Recently I was speaking to a friend and she stated, “I’m taking a sabbatical from my business to figure out what I really want to do.”   I remember thinking, “WOW – I thought you LOVED your business.”  Which was quickly followed by, “Goodness, doesn’t a break sound nice.”

Of course, I didn’t actually say either of these thoughts out loud – instead what I said was, “Tell me more.”  (Yes – those coaching classes pay off in interactions with friends also!)

She went on to explain that though her business is successful, and she does love what she does, she just wasn’t feeling as fulfilled as she once did.  She has a lot of interests that she would like to explore, and was curious to see if, once she explored these interests, she should, could, or would even want to build a viable business around these interests.

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What she is doing is taking a step back, so she can explore taking a step forward.

WOW – she’s exploring, thinking, examining, analyzing, studying … so she can determine her next best step, as opposed to continuing to run her business the way she’s always run her business.

I decided to take a page out of her book and take a bit of a sabbatical myself.  But, I’m defining sabbatical a bit differently for myself.  I do love my business – and I am even more fulfilled now than I was when I started.  I can’t imagine doing anything else.  However, because my gut response when my friend mentioned that she would be taking a sabbatical was, “Goodness – doesn’t a break sound nice,” I realized I needed to explore this thought!

What I realized is that I’m tired!  I battled the flu, bronchitis, and sinus infections on and off for 7 months – and never “really” recovering.  I want to regain my health, the feeling of “running on all cylinders” both mentally and physically. So, for me, taking a sabbatical means reducing my business hours and focusing on self-care.  A chance to take a step back in order to take a step forward.  A chance to practice what I preach!

What does sabbatical mean to you? Where might you have an opportunity in your life and business to contemplate, to take a step back so you can move forward?  I want to know – please post below.

And if you want to explore this concept for your own business, a bit of coaching may help!

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