Another checklist you
must be thinking – that’s the last thing I need amidst this process of moving,
packing, leaving, adjusting, farewells, new hellos and adjustment. But yes, what if by reading and taking one
tiny step this makes a difference – would it be worth it?
Here are three of the
nine checklist behaviors that I see making a difference in the lives of expats,
repats and nextpats every single day. You have the power to make the difference between
suffering through an unpleasant re-entry back home and gaining the winning edge
to create the life you dream of living back home….which will it be?
1.
Repatriation can be messy – accept this and
move on!
Re-entry to life back
home after living overseas for anywhere between a couple of years to a
lifetime, requires hundreds of moving pieces.
Our bodies, belongings, relationships, family and careers get packed up
and shifted. The natural consequence can
be some chaos. This can sometimes show up in the form of losing bits and
pieces of your household goods, things can get lost, broken or stolen during a
move. However, you personally don’t want
any bits and pieces of the new person you have become while overseas, to
become lost or broken. Your new self has been honed and chiseled by expatriation,
your lessons learned are precious.
Making sure that you guard your stories, learn the lessons and
pre-package them in a way that others can learn from is a worthwhile
exercise.
Be prepared for some
breakdown moments. There are tools for
just such eventualities – use them. Employ mindfulness skills such as breathing,
focusing on your body and becoming fully present. Just assume there will be
some chaos, some out of control moments and get prepared. Allow for them so that if or when they occur
you OWN them and they don’t own YOU!
2.
Think
like an Adventurer not a Returnee!
A person who is “going
home” has different thoughts and expectations than a person who is leaving on
an adventure. A person planning for an adventure has entirely different ideas
about how to approach the next stage and go about creating that.
If you are returning
after seven to ten years there's a chance that not a single functioning cell in
your body is returning. Because our cells naturally replace and replenish
themselves, there's a chance only your brain cells are the same.
On a physical and an
invisible level, you return as an entirely new being. Your return journey may
also find you packing an intangible suitcase that you carry around in your mind
- your stories. You are returning with memories, languages, even perhaps a different
world view. You have learned, grown and expanded and, YES, by maintaining this
growth and change - you will love the next adventure
A.
Pretend you are
leaving again on a new adventure with the same amount of excitement and joy
that originally poured into being an expat living and loving overseas. Is this challenging? Yes - is this possible?
Yes - just keep doing the work of imagining yourself back to being the
explorer.
B. Pour that love of
life, that willingness to explore, that sense of pushing back your boundaries (let’s
face it - you never would have gone without those) and get out there to discover
and explore exactly WHO you are now, and WHAT you bring to this new party.
You are returning as a
brand-new person. Enjoy being new again,
take action to maintain your sense of novelty, sense of freedom and your Re-entry
will steadily respond well by delivering exactly the dream you are creating.
3.
Steep Yourself in Well-Being!
You may find that Re-entry
calls for you to become your biggest fan.
Build yourself up every single day – particularly if you feel
challenged, overwhelmed or are starting down the slippery slope of
depression. I discovered that if I leaked
a few tears a
little bit every day I could maintain a more even keel and stay more
emotionally centered. I feel more able to handle anything that comes my way during
any transition when I release the internal feelings that sometimes want to
surface and overwhelm me.
In becoming your own
biggest fan you can build up your belief of what’s possible in your new
environment. Taking time to build and
nurture your unique dream every single day – hourly if necessary! Be like a teabag, become steeped in the
people, places and environments that nurture you – seek them out, bask in them
and do the things that deeply feed your soul.
If you don’t know what they are – go discover them now.
If you will take an
action – even if it’s only five minutes right now, you will find yourself in an
entirely different state of mind tomorrow.
Day by day, bit by bit is the way to manage this most wonderful and
amazing of journeys.
May your Re-entry Be
the Best of Times For YOU!
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