Post #2:

“I just want to do nothing."

That’s the thought that seeded this whole thing.

Now, it helped that I went to the Zoo and noticed the gorillas, with loads of space to roam, mostly just lazed about, scratching, shifting sides, and sunbathing.

And it helped that days after that zoo trip, I saw this NY Times article about doing nothing.

And it helped that an RV roadtrip out West and my first-ever trip to Paris both whet my appetite for free time.

But mental burnout was what really put this sabbatical in motion.

• Frayed
• Ragged out
• On edge
• Sunday scaries
• Happy hours getting too happy

Now listen, I hear things. And I’d heard of this happening.

Thing is — I thought burnout only happened to high-flying corporate track VPs and bootstrapped entrepreneurs.

Surprise… it can happen to anyone.

Even people with a great job at a great company – like me.

Maybe that misconception is why it took so many countless hours of pro/con charts, scorecards, best/worse case scenarios, vector diagrams, stream of consciousness journals, and general handwringing to finalize my decision.

• Is this really what I want to do?
• Is now really the right time?
• Am I really going to drop my career for awhile?
• This can’t be right.
• I must be missing something…

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And indeed, I was missing something.

I was missing clear rationale for why I work. After all, no one ever really taught me that.

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Reasons to work? Yes, I could have listed out plenty of good ones.

But a full Rationale? No. I had zero framework. No hierarchy. No solidly stacked basis.

In life, you need rationale. Not just reasons.

So here’s where mine landed...

Remember this little guy from Sociology 101?

Well, I guess this is “Will's Hierarchy of Work"...

SURVIVAL – This is the threshold. It’s the #1 reason we work. It’s the bottom line. No work means no money. No money? No shelter. No food. Game over. You lose.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Pleaure – Survival = avoiding pain. But after that, well, we’re pretty fickle creatures. Pleasure comes in many forms. Accolades. Family. Houses. Hobbies. Vacations. To each their own.

Movement – We are in constant motion. That’s Life itself. And the studies show that exercise improves sleep, mood and cognition. We must move. We can’t stop. Body nor Mind.

Improvement – Grass hut? Penthouse condo. Bicycle? Porsche. Corporate greed? Social good. Again, versions vary. Underlying intent does not.

Art – Self realization. Self awareness. Self expression. All that wonderful woo woo.

Core to any rationale, is a "threshold."

Every situation has one. A hard line. A minimum viable.

Sometimes you have to discover it.

Sometimes you have to set it for yourself.

When I got crystal clear about survival as the threshold for why I work, this sabbatical came into focus.

I realized that most of the reasons I was pushing myself past the burnout lived well above that threshold.

They were all bonus. Icing on top.

Surplus I didn’t want or need right now. Not for awhile.

And certainly not more than I wanted space and time to do nothing.

The hardest part was over. Then, I just ran the numbers – no small task, of course. But they checked out. I set my course and began this journey of less and more.

Oh, and by the way, those gorillas at the zoo... they seemed pretty happy and content.

For the first time in a long time, I’m starting to feel that way too.