Here’s What I Found when I Unplugged
An intentional year seeking health brought profound learnings.
‘Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you,’ according to Anne Lamott.
We will all remember 2020 and the impact it had on us personally. Here’s what I discovered about myself and this thing called life, after unplugging for one year. At the age of 47.
Up until March 2020, I had worked for a dynamic business owner for 15 years. The first 11 were exhilarating: fast lanes, quick thinking and cross-cutting dimensions. Through the last four years, however, I had drifted into poorly matched roles. After a long heart-to-heart chat with my boss, an entrepreneur with a well-nourished spirit, I took up the option of a year’s sabbatical.
Why?
In a new country, I had lost my way, unsure where my strengths lay and ultimately what my purpose was. Work was the only relationship I knew or understood, so losing professional direction felt significant.
My health also needed attention. I was drinking every night. I had become the world’s worst sleeper, and this left me with little will for regular exercise. With a mediocre diet, midlife spread was starting to show.
