Creating Space to Breathe
The first place we stayed was Victoria's House. It is located off a busy road, yet when you pull into the driveway, you hear nothing. It is peace, serenity, and relaxation.
That contrast immediately caught my attention and helped me relax.
There was a busy road just outside, but once we entered the space, the atmosphere changed. The noise didn't follow us inside.
And honestly, on this trip I had many revelations and observations about how “we” work.
How often do we enter a new job, a new role, or even a new season of our careers carrying all the noise from everything that came before us? We bring the expectations, pressure, uncertainty, questions, and sometimes even the baggage from our previous experiences with us. In my experience as a former recruiter, the Hiring Manager would want someone who can get up to speed.
Victoria's House had several features that made me think about transferable skills we can use in our day-to-day lives, especially in how we welcome, lead, develop, and support people.
Quiet & Quaint
These were two of the first words I used when walking up to the resort. It was quiet. It was quaint. And during our first night there, I realized that in this season of my life, I needed more spaces that were both; many times on this trip, I found myself trying to think through how I could create more moments like this within my week, and it's not that I didn't have the quiet and quaint places, it’s that I need more quiet and quaint spaces.
There is something powerful about quiet.
Quiet gives you room to think. Quiet gives you room to process.Quiet gives you room to hear.
Quiet gives you margin. Quiet gives you momentum.
We often celebrate being busy as if busy automatically means productive. In our careers, we can wear busyness like a badge of honor. Meetings, emails, deadlines, projects, onboarding, deliverables, and the never-ending "quick question."
It’s important to understand that seasons can be busy without us creating cultures of busy.
A busy season may be necessary. A culture of busy is exhausting and becomes detrimental to your health.
Let's look through the lens of a new hire and company culture. When busy becomes the culture, people stop knowing when to pause. They stop taking breaks because they feel guilty for stepping away. They stop asking questions because everyone seems too busy to answer. Eventually, what we call productivity can become burnout.
A new employee may be excited to start, but they are also processing a tremendous amount of information. They are learning a new organization, new systems, new people, new expectations, new processes, and sometimes even a new professional identity.
When new hires start, organizations typically have onboarding; know that onboarding shouldn't just be about getting someone up to speed. It should also create space for someone to settle in.
Victoria House Resort & Spa is a luxury boutique resort located on Ambergris Caye, just two miles south of San Pedro Town in Belize.
Inside of our casita literally translates from Spanish as a "little house",
Hospitable
Hospitable means being friendly, welcoming, and generous to guests, visitors, or strangers. It can also describe a pleasant environment that supports life or growth, or an open mind that is ready to accept new concepts.
That definition made me think about the workplace.
When you need a break, the last thing you want to deal with is an environment that doesn't feel hospitable.
Victoria's House created a pleasant environment for us to let go of busy and bask in God's creation. We weren't being asked to produce anything. We weren't being asked to solve anything. We were simply allowed to be.
What would happen if our workplaces created more environments where people could simply be human? Do you think they could be more productive?
Hospitality isn't just about making someone comfortable. It's about communicating, "You are welcome here."
And that matters for new hires.
Before someone learns the systems, they need to know the culture.
Before they understand the processes, they need to understand that they belong.
Before they become productive, they need an environment that supports their growth.
The Victoria House Resort & Spa pool during the day.
The same view of Victoria House Resort & Spa pool as we settle in at night
Welcoming
Every resort we visited in Belize was welcoming, but Victoria's House offered something different. Because it was quiet and we didn't see many guests, we experienced a more curated and personalized sense of welcome.
Walking into Victoria House Resort & Spa is a luxury boutique resort located on Ambergris Caye, just two miles south of San Pedro Town in Belize.
That stayed with me.
We don't know what baggage someone is carrying—or how heavy that baggage may be.
The new hire who seems quiet may not be disengaged. They may be overwhelmed.
The employee who doesn't ask questions may not lack curiosity. They may be afraid of asking the "wrong" question.
The person who isn't performing at the pace you expected may not lack ability. They may still be learning how to navigate the environment.
Being welcoming doesn't mean lowering expectations. It means creating an environment where people can meet those expectations without feeling like they have to carry everything alone, creating a supportive environment.
Don't Create a Culture of Busy
That first stop in Belize reminded me that rest isn't always about leaving everything behind. Sometimes it's about entering an environment that gives you permission to put everything down for a moment.
And I think careers need that too.
New hires need space to learn.
Employees need space to breathe.
Leaders need space to think.
Teams need space to reset.
And people need permission to take a break without feeling like they have failed.
Seasons can be busy. But don't create a culture of busy.
Because when busy becomes the expectation, rest starts to feel like rebellion.
And when rest becomes something people have to earn, burnout becomes inevitable.
Perhaps one of the most transferable skills we can develop isn't simply how to work harder. It's learning how to recognize when we—and the people around us—need to pause.
Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is step away.
Sometimes the best thing you can give a new hire is not another training module, but a moment to breathe.
Sometimes leadership looks like saying, "Take a break. We'll be here when you get back."
And sometimes, like Victoria's House reminded me, the greatest gift a space can give you is permission to hear nothing but the peace you've been missing.
The hammock outside of our casita, studying God’s word.
