When I played a bit of football on a Sunday morning in my 20s, these were the words I would hear quite often shouted around me. The best footballers on the planet are those that somehow are always able to find time and space to do the impossible – it’s as if they can slow time down around them and which creates the space.

When I played football, I never had time and space, because whenever the ball came to me I would panic and just hoof it away!

I left full time employment at the end of September, after 19 years at BT. I’d had a good stint there but ultimately I was pleased to leave corporate life. When it looked like an exit was a possibility I got in touch with a couple of recruiters to discuss opportunities and they all advised me to do everything I could to avoid redundancy as the job market was tough, or to try and have something lined up to go to. I chose to ignore their advice.

All I knew was that I needed to take a break – my mind just felt foggy and cluttered after so many years in a corporate environment. I knew that before I could make a decision as to what I wanted to do next I needed some time and space to create some clarity in my mind. A leap of faith would be required that I would eventually find my path.

To quote Zen philosophy:

“You are like this cup; you are full of ideas. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full; I can’t put anything in. Before I can teach you, you’ll have to empty your cup.”

How could I possible make a decision on what to do next when my cup was full? I needed to empty it.

Fortunately my wife and children were supportive. My parents are Italian immigrants, and as any second generation immigrant will tell you, job security is very important to them, so imagine their concerns when I said I was leaving my job at a recognised brand like BT without a plan of what I was going to do next!

So I decided to take a 3 month break and I was in the incredibly fortunate position to be able to do that.

Sadly it didn’t get off to a good start as a week in, our dog Max sadly passed away which broke all our hearts. I thought I’d have longer with him and had been looking forward to going on long walks together. I would no longer have my working from home companion with me.

And so began my own hero’s journey, as I crossed the threshold into the unknown. I stayed away from looking for jobs, instead I spent time reading, reflecting, getting outdoors, catching up with old friends… I initially thought I’d spend more time on my bike outdoors, particularly because I had just bought a new gravel bike, but walking ended up being far better for reflecting. Off road gravel biking I realised required far too much concentration to stop you falling off!

With each month, I felt lighter, more unburdened – the fog in my mind was starting to lift. And this culminated when I went on a few days solo hiking in Broadway in the Cotswolds. I’d never been on a holiday on my own, so this was a step into the unknown. I was incredibly lucky with the weather, as I had glorious autumn sunshine each day. And it was unquestionably the best thing I could have done! I loved the solitude, the scenery, the space.

And with each day, I came to see more and more that the only person holding me back was myself – the only conflict I had was with myself. It was like I had in recent years put a lid on what I thought was possible and I needed to take the lid off.

And as I returned from my time away, it felt like I was returning from the unknown back to the real world on my hero’s journey, recharged, optimistic, with my passion, enthusiasm and desire to make a difference topped up once again. The flame was lit and burning brightly again.

Here we are in 2024 and I have a bunch of super exciting things I’ll be working on which I’ll soon share as I start to write some new stories for myself. I like to think of it as a bit of a regeneration, Dr Who style…into the 14th Doctor (sorry, geek attack…)

So what did I learn during those 3 months?

It’s clear that our modern lives are so frantic and frenetic – we have so little time and space to think and reflect. It’s like being on a train – you look out of the window and just see the scenery passing by. You can’t really see it. Only by slowing down can you really appreciate what’s around you. Pausing is even better.

In day to day life it’s difficult to see beyond ourselves – it’s almost like we create an image of ourselves, like a painting or a photo of how we think we are, and we get stuck in an infinite repeating image of ourselves, like when a mirror looks at itself. How do you get out of that repeating image?

Take steps in a different direction to step out of the mirror or break the mirror Bruce Lee style (I know, I couldn’t help get a film reference in – Enter The Dragon…). For me taking myself out of the working life I had had for so long and resisting the temptation to jump back immediately helped me to get out of the mirror.

Change or transition can be hard particularly when faced with a threshold you have to cross and you can’t see the path to the other side. It takes time, it take space to work out what you want to do.

I went old school in the Cotswolds, I hiked with a map, not a GPS watch or a phone! There were times on my walk where I couldn’t see the footpath in front of me – so I just stopped and looked, and eventually it appeared before my eyes. Sometimes the path is just there, you just have to stop and look.

Equally when using a map to hike, it’s not just your ability to read a map and use a compass that’s important. You have to be able to read your surroundings too, you have to pay attention to what’s around you otherwise a map is completely useless. And yes I did get lost a few times…

And you are best placed to navigate change and transition with strong support foundations – family, friends, colleagues, access to relevant professionals and resources. This allows you to resist any storms you might encounter on the way.

I fully appreciate most people aren’t fortunate enough to be able to take 3 months off work like I did – but if you have the opportunity to, I would thoroughly recommend it. Taking that time out to create space in your mind is so invaluable.

As Albert Einstein said: