It would be high school, that I first heard about the concept of taking a gap year. A time when most students who were supposed to take the usual path of going to college or university, would decide to take a year off to decide what they really wanted to do. Or, live in there’s mom’s basement for the next 10 years.

Last year, was the first time I decided to take a gap year. It would be the first time I realized that gap years weren’t only for college dropouts or people who have no idea what they wanted to do with their lives. Taking a gap year was the most important thing I ever decided to do so far in my life. This blog post is here to explain why, and why you should possibly take a gap year for yourself too. At least once.

So, what really is a gap year?

A gap year is when someone decides to take a year off from either their career or studies, to do pretty much anything that doesn’t involve just that - their career or studies. No studying or working allowed. As simple as that. Or, maybe not so simple?

I’ve come a long way from frowning upon those who decided to pause achieving their goals to hitch it with their parents, live off of their savings, or rely on their financially adept partner until they figured things out. And instead, have come to embrace the idea of pausing the everyday grind and hustle to really just experience everything else life has to offer.

Not everyone who takes a gap year is lost or depressed about their direction in life. Some people can take gap years to avoid burnout or to explore other career paths and creative outlets they otherwise wouldn’t have the time for due to the hectic daily grind and rotating responsibilities and schedules that come with life. Some examples of what people do when they take a gap year is that of the likelihood of traveling, learning a new skill, taking an interest in a new hobby, resting, changing career paths, and spending time with loved ones.

Whatever someone’s reason for taking a gap year, you may need one really soon. So let’s explore all the benefits that taking a gap year can bring!

Gaining New Skills & Experiences

The first thing I can think of when it comes to the benefits of taking a gap year is undoubtedly the idea that you will learn new skills and have the time to fill your schedule with much more meaningful experiences. In today’s society, the majority of our time is taken up working, or if you’re a student, being in school. Imagine, having both of those activities off of your to-do list, when both activities take up the majority of an average person’s daily time.

The standard working hours in Canada are Monday to Friday, between 8:00 a.m. or 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., for a total of 37.5 – 40 hours per week (7.5 or 8 hours per day). This doesn’t even consist of the time it takes to commute to and from work, and other minuscule tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and running errands. Where does that leave time for you to bask in past times that truly bring you joy? Not to mention those who have kids or dependents. Subtract all these time-suckers, and you realize that most people, live to work and not work to live. I couldn’t wait for the weekend to come so that I could finally have some time for myself or to hang out with loved ones. Catching a break from the hustle and grind, that we’ve come to accept as normal for our lives.

Taking a gap year means you no longer have those eight hours dedicated to working or studying, so now you are free to fill your time up with more fulfilling activities. Doing things you always said you never had the time for. This could be filled with reading, learning how to code or a new language, cooking new foods, exploring foreign cultures, making more space for finding a partner, and much more.

During my gap year, I read over 30+ books. A huge increase from, the usual 2-3 books a year that I could count on myself reading. Although I love reading, I never made the time for it. So, when I intentionally set out to take a gap year and make time for all the things I hardly have the time to do, not only did I get to lose myself in compelling fictional stories, but I also got to dive into some non-fiction and learn a lot more about myself and the world too. New perspectives I could now apply to the way I choose to navigate my life moving forward, and meaningfully interact with others.

Having the benefit of gaining a new skill or experience, is something that most people look forward to, but often don’t get the chance to have. When we get stuck in a routine of working towards a materialistic or societal goal, we shove many meaningful once-in-lifetime experiences and additional opportunities to grow to the side.

Exploring Different Career Paths

Taking a gap year can also be a great way to explore different career paths and find out what type of job you might be interested in. Let’s face it. Not everybody is happy with their job, and actually, according to a 2018 survey by Gallup, 66% of employees worldwide are either not engaged or are actively disengaged in their job. This may not mean they absolutely hate their job, but they are not exactly ecstatic to get up and work at their job each morning either.

Whatever the case may be, there comes a time when your work no longer fuels you or is something you are passionate about again. Even within the same job, there are usually opportunities people take to move upwards. In roles, that challenge them and excite them to do something different. While others, can be in the same role all their lives and be perfectly fine. We even have some people, like myself, who are more labeled as a multi-hyphenate. Having their hands in more than one role, job, or project at a time. Failing to solidify themselves into one mold or life of routine.

The great thing about taking a gap year, to redefine your career path and passions, is that this time can be wisely used to brush up on not only certain skills but to research the job market and create a plan for the future. We all know just how much of a job itself is to research and apply for jobs. Taking a year or even 6 months, to take a step back and reassess your career path and direction, can be the best thing needed to catapult you into a more promising career path. Even if working for somebody else isn’t your thing, eventually taking the time off to plan out or revamp a business can be a rewarding opportunity, and bring much more clarity to your business’ profitably and overall growth.

