chapter 22: alignment and perseverance
how the total solar eclipse, surfing, and freediving taught me powerful lessons during my first week traveling on sabbatical
writing to you while sipping a mazapán latte in Playa del Carmen – a place I consider a second home after visiting 4 times in 2 years, constantly drawn back here by the magic of diving in the crystal blue cenotes unique to this corner of the world.
this week’s newsletter:
quick reflection on my recent sabbatical announcement, and pondering what it means to be ambitious or inspiring
summary of my recent travels and learnings from spending week 1 of my sabbatical in Mexico – experiencing totality during last Monday’s solar eclipse, surfing perfect waves, and completing my freediving certification
one week after sharing my radical sabbatical plans
Last week, I shared my plans for leaving the corporate world behind and taking a sabbatical filled with travel, personal growth, living intuitively, and exploring my passions – and was truly overwhelmed with joy and gratitude at the response I got.
Over 100 people replied and expressed encouragement.
A dozen people wrote back to me revealing they had taken, or are currently taking, a similar sabbatical.
And dozens more expressed to me their hopes to take a sabbatical in the near future to travel, reject traditional work, and investigate their passions and true purpose in this world.
I often feel like I don’t deserve to receive the words “you’re so inspiring” since in my mind, all I’m doing is creating a life that seems fun and personally rewarding. I’m not building a business empire or collecting industry accolades like some of my accomplished peers.
But, I realize the guilty inner voice that tells me my life isn’t actually that “inspiring” only exists because society trains us to associate ambition and inspiration with the narrow, traditional definition of success: wealth, power, status, and prestige.
The reality that I and others are waking up to is that actually, the most ambitious and inspiring people are those who confidently choose to live an authentic life guided by their own desires, rather than doing what they feel they’re “supposed” to do to achieve someone else’s definition of success.
One of my favorite writers and thought leaders in the realm of pursuing non-traditional paths,
, reshared my writing last week which enabled me to connect with others on the “pathless path.” I strongly identify with these enlightened souls who recognize that there’s more to life than climbing the traditional career ladder and maximizing earnings.If my own journey of stepping off the traditional career path has sounded inspiring to you, I highly recommend Paul’s book The Pathless Path, or his podcast and newsletter by the same name.
Many people in the past week told me I was brave for making such a bold decision to leave the working world for a year to travel. Many also questioned how it could be possible, to travel freely and not need income for an entire year or more.
My last newsletter answered the WHAT regarding my sabbatical plans, and in the near future I’ll elaborate on the HOW and get into the nitty gritty about mental preparation and financial planning – so stay tuned.
But the short answer is, my media diet includes examples of non-traditional success stories from The Pathless Path and the concept of “retiring often” (aka taking mini retirements in between stints of working, instead of working your whole life before enjoying one long break in retirement) from the Retire Often podcast. Over months of listening to these ideas and filling my brain with these atypical career role models, I’ve grown to no longer have the respect and jealousy I once felt toward big tech executives, consultants or bankers, venture-backed founders, or Forbes 30 Under 30 winners – my respect and admiration is now reserved for people who prioritize personal happiness over any external metric.
This shift in mindset has helped me mentally normalize leaving traditional work to travel and live life to its fullest, as well as adapt to the financial logistics of living a simpler life that enables such a pivot.
The people I’m most jealous of are those who travel freely, explore the world, and live a varied life full of new experiences, foods, cultures, and people every day. Many of them do so by living cheaply, giving up material possessions, exploring alternate income streams, and making necessary sacrifices to make longterm travel feasible. So, I’ve taken this golden opportunity I have post-layoff to stop being jealous, stop dreaming, and actually become the longterm traveler who I aspire to be.
Even if you might not know anyone else in your personal life who has done something as radical as leaving work for a year to travel and explore – there is a small but mighty community of people out there who reject the traditional “work until you’re 60 and then start living your best life in retirement” life path.
Writing and sharing these thoughts thankfully acts like a beacon to help me find those people as they reply and connect, and talking to more people on a similar path gives me continuously more confidence that my atypical path isn’t so atypical after all.
