Is Your Sabbatical a Way of Learning?

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Ferriss: I feel like we're scared to talk about how being outside of the routine is a way of learning. He says if you leave your job, your routine job is to get another job. But if you kind of set boundaries around that and take space to think about what do I actually want to do, maybe I should explore or heal before I make that decision, he says. Ferriss: Two thirds of people in our sample had a sabbatical happen to them. So it wasn't their choice. And only when they got snatched out of that routine life and work did they realize,. Oh man, these stomach ulcers I was having or my trigger finger that I

Let’s suspend judgment, just for a minute. What if you could take a few weeks, months, maybe even an entire year off work to do exactly what you wanted, whether traveling the world, considering your next career move or just taking a moment to step back and really check in with yourself? Would you go for it? Especially after the last few years we’ve had? Safe bet, most people would jump on that opportunity. But then comes the reality check. The doubt. The details. Sure, it’d be amazing, but I could never make it happen. Right?

But, what if you could? What if it was actually more doable than you ever imagined? What if there were ideas, tools, and strategies that would help you step away and reset your mind, body, and life? Ways that might not even require you to leave your job, and know you had something to come back to. Even if, by the end, you didn’t want to anymore? What if your personal, life-changing sabbatical was not only possible, but necessary for you to not only reclaim your sense of self and purpose and aliveness, but to create the space to see more clearly who and what matters, and how you want to step into your life from this moment forward.

My guest today, DJ DiDonna has been studying these real-life breaks, in all forms, showing why they matter and revealing incredible insights into not just how to do them in a way that truly gives you what you’re looking for, but also how to make them more possible than you ever imagined. DJ is the founder of The Sabbatical Project, a research and advocacy nonprofit that is on a mission to define, explore, and research sabbaticals and their impact on non-academics. On his own sabbatical, DJ walked 900 miles on pilgrimage in Shikoku, Japan and ran a poverty research lab at his alma mater Notre Dame.

And today, we dive deeper into some of the ideas and stories that appear in his upcoming book based on hundreds of interviews with sabbatical-takers from across the world. DJ and I uncover more about the history of sabbaticals and their roots in academia. And also, he breaks down the essential components of taking an effective extended pause from work and even offers some ideas that might make you seriously consider taking a sabbatical in the near future—even if retirement isn't even in sight yet.

You can find DJ at: Website | Learn About Your Sabbatical Style | LinkedIn

If you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Chip Conley about reimagining later-in-life contributions.

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