Taking a well-deserved rest is not really a sign of laziness neither is it an act of procrastination, it is just what you ought to do. We are not machines to start with... (Even machines ends up breaking down when overused), so why struggle to work like one?
Do you know what happens when we fail to take the desired break and rush into life heads-on like it is a do or die affair?
We breakdown especially health-wise and when we do, do you know what then happens?
We take that gap year or gap period but this time around, not willingly but forcefully..
Gap year in my own understanding is just a planned break from formal education or work, usually taken between two major life stages...
For instance, when I finished my medical studies after six years, I decided to take a gap period of four months before starting my clinical practice which helped reinvigorated me, helped me look at other things asides from what I was already prepared to do.
Now that I come to think of it, do you know we have been gradually prepared to always take gap periods from time immemorial?
When we always take two months break after finishing a class before going into the next even right from the nursery school days.
A well-planned gap year will be one of the greatest tool for personal growth, self-discovery and a better productivity. It gives you the room to re strategize and come out with better approaches to tackling your job.
A gap year provides you the time you need for reflection and clarity. Sometimes amidst the daily struggles and routines, we might lose track of where exactly we are headed and barely have time to even recheck it which gap year provides us with that priceless commodity - TIME.
Making use of the gap year wisely might be an opening for you to learn something else other than what you are already good at. You can learn skills, trades and explore other endless opportunities life can offer which you may likely not get from your stereotyped work life. Even in your work space, it offers you a leverage against your peers because you will be seen to be resourceful in not just what you do but, in other life skills.
One may always argue the fact that you might take the gap year or gap period only to end up wasting them and becoming less resourceful but, I personally think that is only true when you lack purpose and you won't even deny the fact that in life generally, when you lack purpose and direction, it always ends same way. a wasted period.
Hence, that's basically on you for poor execution and planning and not on the gap year itself.
Picture Is Mine
Finally, taking a gap year or gap period to me is not something we should shy away from, it is rather something we should always look up to, It is never an escape from responsibility rather It is an avenue to master a better approach to responsibilities.
Thanks for reading and have a nice day ahead