India, Sept. 3 -- After more than two decades in corporate America, one woman decided to step away from her career in 2023 and take an unexpected break. What began as time away from work soon became an opportunity to slow down, reassess her priorities and try things she had never made time for before.

She initially struggled with the idea of not having a job or a packed schedule, but the experience eventually changed how she viewed money, work, family and her own happiness.

According to Business Insider, she initially did not even consider her time away from work a gap year. The term, she felt, was more commonly associated with young people travelling or taking time off before starting their careers. It was only after a friend described...