So if you’re reading this and it resonates with you – reach out! Let’s connect and maybe jam on a phone call about these ideas that in any other context might make you feel like the odd one out. I’m thoroughly enjoying building my network of fellow “career breakers." Everyone on a non-traditional path could use a friend walking that same meandering road to an uncertain destination, so I’m happy to be that person for you :)
summarizing my first week of sabbatical:
total solar eclipse in mazatlán, mexico 🌖🌗🌘🌑🤯
I totally underestimated how EPIC it is to experience totality during a solar eclipse.
I do not consider myself an astronomy nerd at all… but I will 100% be going out of my way to travel to see the next total solar eclipse that passes through Spain in 2026 (let me know if you want to join 👀).
I said “yes” on a whim of “why not” when joining my friend’s group trip to the Pacific coast of Mexico where the eclipse’s path of totality would first hit land. The eclipse date aligned with my existing plans to be in Mexico mid-April and I had always heard great things about Sayulita, where we’d be exploring for a few days before and after the eclipse.
Even after flying from LA to Puerto Vallarta, driving 7 hours to Mazatlán, and taking a small boat from the mainland to tiny little Isla de Venados to have a completely unobstructed view of the sky in the exact middle of the path of totality – all that effort felt WORTH IT.
Only in the path of totality, the world grows dark as the moon fully covers the sun, the temperature drops by 10 degrees, the edges of the horizon glow orange contrasting the dark sky like sunset despite your watch saying 11:07am, and you feel a sense of awe unparalleled to any other natural phenomenon.
The sun, the moon, and the earth were aligned during this special moment – and so was I.
As I stared at the ethereal fluorescent glow of the sun’s corona dancing around the edges of the moon, I reflected on how aligned I felt in my life. I smiled with gratitude for all the decisions that led me to be sitting there on that beach staring up at the eclipse on day 4 of my year-long sabbatical.
By some crazy chance, I had been working at a startup that decided to host a company retreat in Tulum in mid-April just days after the eclipse, which enabled me to get my flights to and from Mexico paid for on company dime.
By some other crazy chance, I had become friends with Ria, the organizer of this trip, at a networking event about alternative ways of living and traveling in LA a few months ago.
By creating a personal brand for myself as an adventurous traveler and host of group trips over the past years, I had been personally invited on this trip that otherwise only consisted of Ria’s very close friends and former roommates.
Me sitting there looking up at the eclipse was a perfect example of the butterfly effect – if one small thing in my past had gone differently, perhaps I never would’ve ended up meeting Ria and being on this trip.
But, everything aligned as if it was meant to be.
I’ve never been more sure about my life decisions. Not one particle of my being is questioning if what I am doing with my life right now is “the right thing to do.” All I know, and all I need to know, is that it feels damn good to be living in alignment.
surfing in sayulita 🏄🏽♀️
I’ve been surfing for about 2 years. After buying a surfboard when I moved to Los Angeles in April 2022, I’ve tried to surf locally once a week or so, whenever I am not traveling (which is literally 55% of the year lol).
I even did a surf camp in Costa Rica with daily surf lessons and consistent time in the water for a week last summer – shoutout to everyone who joined that group trip and experienced personal growth on our surfboards together!
Yet despite consistent baby steps of progress over time, I’ve never considered myself a “good surfer.” When someone asks if I’m a surfer, I often caveat by saying, “yeah, I surf… but not very well.”
But something about Sayulita activated the surfer within me.
Maybe the water there is literally magic – it’s hard to capture on film but the ocean in Sayulita is literally dotted with flecks of gold, creating a sparkling sea that I’ve never witnessed elsewhere.
Maybe it’s the confidence I currently feel – the feeling of pure alignment in my life right now disintegrating my past feelings of doubt and insecurity when faced with daunting waves.
Whatever it was, I ended up surfing 2 hours a day for 3 days in a row during my short time in Sayulita. I feel like I caught more waves in those 3 days than in my entire past 2 years of surfing combined.
Something finally clicked. I was able to read the waves, start paddling at the exact right time, nail all my pop ups, and coast along the ocean for those glorious seconds atop a wave when you feel like a water-walking god.
