How To Know When You Need A Sabbatical
So I’m taking a sabbatical, yep the good old “adult gap year”. Whilst on the face of it many people will view it as a bit of a gap year, I think the benefits of taking time away from work are greater than just taking some time out from ‘normal’ life.
Sometimes, you just can’t escape the niggling feeling that something wasn’t quite right. That despite undoubtedly progressing forwards, which society deems to be a productive ‘good thing’, there is a possibility that I might be missing something.
Sometimes in life you have to stop thinking and take action. So I made a decision to take a sabbatical, it began in September 2021 so I’m 3 months in. It has been the best decision I ever made (more articles to come on my sabbatical escapades!). But for now, I’ll start with how and why I decided to ‘down tools’ for a while…
An Intuitive Nudge
You know those moments when something, your subconscious or the universe, gives you an intuitive nudge in a certain direction, showing/telling you something just when you needed to hear it.
Well, I had one of those moments recently.
On a sunny day in July I decided to go for a walk on the moors near my home, on walking back down the hill after a beautiful day, I passed a house where the owners were selling a load of items before they moved home. Items ranging from sleeping bags and tents to a food processor were laid out in the garden. I had a wonder around and noticed the selections of books laid out on the front lawn, where I spotted an interesting title. The book was ‘A Life At Work’ by Thomas Moore. Intrigued, I read the blurb and promptly paid the £3.00 due.
Back home the book sat around for a while, added to the substantial pile that has reached the height of my bedside table! I was busy with work and other distractions, but it kept catching my eye until one evening, I picked it up and was quickly absorbed in its contents.
Reading the book I was reminded of a couple of poignant thoughts. Thoughts that I had absentmindedly dropped from my mind as I busied myself with ‘progress’.
Here are just a few interesting take aways and insights that informed my approach to this exciting and explorative period of my life…
Swing the Pendulum
The book afforded me a moment of reflection on my current circumstances. I had a growing awareness that too much was being sacrificed for my work. There was too much rigidity, time-famine, disconnection, exhaustion…I’d had enough.
Everything in the universe is in flux — peaks and troughs, rigidity and flexibility, good and bad, stress and calm, order and chaos. Most of the time we live ‘in the middle’, the pendulum swings to the extreme on occasion, but over time comes back to centre.
However, live in one extreme for too long…that becomes the ‘centre’. Ever noticed how you come back off holiday resolute that you won’t get burned out again ‘this time’, but then inevitably end up ‘back there’ within a matter of weeks. Sound familiar?
So, I’m giving the pendulum a good, firm shove in the opposite direction, I’m making a conscious effort to do the opposite for a while. To enter what Moore calls ‘creative chaos’. This involves a long-term exchange of rigid time in front of a screen, for creative and spontaneous activities — a walk on a beautiful sunny day, grabbing a long coffee with a friend, trying a new skill, doing a course, reading those books, swimming in the lake or walking up a mountain.
I don’t intend to do this forever, just live in the other extreme for a while. Recalibrating where my ‘centre’ position is!
Who Are You?
Our careers are such a large part of our identity. Ever been at an event like a wedding and find yourself making small talk with someone. After they’ve asked ‘What’s your name?’, they ask ‘So, what do you do?’.
We are defined by our careers. Work has an enormous influence on our daily life, it affects our energy levels, time, habits, health, relationships, where we live, the money you earn and how you feel about yourself. However, we are so much more than just our careers, there are many other aspects to what makes us who we are. With all that time and energy spent at work, it’s time to divert some of that energy back into relationships, hobbies, enjoying experiences and creating more memories.
So I‘m going to take off the career ‘shackles’ for a while. Liberated, with no plan, I’ll have a wander around, follow my curiosity, invest in relationships, try new things and have some fun. Rediscover what I love, what brings me joy and who I am outside the demands of work.
Uncover New Options
We all need to occasionally soar above the terrain and see where our current activities are taking us. The last few years have been a pretty crazy period in history but, whilst adapting to the immediate challenges, I had not paused to look at where all this activity was taking me. The habits, routine, work, short term goals and the focus still orientated to old settings, calibrated before the world got crazy.
We can all be guilty of being wrapped up in our myopic day-to-day. In the whir of energy and activity focused on achieving the next immediate goal, we lose sight of, and inadvertently miss, other opportunities. In the absence of our conscious attention, our subtle unconscious habits quietly perpetuate the status quo.
For me it was important to stop, take a step back and see where all my hard work would take me. Take some time away from the habits, routines and work goals and see what other options are out there. Asking ‘Why’, or better ‘why not’, on a regular basis keeps curiosity alive. Opens up new possibilities, allows for experimentation and discovery of options that were not even conceivable in the whir of work.
Your Vocation Is Your Voice
The book reminded me about the integral nature of our chosen vocation. Derived from the Latin word vox meaning ‘voice’, our vocation is another way we express ourselves. Moore explains, we feel the most harmony in our ‘Life Work’ when our work is an expression of our soul and unique spirit.
He explains our vocation should align with our values, talents and causes close to our heart. We all recognise that feeling when it doesn’t. We arrive at work, park our values and get to work…it can feel uncomfortable, misaligned and unrewarding.
The world of work is obsessed achieving tasks, hitting targets, getting a bonus can be rewarding, that little burst of dopamine that nudges you onto the next, and the next, and the next. The enjoyment gleaned from these activities somehow doesn’t last that long; like a firework, after the bang, it fizzles and fades as quickly as it appeared.
The experience of aligned soulful work has a very different quality; there is a prolonged, deep sensation of satisfaction. Reward from work that has a deep, personal connection creates a harmonious fulfilment that lasts far longer than the transient ‘firework burst’ from tasks completed.
This is a real focus for this next chapter. Trying lots of different things, ‘feeling out’ activities, causes and work that deliver that rewarding sense of aligned, harmonious satisfaction.
So the focus of this unspecified period of time is follow more intuitive nudges, shake up my routine, seeing what surfaces in the work void, uncover some new options and listen to my soulful ‘voice’. This may seem a little vague, but this quality is a gift. Restarting my blog is part of this adventure and I’m excited to see what it brings! So follow along and join me on this fun adventure 😃
Stay tuned!
