Be Not Afraid of Sabbaticals
"Be not afraid of sabbaticals. Some are born to sabbatical, some achieve sabbaticals, and others have sabbaticals thrust upon them." I think Shakespeare said this, or something like it, in Twelfth Night. My bastardisation essentially gets to his very point: some of us know we will inevitably live a drastically different life for a while, and others among us leave our jobs unexpectedly or find ourselves between countries (or relationships) and stumble into a sabbatical by accident.
There is no wrong way to arrive at one, but the question goes begging: how do you know you're ripe? Are you ready to go on a sabbatical?
Intuition: The Whispers of Your Inner Self
For some people, it's obvious that it's now time to go on sabbatical. Get going and go travelling. Perhaps they've always felt the call of the wild—a persistent, almost ancestral longing for movement and discovery. Possibly, their boss or mentor inspired them to travel, planting a seed of possibility that slowly germinated into a full-blown dream. Perhaps it's just a strong gut feeling, not food poisoning but equally acute, that they must travel or else!
When it's obvious, it's obvious, and if it is, you can stop reading here, book your flights and switch off from work. Trust that inexplicable inner compass that seems to know something your rational mind hasn't yet comprehended.
Burn Out: The Silent Professional Epidemic
Work is ever more encompassing and exhausting. I can't be offline when I'm doing incredible things at work (there is an always-on New York mentality), and this leads to burnout. We lose touch with ourselves, and very slowly, we recognise we've forgotten the 'why' behind our work.
Maybe we just got dumped because we spent no time with our partner, and we kept saying yes to responsibilities at work. And, like a bolt of lightning, BANG, we realise we are burned out and need a break. The tantalising possibility of a sabbatical comes to mind! It's not just a break—it's a reset button for your professional and personal existence.
Daydreaming "What If?"
I was given a book by Martijn Doolard called One Year On A Bike. I ended up spending over a year! And it was frankly down to that book. I read it from cover to cover -- the covers, I remember, were a satisfying matt finish, and it's a book I carried everywhere.
WHAT IF became a sort of mantra for me. What if I could take a sabbatical? The 'What If' for you might be changing your career, finding purpose, moving to a country, and tasting different cultures.
You Can Afford It—Financially and Professionally
A sabbatical is a luxury; there are no two ways about it. So many people can't travel because of family commitments (babies, parents, friends), health, or money. It's not cheap, but with disciplined saving, it is within reach of more people than ever. Moreover, many readers will be in the USA and Europe, and countries like Nepal, Cambodia and Indonesia are relatively inexpensive, so it's possible to make sabbatical budgets last.
If you know you are ripe, then you are ripe. If you can afford it, you're also potentially ripe, and if you are burned out at work, then a sabbatical can be the most courageous thing you can do with your precious life minutes.
You can then have the space to ask questions: 'What If?', 'How?' 'Where?', and 'When?' These are magical questions full of possibility and potential.
A sabbatical is not an escape—it's a journey towards understanding yourself, your desires, and the vast, unpredictable landscape of human potential.