Taking a Break from Transition

By Frances Chaves
As I write this note to my fellow PSGCNJ members, I am sitting by the pool at my mother-in-law’s condo on Tybee Island, Georgia. It’s not what it seems—this is the only place I can pick up the Internet to file my story. There are beautiful blue skies, it’s warm and sunny, and I can see porpoises playing in the Savannah River beyond the beach. And I am feeling guilty that I am not searching internet job boards, passing my business cards out to everyone at the pool, and/or posting messages on multiple LinkedIn sites to develop my online profile.
Then I am reminded that finding a job is a full-time job, and full-time jobs come with vacations. Because people need breaks.  Even people who are looking for work need breaks. We tend to suffer from high levels of stress, which causes physiological changes in our bodies which can increase our risk of heart attack. A doctor reported recently in Forbes that “stress can impair the hippocampal function, which is crucial for the acquisition of new information, such as names, facts, PIN numbers and meeting times”—all valuable skills you need for your job search. People who take vacations tend to be less depressed, another reason job-searchers deserve a break.
So plan a vacation, get away, don’t feel guilty, then return, refreshed and ready to ramo up your job search! Me, I’m going swimming.