That’s kind of sorta what happened to me, this past year. After developing a psychosomatic disorder, I decided to focus on my health and take a year-long break. It just so happened, that I was also becoming frustrated with the way I was operating my business but was afraid to take some time off and take a step back to re-assess better ways of how I could be living my life. There was so much momentum already going on in my business, I felt as if I couldn’t possibly stop. Despite the way, my business was beginning to burn me out.

Instead, by taking the time off, I was better able to assess where I could improve and what business strategies needed to be cut out. It became an opportunity to watch how others were also growing their business in a much more sustainable way. An opportunity I would’ve been blinded by if I was still hellbent on the grind of growing a business. and unable to take the time off to reassess my direction and reflect.

Expanding Your Horizons

Who you are, is made up of your life’s experiences. The way you think, act, and show up in this world is a direct reflection of what you’ve seen, heard, and felt over your lifetime. The stories surrounding you, eventually become yours. When you get the opportunity to travel, meet new people, and be immersed in different cultures, your idea of the world and where you fit in begins to change. This may sound like what happens when you travel outside of your city, state, or country, but you don’t need to travel to expand your inner and external horizons.

Spending more time reading books, listening to podcasts, learning a new language, and even making friends online from all across the globe, is a great way to personally seek growth and intellectual expansion. Immersing yourself in something new, and having different conversations can physiologically and biologically rewire your brain. Every time you do something new or experience something different, your brain has to make new neural connections. The more positive neural connections you make over your lifetime, the sharper, more informed, and more well-rounded of an individual you can become.

Especially, when we live in a world that is inhabited by different groups of people with various different religions, belief sets, skin colors, genders, and social upbringings - it is imperative that we seek to experience what is beyond our only understanding of the world to better understand others. I truly believe that if we learned to walk in others people’s shoes, the world would be a much better place.

How can you do this if you talk to the same people every day, never leave your hometown or fail to often try something you’ve never done before? Taking a gap year gives you the opportunity and time to do just that. Observe the world from a different pace, place, and state of mind, which will only in the long term expand your overall horizons.

Reflection & Refocus

Finally, taking a gap year can be a great way to reflect on your life, reset on a holistic level and refocus your goals. How often do we take the time to practice self-care and reflect on the lessons in which we’ve come across in our lives? Once we go on achieving something or a momentous life event happens, instead of sitting and reflecting on how far we’ve come, we’re off to chase the next person, event, or accomplishment. Failing to even celebrate ourselves in the process.

What also happens to the in-between? Creating that space and time to see if the direction we’re heading in is even where we ought to be going? We’ve heard so many stories of those who are quote-on-quote “successful”, in society’s eyes. The house, the car, the family, the money, etc. But, there are many people with these things that still feel unhappy inside. Always feeling like there is something missing. I don’t say from a place of judgment either, and I have no problem with those who have acquired lots of wealth. Coming from a woman who talks about holistic wealth for a living, I also began to get caught up in the chase for external things and started to feel like something was still missing.
As you can see, if we don’t take the time, to sit, rest, journal and reflect on what has worked and isn’t working in our lives, how can we make the tangible steps to further evolve and grow? Becoming better versions of ourselves requires doing the other hard work of internally going within and asking the tough questions.

Why do you still attract jaded and toxic people into your life? Why do you always end up sabotaging your efforts toward your goals? Why is money such a huge stressor in your life, no matter how much you try to make more money and save? Why do you still eat poorly and rarely make time for exercise but want to lose weight?

At the end of the day, as much as our external circumstances can hold us back. The only one truly holding you back, is yourself. No one else can be held responsible for the way you show up and take ownership of your life. Of course, I am not dismissing the fact that we have social, economic, and political barriers that exist. Oppression and privileged spaces exist, for certain groups too. However, there always lies exceptions, and where do you create the capacity to build those beliefs that you could be an exception? That you could defy the odds and truly go after the things it is you want to go after.

Even if you don’t have a clear idea of what it is you are meant to do in your life, or what hobbies and past times excite you. Taking a gap year is the perfect opportunity to take that step back, have difficult conversations, seek help within your networks and try new things. Hoping that it can give you the zest to experience life in a whole new way and with much more meaning.

