5 Realizations I Had During My 6-Month Career Break
Which make me feel extremely glad I took it.
Hey there,
Several months ago, I shared three lessons I learned from the 'no man’s land' experience I found myself in after quitting my job without another one lined up. At the time, it had dawned on me that getting to my next step would require some real patience and resilience.
Well, the wait is over for now.
I've just moved to the US on a working visa, and I'll be here for the foreseeable future.
Transitioning back to an office—albeit not as strictly corporate—has been an interesting experience after two years of working for a fully remote startup and living a mostly digital nomad lifestyle.
It basically meant wearing normal clothes instead of sweatpants all day, enduring a much longer commute than from bed to laptop, occasionally applying makeup even if it's not Saturday night, and interacting with actual people face-to-face—again, even if it's not Saturday night. All things that for now haven’t bothered me at all.
Back to my six-month career break/gap semester/dolce far niente (however you want to call it), I can only say: I feel so glad I took it!
I believe this experience would be beneficial for anyone, especially those who have been overthinking it for too long and haven’t mustered the courage to make that decision. This letter is particularly dedicated to you.
So, here go the five realizations I had during my career break:
1. If I did NOT do it, I would be miserable.
Do you know that clenching and consuming sensation when you really want something? It could be leaving a toxic or stressful job, taking some time off to work on a project, or experiencing an international volunteering program — you name it.
I firmly believe that when you truly desire something, you must do everything in your power to pursue it. Conversely, suppressing your deepest desires often leads to misery.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you should impulsively leave a job without a rough plan in place.
If you’re considering a career break, it’s important to have a basic understanding (without obsessing over it!) of how much money you have if things don’t go as planned, what you intend to do with your free time (‘move toward the next thing, not away from the last thing!’), and approximately how long you want your break to be.
Once you have these aspects clarified, it’s time to take action.
2. It looks way scarier from the outside than the inside.
Like a storm approaching, the decision to leave a job without another opportunity lined-up seems scarier when contemplating it than when you are in it.
Again, knowing why you want to take a break helps: is it for replenishing your mental health, is it for experimenting in a specific field, or is it for studying?
Even if you’re uncertain and yet feel drawn to take a gap period, it’s important to understand that you want to take some free time to figure out your next step.
In this way, even if it looks scary, you are secure in your pre-defined purpose.
3. At first, It may be weird to no longer identify yourself with your job, but it goes away.
‘What should I talk about?’
‘What if people ask me what I do in life?’
These were just a few of the thoughts swirling in my mind when I first decided to quit my job without having another one awaiting me.
The greatest effort during my career break consisted of ripping societally-dictated layers that associate your job with your self-worth, the interest of your personality with how many things you do, and your self-esteem with what you can afford.
All of these notions are virtual or abstract concepts.
When you embark on a career break, you strengthen your minimalist mindset and your resilience against societal expectations, which in turn prepares you to better navigate life’s challenges.
In my case, a particularly enriching experience during my career break was joining my partner in the bustling, albeit expensive, city of New York. Despite not being able to afford many things, I began to appreciate the beauty surrounding me and the significance of small, simple pleasures that brought moments of joy to my day.
A career break is a spiritual experience if you let it be one.
4. Life can only be figured out through practical experience.
During these six months, I:
Journaled my brains out;
Exercised;
Meditated (though not as much as I wished);
Tried magic mushrooms.
While all these things helped immensely with keeping my spiraling thoughts at bay and organizing my thoughts and plans, some of the existential questions I had are partly still with me.
I didn’t experience any sudden enlightenment or major breakthroughs in my life and career over the past few months.
However, this absence of significant insights confirmed for me that clarity and progress come from actively engaging in experiences, experimenting, and putting oneself in the arena, rather than passively observing from the sidelines.
A couple of days ago, I started a new job, knowing that only through the accumulation of experiences will I gradually pinpoint what I truly enjoy doing.
Until then, there will always be that ‘sorta-kinda-almost-but not quite’ sensation.
5. There is no defeat.
During my career break, I wanted to experiment with freelancing, increasing my Medium writing frequency, and being consistent with my newsletter writing.
After six months, here are my results:
Freelancing? I’m still not clear on which services I want to provide (and this hasn’t become clearer over the past six months either). I’m also not even close to making a decent salary through it. What I’ve realized is that I am fine with taking the slow route to get there: first and foremost, I need to reach a point where I am aware of the specific skill I want to choose and refine. And I will do so by working normal jobs.
Medium writing? After various (self-imposed) writing challenges, I realized I am unable to write full-time because my multi-passionate brain needs balance between different skills. When I force myself to write too much outside my spontaneous desire, my creative juice dries up and everything becomes gray and boring. In order to keep enjoying writing in this space, I need to maintain a balance.
Newsletter writing? During my career break, I established a routine of writing a weekly newsletter, which I plan to continue now that my break has concluded.
By consistently adding even small pieces to our awareness and knowledge, we come to realize that there are no inherently good or bad results.
Have you ever contemplated taking a career break? What’s holding you back?
Yours,
Caterina