What I Learned from My Sabbatical

Greetings to you, my friends, and all good wishes for the new year and this new decade. It’s been 15 months since I wrote to you and shared my plans for sabbatical (see: Following the Current).

Even as I announced a six-month sabbatical, I had the feeling it would be a full year. Toward the end of last October, I was invited to speak to a group of coach colleagues about my sabbatical experience.

Here in today’s article are highlights from that presentation.

Pause, Play, Permission, Perspective

It was while gathering my thoughts for a presentation on “What I Learned from My Sabbatical” that I realized the year had been much more cohesive than it had felt at times. Certain stages and themes became evident:

The Decision

Shortly before I announced my plans, I came across a pro/con list dashed off on a yellow pad some time ago. It seems I had been entertaining the idea of a sabbatical for two years. I was eager to reassess the focus of my work and now that my husband had retired, we were flirting with the idea of a cross country move. Apart from the specific reasons (i.e., time to research the potential move, time for certain projects), the main motivation was this: I wanted to take a sabbatical and the idea persisted. Now the time was right.

One Week In

Ginny and Jess on moving day

Talk about momentum after you take action on a decision. In November 2018 and less than one week after my sabbatical officially started, a “research trip” to Florida resulted in the purchasing of a house. December was a whirlwind of packing up our home in Arizona and farewells with friends. Jess and our son Jake drove the big Penske truck across the country and I flew out a few days ahead of them. By January 7 we were in our new home. Our 12-year chapter in the Southwest was complete. Life was moving us along, from the desert mountains to the ocean. Having returned to the East Coast, we were now only a short flight away from most of our family.

Four Months In

Despite the upheaval that a move entails, Jess and I felt at home right away and were grateful that both of us were happy with our decision. We took a gradual approach to unpacking and all the logistics of setting up the house. We made time to explore our new surroundings and meet neighbors. Family and friends were informed that they were welcome to visit as long as they didn’t mind seeing unpacked boxes around the house. We called it being “in process.”

Four months elapsed in a blink. I started feeling sporadic pangs of pressure because I hadn’t yet had any career discernment time and in two more months I would need to check in with client organizations I had put on hold. I realized, though, that the pressure was self-imposed and within my control. That’s when I gave myself permission to extend the sabbatical to a full year. In some ways, I felt the real sabbatical was just beginning.

Deeper into Sabbatical

Over the next several months, the discernment time I desired was woven into moments of solitude as well as activity. I became grounded in my new environment by bicycle riding around our community, noting the variety of Florida birds, and getting used to spotting alligators. I played with different routines and considered how much structure I did or didn’t want. I enrolled in a coaching course for Continuing Ed and ballroom dance classes with Jess. We flew up to the Northeast for family events including the arrival of two grand-nieces as well as the news of a grandson on the way!

Roseate Spoonbill

I observed myself moving through all the stages of transition and discernment that I’ve guided my clients through, written about, and shared with you over the years.

I was reminded that:

1. Granting yourself permission is more than a one-time deal.
2. Cycling through periods of clarity and confusion is part of the process. Rather than trying to define the shape of things right away, I took my cousin Alison’s advice to engage my creativity and “play with amorphous.”
3. Eventually, the discernment is complete and it will be time to Trust Your Clarity.

Portuguese man o’ war

Completion

In looking back, it occurs to me that the stages of my sabbatical can be summed up with these words:

Pause, Play, Permission, Perspective.

Pausing the current routine.

Playing, because you can’t think 24/7 about the things you’re discerning.

Permission to “play with amorphous.”

Perspective, the gift that results from doing all of the above.

My Conclusions & Next Direction

After 18 years in the coaching profession, I’ve decided to retire from corporate engagements and executive coaching. Even though I’ve greatly enjoyed this work, there are other things that are calling me now. Going forward, I’ll focus on creative endeavors connected to my writing, as well as a selective amount of private coaching.

Initially, I was getting hung up with the word “retired” because of the variety of images and reactions that term evokes, however, I’m no longer concerned with labels. It’s more about direction and purpose. When asked now, I say that I’m semi-retired and bringing work with me into retirement – work I love (including this blog), tucked under my arm.

I’m excited about starting a new chapter, geographically and otherwise. I’m looking forward to having the things on my Joy Menu become central, including spending more time with Jess and our family.

This decision feels as important as when I made the transition to coaching from a 15-year corporate career in 2002. I don’t mean that in an overly dramatic way. Rather, it’s true that whenever we acknowledge something within that is asking to be honored, it’s important, and this happens all throughout our lives.

Clarity’s Gift is Confidence

Banyan Tree

Your purpose evolves in terms of how it wants to be expressed. New aspects are continually revealed, and acknowledging what feels purposeful makes you feel alive.

A current of confidence moves you to say yes to what you feel compelled to do and this produces a feeling of joy and calm.

Then, of course, comes the action, yet another layer of permission: to move forward with your conclusions!

This Week’s Call To Action:
I took the sabbatical because the desire and feeling that it was time to take one kept rising to the surface. What is rising within you at the start of this new decade?

Whether you are considering a sabbatical weekend (at home or away), a sabbatical month, or year, use the questions below to harvest your insights:

• What would I like to make room for?
• What permission do I need?

• How is life moving me along?
• What other elements of my purpose are emerging?

• How do I practice trust?
• What can I do now?

As with most experiences, you will enter sabbatical with certain expectations, and then you will discover what is actually there for you. Invite creativity to lead the way. Play with amorphous.

You don’t need to see the whole picture in order to have enough vision to move forward. Be grateful for the clarity you do have – it is a gift.

“The repeating cycle of Trusting, Listening, and Acting with both patience and boldness is the way forward.”

P.S. That grandson on the way made his appearance on November 17. His name is Jackson Elijah Kravitz and it was love at first sight.

Note:
(1) “The repeating cycle of Trusting, Listening, and Acting with both patience and boldness is the way forward.” This quote first appeared in a prior article entitled Wake Up and Listen published in December 2016.