ROCK YOUR REENTRY! Making Re-Entry the Best Time of Your Life!

Have you ever got into the groove of a new location really quickly?   Yesterday I completed a task, which seemed easy enough for hundreds of people do it every single weekend.    I climbed Mt. Evans which is 14,264 feet, which seems challenging on the face of it; however the catch is that you can drive almost the entire way to the top.    That last 150 though are on foot!    Now while this distance seems small, you get to make this climb at over 14,000 feet which proved problematic for me.    I felt very unsteady, a bit woozy and was able to make it by taking a few steps at a time then resting for a bit.    Altitude sickness is still on the list of “to be mastered in this lifetime”. Sometimes when we move and immerse ourselves in a very different environment, culture and geographic location we can experience similar results.     Here are a few strategies to deploy or tips if you like, which I remember helped to rock my last dose of reverse culture shock.  

“Failing means you’re playing.”   Translation: It’s better to be doing badly than not taking part. In Scotland there’s an old fashioned saying “Failing means you’re playing”.       Growing up in Scotland I used to hear adults use this phrase time and time again.   I translated and internalized it to mean that if I am failing, I am really not serious, not focused, not successful and most certainly not doing my best. Fast forward a lot of living, travelling and fitting into countless life situations in seven countries and four continents.  I realized when I saw this written this morning that suddenly a corner has been turned and this quote has taken on a completely different meaning. This clearly didn’t happen overnight; I have no clue about the moment when this awareness happened. When I attempt something and fail I have developed the tendency to look at it as an attempt, or a  learning or a step in the direction I am actively choosing to go. Do I still loo