Welcome to Issue #018 of Sojourn. Each week, I share two original essays to help you slow down, reconnect, and rebuild with intention (hence ‘sojourn’), in a private community that uses travel as a path to reinvention.
WHY THE LAYOVER IS DIFFERENT
We often glamorize arrivals and departures, the start and the finish.
But the layover is where everything gets tested.
It’s the space that slows you down, forces you to reflect, and asks:
What’s actually worth carrying forward?
Emerson once wrote: “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”
And while that remains true, I think today’s world of constant transitions demands an addition:
It’s the layover that makes the journey meaningful.
WHAT THE LAYOVER TAUGHT ME
When I stepped away from creative direction a few months ago, I didn’t jump straight into hospitality with clarity.
I was in-between.
The old story no longer fit, but the new one wasn’t clear yet.
It was disorienting, uncomfortable, a true layover.
But instead of rushing through it, I leaned in. I wrote. I walked slower. I treated that pause not as wasted time, but as a chance to notice what still felt alive.
Travel became my teacher, my compass. And writing became my way back in. Little by little, reinvention took shape.
That’s the hidden gift of the layover: it’s not about waiting, it’s about becoming.
THE HIDDEN COST OF SKIPPING THE PAUSE
We often resist these in-betweens, but the data shows how costly avoidance can be:
Nearly 1 in 3 mid-career professionals have thought seriously about switching fields this year.
Almost 3 in 10 already have.
Half of workers worldwide report burnout.
We rush past transitions, but they’re often where alignment lives. When we skip the layover, we skip the chance to ask the most important questions:
—Am I still living in rhythm with my values?
—What story do I want this next chapter to tell?
—What do I want to leave behind?
HOW TO USE YOUR LAYOVER WELL
If you find yourself in the in-between — whether in career, travel, or life — here are ways to turn it from frustration into fuel:
Name the gap. Say out loud what no longer fits. Clarity starts with honesty.
Design a pause. Treat the layover as ritual: write, walk, travel, notice. Small practices anchor big shifts.
Choose one carry-on. Ask: what’s the single value, practice, or ritual you want to carry into the next chapter? Travel light.
Don’t rush clarity. Conviction shows up first; clarity is the late arrival.
PROMPTS FOR THIS WEEK
Where in your life do you feel “in-between”?
What’s the one thing you know you don’t want to carry forward?
What’s the one thing you do?
THE SHIFT
Reinvention isn’t about skipping the layover.
It’s about using it.
Because it’s not wasted time.
It’s where you actually reset your pace, reimagine your path, and decide who you're becoming next.
“It’s not the destination, it’s the layover.”
~Ana
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