Karan Bajaj, entrepreneur, and CEO isn't alone in attributing career successes to taking time off to reset. The prestigious Harvard University instituted the first sabbatical in 1880, allowing professors to pick up new knowledge to bring back to their students.
Harvard considered sabbaticals an investment for the future of the university. According to Karan Bajaj, it's also an investment in yourself.
Karan Bajaj Discusses Three Breakthroughs He Attributes to Sabbaticals
At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter whether you choose and plan a sabbatical or if one is given to you by fate. For Karan Bajaj, it's been a bit of both. A downward economy made it difficult for him to find a job for three months, but it also gave him time to reset and think about his future. This impacted him so profoundly that he took off two more purposeful sabbaticals during his career.
According to Forbes, "the purpose of a sabbatical is to give an employee a chance to step back from their role at work and focus on personal enrichment and professional development."
Karan Bajaj says that each sabbatical positively impacted his personal and professional life. Specifically, he can now associate three tenants that have shaped his life to each of the sabbaticals he's taken:
● Impact of 1st Sabbatical: Appreciating the opportunities in a boundless universe.
● Impact of 2nd Sabbatical: Massive increase in personal productivity and understanding of self-motivation.
● Impact of 3rd Sabbatical: The importance of tenacity in mastering new skills.
Of course, your personal journey will be unique. However, if you're feeling burnt out, consider taking some time off and re-evaluating your career.
Karan Bajaj Recommends Giving in to Your Creative Side
Karan Bajaj studied yoga and meditation on one of his sabbaticals. He encourages others to explore their creative side and re-evaluate their personal and professional lives when they have time off.
Need some ideas for your sabbatical? Extend your education, learn a new skill, or travel. Maybe you can learn yoga. Choose something that will stretch your boundaries. You will almost certainly emerge refreshed and ready to contribute at a higher level, whatever you do, says Karan Bajaj. Losing a job and not being able to find a job can impact your confidence. However, if you look outside yourself, you can see this as an opportunity.
"I think that liberated me, so the subsequent leaps became a bit easier," Karan Bajaj recently told Your Story.
