From The Great Resignation To The Great Sabbatical

Steve Jobs shared the following wisdom in his famous commencement address:

" and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something "

For me, there was only one thing I constantly said to myself "I just need a break". I couldn't figure out what it was that I needed a break from. Everything seemed fine, I liked my job, my company liked me, I had good friends and supportive parents. Many blamed my workaholic lifestyle, but to be honest, I love to work. I never and still don't want a work life balance. The second suspect was the pandemic, which it was. However, in my opinion, the pandemic acted as a catalyst than the cause of my increasing lack of faith in the American way of life. There was a third suspect, which no one wanted to talk about, and that was societal pressures. After all, how dare I refuse to compromise for the coveted “green card”, and not target settling by 30.

When I shared with colleagues and family that I am contemplating quitting my job, I was advised to instead take a break. So I did! Only to realize that my life since entering adulthood has been on autopilot. That very realization was terrifying. I have always wanted more from life. That was the reason I left my small town of Amritsar and moved to New York City. The archaic “American Dream” never attracted me. I had promised myself of not falling in the trap. But before I knew it, I was working towards the same and becoming a slave of the corporate world and society. But the mindset I got trapped into, was not sustainable. It was not going to take me anywhere.

After taking a break and coming back to work for few more months, I finally decided to hand in my resignation and stay back in India for good until I have decided what I want to do next. This was in January 2022.

On my last day at work, I was laughing and crying at the same time. For few days post handing in my resignation, I was in a "resignation high". I was saying things like, "making my journey inwards", using words like "discovering" and "exploring" (what I don't know). It lasted around two weeks give and take. Eventually, I found my way on the couch on a series of Netflix binges. Soon after, my best friend's wedding came along which I decided not to attend, an event I had never dreamt of missing. I just didn't think I was prepared to field any question from anyone. But a pep talk motivated me to fly out, and I am so glad I did. That solo trip to my hometown, gave me the time to think. I realised that I gotta move and do things!

So with tiny steps, I started taking solo trips, journaling, brainstorming and making calls to some close friends. A couple of months and a few solo trips later, a good friend, advised me that an Instagram travel blog and some random solo trips was something anyone could do even with a full time job. I should, and can do more with my time and skills.

I still don't know what I will do three months from now, or six months from now. There is only one thing that gives me a little comfort which is travelling. And may be through travel, I will figure out a way to not fall into the rat race again. Apart from travel, I am still working on what else I can do. I figured journaling and sharing my journey would help me and hopefully more folks who are on the same path as me or are considering leaving the corporate race.

So that's how I decided to start my blog "The Vagabond Kaur". I took the leap from a corporate well paid job through the great resignation to what I am hoping would be called the great sabbatical of my life. Through this blog, I will be sharing my journey of my sabbatical, the highs, lows and all the excitement (and anxieties) that come with it.

At Olympic National Park, WA