Slowing Down: Lessons From a Career Break

By Haley MacDonell

Movement is a core part of Ben Cilek’s life. He is a cyclist, a runner and a triathlete. To recover from various aches and pains from his physical activities and improve his flexibility, he became passionate about yoga. “Over time it started to become more of a mental practice than physical,” Cilek explains. “Some of those principles of yoga – of slowing down, just breathing and connecting with your breath – made me want to slow down in life, too.”

In the mid-2010s, Cilek was ready to reassess what he wanted out of his work and life. He decided to take a break from the last 18 years in corporate accounting and finance, which had allowed him to be a trusted business advisor and help investigate the innerworkings of an entire business. There was a well-walked path in front of him that led to retirement and plenty of time for adventures. But, the cycling trips on his bucket list in the high mountains of the U.S., Europe and other places around the world could look different by the time retirement arrived.

“I can do this now, but I don’t know if I will be able to do this when I’m 60 or 65,” Cilek recalls. “I wanted to slow down and reevaluate if I was living the life I wanted to live. I felt like I couldn’t make some of those assessments while I was in the working world.”

Many American workers have been reevaluating their professional and personal journeys in the past two years. Nearly 1 in 3 workers in the United States under the age of 40 have thought about changing their occupation or field of work since the pandemic began, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll conducted in July 2021.

A saying from his yoga practice stuck out in Cilek’s mind as he considered the career break: In stillness are the answers. With a goal in mind, he began planning to make it happen.

Two to three years before his career break, he included his therapist and his financial planner in on his idea. Cilek also began creating the roadmap for the break, which included travel to new places as well as visiting family and friends, connecting with his Phoenix community and deepening his spiritual practice.

“I was very cognizant that this is really special, and this could be once in a lifetime,” Cilek says. “I would need to be very intentional about taking that time and knowing what I want to get out of this.”

His career break, though originally penciled in for one year, lasted for 18 months from April 2017 to August 2018. He spent three months of this time exploring new places and experiencing different cultures in Europe, the Middle East and Central America. One month was a trip up the Pacific Coast Highway and through the Southwest cycling and practicing yoga in new places. For another month, he visited friends and family members in the Midwest.

“I wanted to go see my family and friends in their home habitat with their families in their day-to-day lives,” Cilek says. “It was a cool way to connect with family and friends in a more intimate way than meeting for a holiday gathering or going on a trip with my buddies to Mexico for a weekend.”

During his time in Phoenix between trips, he wanted not only to be a tourist in his own city, but also to root himself in his community. One example was volunteering with the local chapter of The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, an organization dedicated to feeding, clothing, housing and healing individuals in need of support. He served meals in their dining hall and helped kids with their homework at the Dream Center.

“I was able to experience the work that these nonprofits are doing, which enlightens you to the need that is around us,” he says.

Cilek also worked through a 200-hour certification program to become a yoga teacher. He wanted to learn more about the history of yoga – the practice that had inspired his break – and its ties to Hinduism and Buddhism.

By the time he reentered the workforce, he felt confident about the direction he wanted his career to take and the priorities that were most important to him.

“One of the things I learned was how much is enough,” he says. “Enough starts with material things like having a bigger home or a nice car, and then there’s societal pressure of what your life is supposed to look like such as finding a partner and having kids. I realized that the things I already have are enough. The hobbies that I have, the friends that I have, the family that I have, to me that’s enough. At work, I was trying to move up the corporate ladder at the expense of other aspects of my life, and I realized that I don’t want to do that anymore.”

In one example of this mindfulness, Cilek decided to break his tendency to purchase more professional attire if it was not needed. He realized he had fallen into a cycle of buying a new shirt for work on a regular basis on a whim. What he had in his closet – tens of work shirts and a good amount of slacks – was enough.

During his workdays, he reminds himself to slow down throughout the day by trying to take short breaks every 90 minutes or so to do something different.

“I’m a big believer that we’re not robots that can just sit at our desks for hours,” Cilek explains. “Taking microbreaks and going out for a five-minute walk or doing something a bit different for five or 10 minutes is essential.”

He is also more aware of incorporating moments of joy in his day. For him, that typically involves physical activity. Those moments of joy will be unique to each person, whether that be savoring their favorite brand of coffee or walking the dog in the evenings.

“I understand that I need to slow down and do the things that make me happier on a day-to-day basis, whether it’s yoga or downtime or going out for a bike ride, whatever makes me happy today,” he says. l Cilek is director of accounting at Best Western International in Phoenix. He serves on the ASCPA Board of Directors for the 2022-2024 term.

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1. Which of the following is not a key focus for Rachael Crump’s year as chair? m Diversity, equity and inclusion m Communication on the new CPA exam m Expand the Find a CPA referral service

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