After a few stable and consistent waves, I even had the audacity cross-step right foot over left, left foot over right, and successfully walk up to balance at the tip of the board on my first try!
It’s amazing the things you can accomplish when you believe in yourself, truly. Just those 3 days in Sayulita single-handedly revived my love for surfing and banished all my previous thoughts of “maybe you should quit this sport, it’s too hard and you’re not good at it.”
Sayulita gifted me a lesson in perseverance that will motivate me on the rest of my journey as I continue to surf and improve over the years to come.
freediving in playa del carmen 🤿💦🩸
On Friday, after a week on the Pacific coast of Mexico, I flew over to the Caribbean coast of Mexico – to a place that feels like home by now, due to my frequency of visiting 4 times in 2 years now.
In Playa del Carmen this weekend, I completed my freediving certification, which entailed showcasing some underwater skills that I thought seemed nearly impossible prior to the course:
2 minute breath hold
130 ft (40m) horizontal swim in one breath
40 ft (12m) vertical descent and back up in one breath
I had accomplished all of the above in my 2-day freediving course in Hawaii in mid-March actually, but ran into a barrier that was out of my control: I got a sinus squeeze, which is rare since sinuses are supposed to automatically equalize unlike ears which require manual equalization in all forms of diving. This limitation of my physiology prevented me from demonstrating the final two safety and rescue skills to fully pass the certification back in March.
Determined to overcome the limitations my body had placed on me, I researched freediving instructors in Playa del Carmen before even leaving Hawaii and had set up a training session in April to complete the final skills and earn the AIDA 2 certification that would allow me to join future freediving trips and trainings that required official certification.
But, once again, my body reacted in a way that largely was outside of my control and I experienced another sinus squeeze on my first dive, which once again resulted in my sinus blood vessels popping and dripping blood out of my nose and mouth.
I persevered and tried some new more forceful equalization strategies, heeding my instructor’s guidance that the blood wouldn’t actually hurt me, and successfully completed the two safety and rescue drills to earn the certification.
Even when obstacles outside of my control, like the sinus squeezes, were placed in my way, I found a way to complete my goal.
I successfully pushed myself out of my comfort zone, and proved to myself that I could do hard things.
The trials of freediving helped me confirm to myself that the ocean is a place where I feel a sense of peace despite a potential danger. Underwater is a place where comfort comes easily to me, even though being submerged in the ocean defies the natural state of being for humans.
My whole experience with this freediving certification is a reminder that the seemingly impossible, can actually be possible.
If you enjoyed this newsletter, share it with your friends! forward this email, share the link, post it on your IG story if you find this valuable, inspirational, or insightful in any way :)
👯♀️ join me on an upcoming group trip!
🌌🇮🇸 september 21-26 = iceland: northern lights, geysers, and glaciers
If you’ve got the northern lights on your bucket list – this is THE trip!! Check out my IG story highlight to learn why this is the best time in recent history / in the next decade to see the aurora borealis!
ONLY ONE SPOT REMAINS, GRAB IT WHILE YOU CAN 💃🏽
View the itinerary and sign up for only a $250 deposit due today on the trip website
📱let’s connect
If you’ve got feedback or suggestions for topics you want to hear more about, don’t be shy! Reply to this email or DM me:
Instagram: @caitlynlubas
Twitter: @caitlynlubas
LinkedIn: Caitlyn Lubas (feel free to reach out if you want to talk about working remotely, quitting multiple jobs in the span of 3 years, transitioning careers, taking a sabbatical etc!)
That’s all for now…
Remember, you are where you go – never stop exploring the world and yourself! 🌎 🌍 🌏
If you enjoy my writing in this newsletter, you’d love my book called You Are Where You Go: A Traveler’s Coming of Age Journey Through 70 Countries and 7 Continents During College.
Feel free to pick up a copy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or reply if you’re interested in me sending you a signed hardcover or paperback copy :)
thanks for shouting out my book, am genuinely inspired by your group travel approach, I wish i had done this early in my travels