I took a year sabbatical in 2008 and it was one of the highlights of my life. I backpacked through parts of India, South America and Africa. I had a very strong

I took a year sabbatical in 2008 and it was one of the highlights of my life. I backpacked through parts of India, South America and Africa. I had a very strong desire to travel and see more of the world so it fulfilled that need for me (without spending a lot of money). I feel incredibly lucky that I was in a position to be able to it. Career wise it didn't change my trajectory very much - I came back fresh and highly motivated again. The only caveat to this is that sometimes it turns out that work is not the core issue (although maybe it is easier to have clarity on this after an extended break) and if so probably time to think about starting therapy.