Reflecting On My Own Gap Year

When I took my gap year last year, I finally created space to re-visit a childhood pastime of mine which was creative writing. From as young as I could remember, I always loved getting lost in a story and playfully writing up a theatrical scene, fictional story, or poem. While other children spent time watching Disney movies or playing with cars and barbie dolls. I thought I was Octavia Butler or Shonda Rhimes, crafting up ridiculously captivating (or equally boring) characters and plots to scenes that would never happen in any real life. At the same time, it didn’t matter. It was what lit me up and brought me a certain joy so much so that those specific moments, my memory will never fail to make me forget.

So that’s exactly what I did during my time off. I decided to revisit that inner child and play again. Mustering up the courage to create an Instagram account and share some poetry for fun, while I was at it. This eventually led me to finally write a book (stay tuned and join my newsletter to be updated on that). The great thing about this is that I never did these things for attention or to be validated. I participated in these activities for myself only, because these are the pastimes that bring me joy and make me happy. Despite still loving my career as a holistic wealth coach, I’ve realized that there’s always been a burning desire for me to become a creative writer and/or author too. If I never took my gap year last year, I would’ve never been able to create the space to reflect on my life and realize that there are way more pathways I would like to redirect my energy and go in. I’ve learned to trust myself more during this transitioning process, and my direction is much more clear than if I hadn’t taken the time out to reflect.

To reflect also requires the active step of taking rest. You cannot reflect while in motion, and being “busy". To be busy is to be productive, but there are seasons when we also need to rest. Being unproductive is not a direct reflection of your self-worth. Doing nothing is possibly the best thing you could do and something we rarely get to ever do, which is why our health depends on it. The main reason why I was even forced to take a gap year was that I wasn’t properly attending to my physical, mental, emotional, and energetic needs. I was unaware that my body was stressed, anxious and not getting enough sleep - until it was too late. Now I had to spend a year, trying to relax in hopes that my body could repair itself back to normal health. Don’t let this be you! If you sense that you are in need of a break, always carve out room for yourself. Your mind and body will thank you, and the right peers will be accepting of the fact that you decided to put yourself first.

The Cons of Taking a Gap Year

While taking a gap year can be beneficial, it is important to consider the potential downsides to this as well.

First, taking a gap year can be expensive and not everyone can afford to take a few months or even years off of work. The reality is that we need to work to make money so that we can have food, a roof over our heads, and clothes on our backs and feet. Without money, a whole lot of other trouble could go on and so for that, our lives are dependent on it. Most people who take a gap year, usually are in the financial means to do so or have resources such as friends, family, and/or a community to rely on.

When you take time off, your expenses don’t stop along with it. So you will need to be able to cover your typical living expenses and maybe even travel expenses along with other foreseen and unforeseen costs. Additionally, taking a gap year can cause you to miss out on job opportunities and delay your long-term career plans. Even for some, the idea of falling behind their peers may be tough (which honestly, shouldn’t even matter. We all have our own timelines, my dear).

Need I mention, there still can be some stigma around taking time off between careers. Many employers may question why you’ve been out of the workforce for so long and penalize you for this. However, I truly believe that if you used your gap year right, your employer could see the new skills and experiences that could shape the way you perform and add value to the job. So don’t fear too much about this. This also applies if you have a business. It’s hard to run the business efficiently if you’re not there or have really great people working for you who can take over and sufficiently manage the operations of the job. However, it’s better to figure out how to run your business sustainably over time, than crash and burn altogether in the short-run.

As a holistic wealth coach, I would say it’s definitely important to take into consideration your financial capacity, networks, and resources prior to taking the lunge to just postpone your education or quit your job. Make sure that you have a couple of months of living expenses saved up and a budget for how you are going to live without much of an income. A great way to ensure you have income coming in without having to work is to also create some passive means of revenue. This is by means a job in which you initially put in work to set up but over the long-time creates money even when you’re not present.

Moral of the story? Take that gap year.

In conclusion, taking a career gap year can be beneficial for your personal and professional development. It can provide you with an opportunity to gain new skills and experiences, expand your horizons, reflect on your life, and refocus on your goals. If you have the financial resources and resourcefulness to do so, why not? The worst thing that can happen is that you learn something new about yourself.

In my next blog post, I’ll talk more about all the things I did during my time off in 2022 and will go month by month, showcasing the new experiences, skills, and perspectives that I learned during this most gifted opportunity of transition and reflection for my life. Followed, by some key lessons I learned regarding my business, career, finances, and health.

To be the first to know when this blog post drops - sign up for my newsletters. Also, while you’re here… don’t forget to say hi and let me know your thoughts. Have you ever taken a gap year or some time off of your career or education? What did you learn and how did it benefit you? Did you regret taking this time off? Feel free to share in the comments below and I hope when you have the courage (and the bank account) to take a year off, it serves you well.