Gap Year @ 40 – Mind weighs options. Heart knows!

I am taking a Gap year in 2021 to explore how I want to spend my 40s and craft my Life 2.0. Time to reflect on my ~17 year journey in the corporate world, why I made this choice, why now and what is next.

Life 1.0 was a fascinating ride with P&G doing things that I loved - business turnarounds, creating high performing organizations & helping people develop to their fullest potential in P&L, CMO and digital transformation roles across key markets in Asia. Beyond work, I kept tinkering with my other potential selves - a sabbatical in 2011 to figure out how to spend my 30s, founded a skill based volunteering program in P&G, served on a non profit board, taught MBA students, studied international relations from LSE, tech disruption at Singularity University and leadership at Harvard Kennedy School.

Net, Life 1.0 was great fun. I always felt blessed and wondered many times in my career, ‘Wow, they are paying me to do all of this – the stuff I would love to do anyways’.

The question is ‘then, why leave?’

In short, because life is finite and there are worlds and passions yet unexplored. I like to think of life as a series of acts. This act has been great while it lasted. But there are other acts waiting to be discovered. To prolong this act would be to cheat other acts of their due in a finite life.

But why now? Not earlier or later? I decided the timing based on what I learnt during my sabbatical in 2011. I interviewed 100+ people across India, Europe & USA to understand the ‘why and when' behind their life choices. They all started in corporate world before making the transition to non profits, foundations, think tanks, social entrepreneurship, politics etc. I did not find any fixed template or timing for making the transition. Everyone made their decision based on what was right for their life situation including career aspirations, family and financials. I realised that I was still not done with my Life 1.0. I still had goals I was keen to pursue in my 30s in the same life structure across career, family, financials, personal growth. Yet, sabbatical also opened my eyes to the fascinating world we live in - a world wherein we can choose to live multiple lives in one life. I set a goal to move to Life 2.0 around 40. Nothing magical about the number per se. It felt far enough to be able to plan for and near enough to retain urgency. I turned 40 this year. By now, I have either achieved my Life 1.0 goals or gotten close enough for me to decide whether I still wanted them. I feel ready to move on.

In case this sounds easy, it has been anything but. 30s were not a straight tick- the- box decade. Journey changes the traveller. I learnt how too-specific goals can become their own prison. Many times, I felt scared that life would overwhelm my dreams and the spark will slowly fade away. I was forced to confront whether I truly believed in my dreams and what I was willing to give up for them. I had to work out my beliefs versus borrowing from others. I started thinking in terms of mini retirements (gap years) sprinkled through one’s life versus the notion of retirement as a onetime event. I learnt to manage my financials and think in terms of financial flexibility versus financial freedom. Most importantly, I learnt that, for decisions that truly matter in life, mind weighs options. Heart knows!

I realised that to get ready for transition, beyond foundational areas (health, family, financials), toughest task is to confront your own fears & desires. To be able to walk away from something one has spent 17 years building. To rejoice in what it has given to you versus obsessing with what could have been if I stayed the course. To be able to revel in the possibilities of life yet to come. One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a long time (Andre Gide). In retrospect, I consider this confidence as biggest gift from P&G - the confidence deep down that no matter what I choose to do next in life, I can develop myself to excel at it.

So what’s next for me?

I am well aware of the risk to commit too soon in next life phase. Hence, the decision to take a Gap year to explore new worlds and experiences before any new commitments. Simple decision criteria for choices on how I want to spend my time. Hell yeah or no! (Derek Sivers). It will be a year of experiments. Of little bets designed to explore areas I care about most in this life phase - Health, Kids, Relationships, Mindfulness, Financial flexibility, Making a difference in areas I have been itching to dig deeper for a while now - life crafting with little bets, access to opportunities & right to dream for every kid etc. 

Face your life, Its pain, Its pleasure, Leave no path untaken (Neil Gaiman)

If you would like to stay in touch with my learnings and experiments in gap year, you can click on this link. 

https://gapyearat40.ck.page/c51c38d858

Wish you a wonderful 2021!

Sameer Srivastav