ST. CROIX INSIGHTS

Photo by Diego Jiminez

While attending Augsburg College in my youthful days, I noticed that many of my professors would occasionally take a sabbatical. This means taking a break from their usual academic pursuits. They worked on their books, furthered their research, or traveled the world.

What if you could get away from it all and clear your head, all while moving your career forward and gaining perspective on your future? Seem too good to be true? Well, I want to let you in on a little secret. You don’t have to be a professor to take a sabbatical.

The benefits of taking a sabbatical

We work so hard during our best years, hoping we’ll have the time, money, and energy to travel in our golden years. We sometimes forget to focus on ourselves in the here and now. Whatever your career or walk of life, there are very good reasons to take time off from your job and your daily life. You should do this before you retire, to focus on your own growth.

Make time for backburner projects

We all have “someday” projects in mind, things we tell ourselves we’ll do just as soon as we have the time for them. A sabbatical is the perfect way to carve out the time to jumpstart a new research project, make headway on a stalled-out manuscript, or conduct that research we keep putting off.

Refresh your goals

Sabbaticals are like supercharged vacations: they get you out of your day-to-day. They get you into a more relaxed state of being. This frees your subconscious mind to make deeper connections with your work and your purpose.

We all need time away. Making time to put everything on hold, slow down, and focus on yourself and your career will let you return with renewed purpose and motivation.

Gain a global perspective

While any time away offers important benefits, take the opportunity to travel overseas if at all possible. Prioritize this especially if you’ve never been outside the country before.

Traveling offers a rich opportunity to gain insight into other people’s lives. Interacting with people from other cultures and backgrounds is an incredible source of new experiences and new ideas.

Get out there!

A sabbatical has very real benefits for everyone, regardless of your business or walk of life. Over the course of your career, try to take a sabbatical or two to travel the world, write a book, or have new adventures.

If you have a strong financial foundation, this sort of travel is entirely within your reach. And if you don’t, now is the perfect time to start building one.

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Ask yourself- can my portfolio support my lifestyle in my retirement?