A gift to myself! – A life-changer experience, I became the Version 2.0 of myself.
My career pause was the BEST gift I could give to myself! The learnings and the positive impacts were much bigger than expected!
My career pause was the best gift I could give to myself! A few months ago, I made the decision to take a break; to leave great colleagues and a rich learning environment. Why? To re-energize, to reconnect with myself, and mainly to enjoy life that goes so quickly…
At the time, I was scared to be in a burned-out… but I was deeply convinced I was not yet but I will be if I continue just few months more. 4 Months later I can confirmed, I was worn and tired, but not burned-out. This is why it was the best gift to myself and to my family. I stopped on time, not too late!
Life Lessons From a Career Pause
This break was even more instructive than I thought possible! I had lots of wonderful moments with my family and friends. I had (and took) time to walk in the forest on regular basis, listen to a ton of podcasts, read, write, think and even… define my next career step!
I made the decision to start a new adventure as an Organizational Development Consultant! Very happy leverage the experience acquired over the last 20 years to support organizations in transformation!
Sabbatical Activities:
– Take care of the kids in every sport activities they have
– Walk in the forest almost everyday, listening to podcasts, audio-book or music depending on my mood
– Member of a board – did a bunch of volunteering work
– Have no to do list for one month!
– Force myself to have max 1 activity booked by day to have all time needed for this one activity (ex.: a coffee with a friend that went for 5 hours)
– Big house clean up – get rid of all unused things we kept for no good reasons
– Got rid of more than 50% of my clothes
– Read many more books
– Wrote in my notebooks more often, more topics
– Binge-watched Netflix – never done that before
– Have nothing scheduled
How long was your sabbatical?
16 Weeks
What were you most concerned about when contemplating a sabbatical?
Money (it’ll cost too much!)
Responsibilities
Did HOW you work change at all, post-sabbatical?
Went from company employed to self-employed
Committed to taking significantly more time off
Life Changes Post-Sabbatical:
1. Took a personal and family decision to be more available for the kids (2 teenagers). After being so much available for them over this break, I want to continue to have this time for the family and for myself. #pointofnoreturn
2. Defined a new career path: be consultant to protect my work life balance but also to select professional projects that nourish myself
3. Prioritised my personal needs by having an continuous connection to my myself ‘What do I really want now and why’
4. Learned the real meaning of ‘Less is more’ to have deeper connection: less social activities but more time, more mental space = more quality
5. Revamped my work office to reflect my new me… there are so many things I can say
How did your sabbatical experience change the way you thought about your employer?
One of my son had been hospitalised earlier this year + very difficult projects at work. All of that combined force me to step back and reflect about what I really want.
Why do you think others should (or shouldn’t) take sabbaticals? Are there occasions in life where it’s particularly helpful?
- When you feel you have lost the sense of purpose that you had before – you are questioning ‘why I am doing this to myself’
- When you feel that what was driving you before is now taking away your energy
- When you feel that your family needs you more than before
- When you know that the point of no return has been reached
Why staying?
You can connect with Leanne Farley Here.
