The Sabbatical Solution: Recharge Your Career, Rediscover Your Passion

Picture this: You are sitting at your desk, feeling some fabulous energy to work on an important project. This is going to be a productive day!

You then discover something’s wrong with your computer…

When you open a program and begin typing, you get the all too familiar circling emoji telling you your computer is “thinking.” You then type in a couple of sentences and wait, then wait some more…after a significant delay the words finally appear on the screen in front of you.

This goes on for a few frustrating minutes and you realize your computer is simply bogged down. It is not going to function properly until you reboot it.

Sure enough - after shutting everything down and restarting the computer, everything works fine.

This happens to you and me too. Sometimes we need a “reboot.”

In this blog series The Sabbatical Solution: Recharge Your Career, Rediscover Your Passion, we will discuss why entrepreneurs don’t take the breaks they need, and why it is vital to incorporate time to completely unplug and recharge your body, mind, and spirit.

You May Seem Fine on the Outside – But You Are Not

You may look fine on the outside, just like your computer. However, it had way too many programs open and running in the background, causing it to act sluggish and unresponsive.

As an entrepreneur and business leader this can happen to you when you have an overload of responsibilities and projects on your plate.

You may start out energized and feel like you are crushing it, but the frenzied pace of your life will catch up to you. After a time, you will become tired and sluggish, and find you are no longer performing at your best.

I know I have been guilty of taking on too much, and not giving myself the breaks that I need. Can you relate?

If you too are in a place where you are overcommitted and overscheduled, you may be dangerously close to your own breakdown.

Is it time for a reboot?

Here are some signs that show it is time for a significant break:

1. Has your work become your life?
2. Do you get to the end of your workday and find you have nothing left to give for yourself or your family?
3. Do you find yourself lacking energy or more tired than usual?
4. Are you more impatient than usual, and tend to get annoyed or easily frustrated with yourself or others?
5. Have you noticed that your temper is easily frayed?
6. Are you experiencing more stress than usual?
7. Do your family and friends tell you that they’re worried about your well-being?

If any of these questions resonate with how you’ve been feeling, then it may be time to take a break.

Exhaustion, anger, or stress can indicate that something has gone awry in your life. When these negative emotions start to overwhelm you on a regular basis, you need to stop and ask yourself what's really going on.

One way you can do that is by taking some time away from work or from whatever source is causing your stress or exhaustion.

Rejuvenate Your Life and Your Business with a Sabbatical

A sabbatical is an intentional, extended break from your work that gives you time to rest, recharge, and refocus.

Sabbatical comes from the word sabbath which means “a time of rest.” God set the example for us in creation by doing His work and then resting on the sabbath day. He calls you and I to take time for rest too – to stop striving; to be restored and refreshed.

It is not easy, yet critical to your health and well-being to take intentional breaks. A sabbatical helps you to step back from your life to see clearly once again. You can rejuvenate your life and your business with a sabbatical.

Here are the topics we are going to cover in the coming weeks:

1. The Sabbatical Secret: How an Extended Break Recharged My Life and Career (And Can Do the Same for You)
2. Sabbatical Success:  The Ultimate Checklist for Planning a Refreshing and Rewarding Break
3. Adventure Awaits: The Surprising Benefits of Active Travel for Rest, Relaxation, and Rejuvenation

Do I have you convinced yet? Is it time for a reboot?

My husband Graham and I think so. As a reminder to ourselves of the importance of taking time to rest and rejuvenate, we started our own Reboot in ’22, with a 6-week sabbatical.

For fun, we would like to invite you along for the ride. Join us as we share a special South America sabbatical trip over the next several weeks. You can follow along as we adventure through Ecuador and Peru by tuning into our Success Life YouTube channel.

My friend, if you have never taken an extended break, my hope is that you can be inspired and challenged through this blog series to begin thinking about how you can incorporate a sabbatical in your life.

You can learn how to take regular breaks to completely unplug and recharge and come back with renewed energy and creativity for your work and family. You can do it, and I will show you how.

First stop Quito, Ecuador - check it out here.