s important for me to spend time with my team at work, but also making sure we connect informally, whether for a quick coffee catch-up or dinner.”

Mentorship Advice

Beyond the inspiration of her parents, Codo-Lotti points to the guidance of mentors as integral to her career development. Now as a mentor to others, she advises, “the most important thing is to trust yourself and not shut down your own voice. While advice from mentors is important, they succeeded based on who they are. What works for them may not work for you.”

She continues, “what I tell people is that I will give you advice and tell you what I think is best, but at the end of the day you have your own instincts, and you have to see if that fits with who you are and what you want to do.”

When it comes to fostering mentoring relationships, Codo-Lotti encourages taking initiative. “Sometimes you have to take chances. Whenever I worked with someone who impressed me, I put time on their calendar and introduced myself. Sometimes you click, sometimes you don’t, but when you do, you invest in that relationship.”

Finding Strength in Uniqueness Through Executive Coaching

Executive coaching has played a pivotal role in Codo-Lotti’s growth, particularly in embracing her uniqueness while leveling up her communication skills. “I’m a French native speaker; English is my second language. When I came to the U.S., it took me a while to view my accent not as a disadvantage, but as something that made me unique.”

Coaching helped her refine her communication. “I focused on how I could be more structured, more powerful, more impactful—so that the accent became a strength. The firm provided me with a coach who helped me work on my communication and presentation style, which really made a difference. I also found having an external perspective, someone who listens and helps you understand how others hear you, to be invaluable.”

Committed to Education and Financial Independence for Women

Looking ahead, Codo-Lotti is passionate about uplifting the next generation.  As a senior leader at Goldman Sachs, she emphasizes, “I hope to help a lot of talented and diverse junior bankers succeed.”

Codo-Lotti looks to extend that impact beyond Goldman Sachs through her work with the Jeremiah Program, which helps single mothers return to college.  As a member of the board, Codo-Lotti is thrilled to be a part of the program’s mission.

“By supporting single mothers in pursuing their education, there is an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty across two generations—empowering both mother and child, so she doesn’t have to choose between her education, financial stability, and caring for her family.”

As a mother of a young family, Codo-Lotti finds joy in watching their intellectual curiosity take shape. “It’s fascinating to watch my children grow into their own as human beings.  My husband and I love seeing their minds expand, even when it means that they start beating us at board games. It’s a reminder of how quickly they’re learning and evolving.”

Just as she was encouraged to nurture her mind and embrace learning, Codo-Lotti is committed to passing that mindset forward—both at home and in her broader mission to empower others.

By Jessica Robaire

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