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Addressing Mental Travel Hurdles
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

With the New Year you may be finding that you want to jump start (or re-start) your career break travel plans. And one of the reasons that your plans may have stalled is because of fear.

Getting Over Fear

You came here because you want to make a change in your life; you want to shake it up. Hold on tight because change isn’t easy. Change is wrapped up in fear, and fear is big and bad. It can make any endeavor seem like a mountain that is insurmountable at times. The end result of letting fear take over is that it keeps us stuck where we are. We can assume that since you are here, you don’t want to be stuck where you are – right?

Each person’s situation and fears are different, but most often our fears of career break and sabbatical travel fall into four main areas:

Financial: I don’t have enough money – you have to be rich to travel
Societal: What will others think if I leave my job to travel – my family, friends and peers won’t be supportive
Career: I will ruin my career with a gap on my resume
Safety: fear of travel in general (health, safety, theft)

You may relate to one or all of these fears to varying degrees. But an important first step is to recognize that these hurdles and thoughts are really stories you have created about yourself. They are not necessarily true, but they can have self-fulfilling consequences.

Best Case Scenario and Positive Thinking

We usually default to assuming the worst-case scenario will come true. But we challenge you to think about “What if everything goes right?” for a change. That’s right – just close your eyes and think about those perceived hurdles as opportunities.

Financial: I can learn how to better save money & budget which will benefit me/my family in the long run. I will also realize that I don’t need as much money as I think to be happy.
Societal: Others will love hearing my story of following my passions and I will inspire others to do the same.
Career: By taking this career break I will be more knowledgeable of the world and it’s cultures, a better communicator, able to work in a variety of environments, and demonstrate great flexibility that will make me stand out in interviews and cover letters.
Safety: I will learn ways to remain safe no matter where I am in the world and will see that how people & places are perceived in the media is not necessarily true for entire countries.

There is always a way to over get hurdles – always. Positive thinking is just a start.

Paul Milton on Societal Pressures

The idea of career breaks can seem unrealistic to many – but Paul shares how they didn’t let other people’s opinions change their plans.

Basic Training

We cover more on how you can overcome these hurdles in Career Break Basic Training, which includes more interviews and helpful homework assignments.

Career Break Guide Table of Contents

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