Today, it seems that society has an obsession with hard work. While determination and grit are good things to have, if you never stop working, you'll wear yourself down quickly. You need to allow yourself to rest and recuperate to do a good job in the future. Dedicating yourself to your work is all well and good, but it's also important to take some time for yourself.

One person who understood the importance of a good break was Tina Louise. A star of both the stage and screen, Louise certainly made her mark as an actor. However, before she appeared as Ginger on Gilligan's Island, the series that made her a star, Louise told the North Adams Transcript that she was well into her career before she made an unexpected move: She took a step back and stopped taking on new roles.

"I took a year off and gave myself a break," said Louise. "If Marilyn Monroe could do it, so could I."

Watch Gilligan's Island on MeTV!

Sundays 3 & 3:30 PM

*available in most MeTV markets

Of course, Louise didn't just spend that year drinking tea and knitting. She used those 365 days to hone her craft by taking acting lessons.

"I enrolled with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio," said Louise. There, the actor said that she learned "how to get inside a character. What to think about a character. How to be aware of what's going on in a scene besides what's going on with your own character."

But above all else, Louise learned something that would stay with her for the rest of her career. "Most important of all, I discovered I didn't need to rely on glamor as long as what I was doing was good," said the actor.