Neil left his office job for the adventure. Having spent years working deadline to deadline and being stuck in a technical quagmire, his heart longed for what else the world had to offer.
Neil told everyone in the office about his plans. “I’m going to go to Europe and find inspiration in the cafes. I’m going to move to a beach in the Caribbean and relax with the locals. I’m going to find rocks to climb and fish to catch. I’m a man of the world.”
Everyone in the office was surprised when Neil left. He was mild-mannered and well-liked, but seemed suited for doing exactly what he was doing. Neil was no Indiana Jones or Paul Rudd. Neil was Neil, and it suited him well.
In six months, Neil was back at the office. Everyone at the office was relieved. It turned out that Neil was much more valuable to the company than anyone realized. The team really struggled without him.
Neil didn’t want to talk about his time away. It was almost as if he was embarrassed.
Finally, Charlene, the loudest person at the office, asked, “Did you actually do anything with your time away?”
“Oh, I did it all,” Neil replied. “I went to cafes across Europe and surfed in the Caribbean. I rock climbed in Arizona. I caught fish in Alaska. I did everything.”
“So why are you back?” Charlene asked.
“It turns out, I was still me when I was in all of those places,” Neil said. “I thought I could be someone else.”
“What do you mean?” Charlene asked.
“I found myself missing the deadlines. I found myself missing the technical quagmire. It turns out I really am best suited for an office. I guess maybe breaks would help. I did negotiate two extra weeks of vacation when I got back. You guys were a mess without me.”