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We arrive at our holidays tired, but are we only physically tired? Probably not. For many leaders and managers, the real wear and tear accumulated throughout the year is mental, due to hundreds of decisions, back-to-back meetings, messages, notifications, problems to solve, and constantly fragmented attention. The body may stop when we reach the beach, the countryside, or a café terrace, but the mind does not always follow.

Image: Theleaders

Research on mental fatigue shows that prolonged cognitive tasks impair performance and require the brain to mobilise self-regulation and recovery mechanisms. That is why resting does not simply mean stopping work, but also changing pace, restoring attention, and creating mental space. And there may be an extraordinarily simple tool for doing so: a book.

Reading forces us to slow down, focus our attention on a narrative or an idea, imagine, interpret, and reflect. Several studies have demonstrated the cognitive benefits associated with reading, particularly in terms of empathy and the ability to understand other people’s mental states, while reading and social cognition activate brain networks related to constructing scenarios and understanding others. 

Taking advantage of the holidays as an excellent opportunity to rest, and above all to reconnect with ourselves, I suggest six books focused on a very important raw material: ourselves. Let us leave strategy, artificial intelligence, and management until after the holidays!

1. Start With Why, Simon Sinek: rediscovering purpose

Simon Sinek made a seemingly simple question famous: Why? Why do we do what we do? In Start With Why, he presents the well-known Golden Circle (Why, How, and What), arguing that leaders and organisations capable of starting with purpose can inspire people in a different way. It is not merely a reflection on business, but a personal one as well. Holidays are a good time to step away from our tasks and return to the essential questions: why do I do what I do? What continues to motivate me? Am I building the professional life I truly want? Before returning to September’s “What”, it may be useful to rediscover our “Why”.

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2. The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle: learning to be present

How often are we on holiday while mentally remaining at the office? We reply to messages, anticipate September’s problems, revisit decisions, and carry conversations that have already ended with us. Eckhart Tolle proposes precisely the opposite: recovering the ability to live in the present moment. The Power of Now invites us to examine the relationship we have with our own thoughts and reduce our tendency to live permanently between what has happened and what may happen. Regardless of the book’s spiritual dimension, it offers a relevant challenge to any leader: it is impossible to truly listen to others when we are never fully present. Perhaps learning to stop is also learning to lead better.

3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey: focusing on what matters

First published in 1989, Stephen Covey’s classic remains relevant because it is not really a book about productivity, but rather a book about principles and habits that lead us into the future: being proactive, beginning with the end in mind, putting first things first, thinking win-win, seeking first to understand and then to be understood, creating synergy, and finally, “sharpening the saw”. This final habit may be particularly suited to the holidays. Covey reminds us that we cannot continually demand results from a tool we never stop to care for. The same is true of people. Recovering physical, emotional, intellectual, and relational energy is not a loss of productivity, but a way to create the conditions needed to sustain it.

Image: Love-startups

4. The Knight in Rusty Armor, Robert Fisher: taking off the armour

It is probably the simplest book on this list, and perhaps one of the most profound. Robert Fisher tells the story of a knight so accustomed to his armour that a moment comes when he can no longer remove it. The metaphor is clear: throughout life, we build our own forms of armour—status, profession, responsibilities, expectations, the need for recognition, or images we have created of ourselves. The problem begins when we can no longer tell where the armour ends and the person begins. For anyone in a leadership role, this short fable raises an essential question: who are we when we remove the position, the title, and what others expect of us? An excellent holiday read, precisely because it compels us to look within.

5. Who Moved My Cheese?, Spencer Johnson: accepting that everything changes

Another short story with a powerful message. Four characters make their way through a maze in search of cheese. When what they have found disappears, each reacts differently: fear, denial, resistance, adaptation. The “cheese” can represent a job, a role, a relationship, a position, or simply the security of what we know. At a time of enormous technological and social transformation, the message remains relevant: resisting change does not prevent it from happening. In organisations, we see people every day who continue looking for the cheese in the same place simply because it has always been there. The holidays may be a good time to ask: what change am I avoiding?

6. LEMON – A Journey to Happiness, Sérgio Almeida: taking a fresh look at happiness

Allow me to end this list with a personal choice: my own book. LEMON grew out of a reflection on happiness, but also on purpose, human relationships, and the way we choose to view challenges. The lemon metaphor is deliberately simple: life gives us circumstances we do not always choose; we can focus solely on their bitterness or discover what we can create from them. This is not about advocating permanent or artificial happiness, but about understanding that happiness also stems from how we interpret experiences, value relationships, and find meaning in what we do. Perhaps the holidays are one of the rare times of the year when we have time to ask that question: what truly makes me happy? When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

Holidays: switching off to come back different

There is a belief that resting means doing nothing; sometimes that is exactly what it means, but resting can also mean doing different things. Walking without a destination. Talking without an agenda. Sleeping better. Spending time with those we love. Observing. Thinking. And reading. These six books address different subjects, but a common thread runs through them all. Sinek asks us why. Covey invites us to choose how to live. Tolle teaches us to be present. Fisher challenges us to understand who we are. Johnson prepares us to change. And LEMON invites us to reflect on how we want to live and be happy.

After spending an entire year rushing to get somewhere, perhaps summer is the right time to understand where we truly want to go, using a few hours of our holidays simply to stop, read, and think. Have a wonderful holiday. And happy reading.

Article by Sérgio Almeida, in partnership with Vida Económica.