After deciding to take a one-year career break to focus on my daughter during her senior year in high school, I received countless inquiries from other women leaders. They sought advice on making similar decisions, sharing emotional challenges like balancing family priorities with career ambitions while managing leadership pressures. These women wanted to make a difference without sacrificing their well-being.
Whether to make a big life or career change is no easy decision, and I’ve coached and consulted with many women leaders around this dilemma. You may be considering bold — even radical — changes, such as stepping away from a career temporarily, shifting to a new field, or redefining how you balance work and personal priorities. These decisions often stem from a desire to reclaim time and well-being while maintaining purpose and fulfillment.
While such transitions can feel daunting, they also present opportunities for growth, clarity, and alignment. Through careful reflection and alignment with your values, a career break can become a deliberate, values-driven choice rather than a reaction to immediate pressures. At the heart of this journey is the courage to reflect, reimagine, and realign your life with your values and aspirations. Women leaders often face unique challenges, including societal expectations to "have it all" and workplace structures that limit flexibility.
These activities are the tools I completed before deciding to take my career break to balance family and career, and have used successfully with clients to uncover clarity on similar changes. They outline practical steps to evaluate your choices, align actions with your values, and embrace transformative growth with confidence.
1. Reflect on Your Life and Work Perspectives
Take uninterrupted time to reflect on your values and experiences and how they influence your approach to work and life. Journaling can be transformative for uncovering clarity and growth, helping you connect your reflections to deliberate decisions about a career break. Start by creating a "lifeview" versus "workview" comparison—a concept from the book, Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life. Write two reflections: one exploring your personal values and experiences, and another assessing your professional beliefs and aspirations. This exercise might help you uncover patterns or priorities that feel misaligned, guiding you to determine if a career break could restore balance and bring clarity to your next steps.
To visualize your journey, try creating a "life map," inspired by My Life Map by David Marshall and Kate Marshall. Chart significant moments that have shaped your personal and professional paths. Remember, journaling doesn’t need to be perfect—focus on identifying patterns and gaining insight, one thought at a time.
2. Use Tools and Insights to Explore Your Strengths
Assessment tools like Gallup's CliftonStrengths and the Four Tendencies Quiz can unlock deeper self-awareness and resilience strategies for personal growth. Which of these tools have you used before? How have they helped you gain clarity or take action? Share your experience in the comments! These tools provide actionable insights by helping you uncover your strengths and understanding how you respond to expectations. For example, CliftonStrengths focuses on identifying your innate talents and how you can leverage them to create alignment in your career and life—a challenge many women leaders face when balancing workplace demands with personal goals. Meanwhile, the Four Tendencies Quiz reveals how you handle internal and external expectations, a key factor in navigating transitions and managing the expectations of others.
To get started, visit the CliftonStrengths website or download resources like the Four Tendencies framework , both of which offer personalized insights that can be implemented immediately.
3. Understand and Navigate Your Emotions
Understanding your emotions is key to navigating career decisions. By identifying the emotions that energize or deplete you, you can pinpoint aspects of your work that align with or detract from your well-being. Reflect on these questions: What emotions energize me? What changes could amplify those feelings? What changes could bring those emotions into my life? What emotions are currently guiding your career decisions? Join the discussion in the comments!
Your emotions are often the best indicators of what’s working and what isn’t. Use these insights to make adjustments that align your career with your values.
4. Visualize Your Ideal Future
Imagine your ideal life and career, free from external pressures. Oftentimes, we move at warp speed toward what’s expected or popular: more money, status, or advancement. But perhaps you’re really seeking more of what Martin Seligman describes in his book Authentic Happiness as “positive emotions, engagement, authentic connections, meaning and purpose, or a sense of accomplishment.”
Visualization is a powerful exercise to bring clarity to your aspirations. Imagine your ideal workspace, the types of projects that energize you, and the emotions you’d like to experience daily. Then ask yourself: What kind of work energizes me? Am I seeking deeper connections, meaningful engagement, or a sense of accomplishment?
To start, set aside time for a quiet, guided visualization. Picture your ideal day from start to finish—your environment, the people you interact with, and the sense of fulfillment you feel. This can serve as a north star for identifying concrete steps forward.
5. Build Resilience and Take Strategic Action
Resilience is essential for navigating transitions successfully. Start by cultivating small, consistent habits like gratitude journaling—simply write down three things you’re thankful for each day. Pair this with mindfulness practices to stay grounded and focused. Reflecting on your needs through journaling helps clarify whether a career break aligns with your long-term goals.
Take actionable steps today: begin your gratitude journal or schedule a coffee chat with a mentor to explore next moves. Building resilience also means embracing personal disruption, like learning a new skill or exploring an untapped passion. Whitney Johnson's book Disrupt Yourself illustrates how stepping out of your comfort zone fosters growth. These small yet impactful actions ensure that your decision to take a career break is deliberate, reflective, and aligned with your aspirations.
Your Guide to Making a Career Break Decision
This table provides a structured framework to evaluate your readiness for a career break. It focuses on helping you reflect on your values, emotions, and aspirations while guiding actionable next steps. Revisit these questions regularly to ensure your decisions align with your evolving goals and values.
ActivityKey QuestionSuggested ActionReflect on Life and WorkAre my life and work values aligned?Journaling, life mappingAssess StrengthsWhat are my unique talents and tendencies?CliftonStrengths, Four Tendencies QuizUnderstand EmotionsWhat emotions energize or deplete me?Emotion tracking, mindfulnessVisualize the FutureWhat does my ideal life look like?Guided visualization, vision boardsBuild ResilienceHow can I grow through challenges?Gratitude journaling, skill development
Moving Forward
Navigating a major life or career change takes courage and intention. A career break, when approached deliberately, can provide the clarity and resilience needed to realign your life with your deepest values. By reflecting on your values, visualizing your ideal future, and taking strategic action, you can create a life and career that align with your deepest aspirations. Know someone considering a career break? Share this guide with them to spark new possibilities! By sharing, you can foster community support among women leaders, building connections and encouragement for transformative growth. What challenges or questions come to mind as you think about taking a career break? Share your thoughts in the comments!
This checklist ensures each step you take is purposeful, helping you assess whether a career break aligns with your long-term vision. It emphasizes actionable next steps to implement insights gained through reflection:
Reflection: Use journaling or life mapping to align personal and professional values.
Strengths Exploration: Apply tools like CliftonStrengths or the Four Tendencies Quiz to identify talents.
Emotional Awareness: Track emotions to recognize what energizes or drains you.
Visualization: Define your ideal day and establish steps to achieve it.
Resilience Building: Strengthen adaptability through gratitude journaling or mindfulness practices.
To wrap up, remember that taking a career break can be a deliberate and transformative choice when approached with intention. By aligning your values and goals, you can set the stage for meaningful growth and fulfillment.
To guide your journey further, schedule a "Power Hour" Clarity Session. This personalized session will help you uncover what matters most, refine your goals, and develop a clear, actionable roadmap to achieve meaningful transformation. Book your session now and take the first step toward your next chapter.
