In the last few months, my job prospects have improved dramatically. I continue to get growth opportunities at my current job, and I have had numerous outreaches and offers for other great jobs.
So what’s the problem?
I want to take a break from my career in the form of a sabbatical, not climb the ladder.
Or do I?
All of these reminders that I’m good at what I do for my career throw me into a spiral of doubt. I start thinking about making more money, having more friends at work, and contributing more to the world through the work I do.
I think, “Maybe I don’t need a break after all. Why was I even planning to take a break in the first place?”
These feelings make me both excited and exhausted. I thought I had things figured out. I hate that “life is what happens when you’re making other plans” holds true.
Because I now have more of a plan for what I’m going to do with my sabbatical. And I want to do that. However, I also want to be successful in my career.
So how do I reconcile these things?
First, I plan to try to negotiate an unpaid sabbatical from my current job. We don’t have a formal sabbatical program at my work, but I’m hopeful they will consider giving me unpaid leave for enough time to truly take a break.
If that doesn’t work, I’ll be ready to walk away since I have saved $100k. That will be even easier knowing that I should be able to find a job somewhere else when I’m ready thanks to the job offers I’ve received.
When I refocus on that time, I know that I have to take what I have planned long and worked hard for, which is a sabbatical.
It goes back to what I wrote about six months ago when I said that taking a sabbatical means taking a leap, because just like Zac Effron in the Greatest Showman, “we’re going to the other side.”
This post is part of our Sabbatical Sundays series. To read more, click here.
