A little food for thought for you on this Friday. Why should you consider taking a Sabbatical? Wait, isn’t a Sabbatical just for teachers, students or professors? Well, the term did start that way, but apparently the dictionary has updated things with the times. Sabbatical can apply to all and is basically “an extended period of leave from one’s customary work”. Notice it doesn’t say from work, as there is always work to do (the blog for example). These days we also hear the buzz word “Career Break” as well, meaning pretty much the same thing. Either way, we are enjoying out time away from “traditional work” and thought we would share our Top 5 Reasons.
Let’s make this a bit fun, for me, and we’ll start with # 5 and work our way to our #1 Reason.
Top 5 Reasons to Take a Sabbatical / Career Break
5. Work Politics – Gone!
Gone are the moments of trying to make sure we are doing things the right way to ensure we have a job and can climb that career ladder. We don’t need to stress over deadlines or cover any ones tracks for “dropping the ball”. We don’t have to come home from work thinking about the “gossip” and “politics” that go on in any workplace. We don’t need to wonder why someone else got that promotion or why they were “let go”. Or why do we need to move buildings or go through another company reorganization. Poof! All of that goes away and it doesn’t take long to get used to not having that in your daily life. Saying good-bye to work wasn’t easy, but that is because of the people not the work. We know this life isn’t forever and we will go back to work, but it is nice having a long break.
4. Stress – Biggies are Gone!
Well, as you can probably guess, while work is great for the income, it adds loads to your stress. To melt those stress away, you can try products such as cbd flower strains.
We still have the standard everyday chores, bills and safety for the family, but the big-ticket items are gone. We aren’t worried about losing our jobs. Ha! We took care of that one all on our own. And believe it or not, there is great stress with owning Stuff! Our material possessions are so few that it takes the pressure off of us wanting and thinking we need more. We are really down to the basics and are quite content. (Although there are plenty of conveniences missed).
What have I noticed the most about stress or the lighter load of it? We have not been to the Chiropractor in over 8 months! We each needed to go about once a month due to back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain. You name it and the Chiropractor was always there to help adjust and get the blood flowing in the right places again. I haven’t even had any tension in my shoulders! Ah, I love it.
3. Travel – Serious Increase!
You know how much you love to take that vacation? You sit by the pool, go to Disney, go hiking, go scuba diving or what ever it is you do. After 4 – 5 days, it seems you finally let go of your stress and start to relax. You are thinking “Ah, I could get used to this” and not a day or so later it is time to go home. Most people try their best to “spread out” this time throughout the year. The bottom line is, you only have so much time to use. You are forced to pack it all into a week at a time, if you are lucky two.
For our family travel has been our vacation priority. It doesn’t matter if it is relaxing, adventure, culture or nature. We just like the time together to soak it all in. With our time away, we have been able to explore Spain in-depth. Go to the Non-Tourist places and really get to know Spain. We have made our excursions to Gibraltar, France and Portugal as well. We are looking forward to Summer when we hope to really explore more of Europe.
Travel, has been a wonderful educator for us all. To be able to experience things outside of the “American Bubble” with culture, tradition, history and nature. Oh, there are so many life lessons to learn from others and that people are just people no matter where we live. We have experienced new things and wonderful people along the way. Travel is an addiction that we all have and brings us such joy.
2. Family Bonding – Serious Increase!
I know you guessed it! Wow, I knew we would have more time together and to be honest I was also a little fearful of that going into this. I thought “How can we possibly spend so much time together and not kill each other”? Well, I have to say we have all been great with giving each other personal space as well as enjoying our time together. We are cooking with the kids more often and along with that usually goes some family stories. We play games and laugh, laugh, laugh! I get such a kick out of the kids when they get to laughing so hard they can’t breath.
Okay are you ready for it?
Do you want to know our number ONE reason to take a Sabbatical or Career Break?
Drum roll please…
Our Number 1 Reason to take a Sabbatical or Career Break
1. Time to “Live in the Moment” – Serious Increase!
I know, I think I am kind of cheating a bit here. Having Time is really a no brainer and allows us to do all of the other things. That said, it is laced with the “Live in the Moment” phrase and that is really the key to it all. We can appreciate and enjoy each and every moment with our kids. Really watch them learn and grow and think!
Their curiosity, creativity and thirst for learning has shocked the heck out of us. If they ask a question, we have the time to really discuss it with them, perhaps even show them. We can go for a planned 30 min walk along the beach and allow it to turn into 3 hours with tide pooling, rock skipping and a few hello’s to friends walking by. We have the time to enjoy what the world has to give us and that is the biggest gift and reason we love our Sabbatical / Career Break. We are present in the here and now and can absorb as much as we can. We can really Live in the Moment and enjoy it.
If you are thinking of taking a Sabbatical or Career Break, just let us know if you have any questions.