Well, I think I mentioned it in another post, I wouldn't trade whilst I was travelling. You can't be half pregnant.
Also, I wouldn't think that things would be all that rushed over 2 - 3 years. You can probably see all the major sites in a month or two if you crack on with it, and that is certainly not the intention here.
On the other hand, you do raise an interesting question; people that I have spoken to that have done something similar have said that their experiences affected some positive change in their psyche. Don't want to get all new-age-californian on you all, but life, they say, is for the "living", and in all honesty I could do a better job of it than I am now.