How a Sabbatical Can Lead to Self Actualization, Higher Income, and a Better Life
Have you taken your mini-retirement yet?
My spouse teaches a class of students with autism in Toronto. Though she hates having an empty calendar, she appreciates the two months of downtime she earns every summer. She uses it to recharge, explore interests, go to the beach, sleep in. She loves to sleep in.
I work in the cutthroat business world. Where summers off are unheard of. To make things worse, I choose to work with early-stage startups. A place where you feel you are always needed, even on vacation. Startup life has its downsides. But creating something from nothing is addicting. Unfortunately, that means time off has been scarce.
My partner finds it shocking that her’s is one of the few professions with a summer holiday. We have comparable levels of stress at work, and equally need, and deserve, time to recharge. Yet she has had every summer off since university. Whereas, I have watched her sleep in as I jumped out of bed with a racing heart day after beautiful summer day. That was until I took my first summer sabbatical.
A couple of years ago, I took a break to explore if I was going down the right path in life. I had only a hint of an idea of the changes I might like to make. I took off nearly 2…
