This was very well said. Living outside of your comfort zone is essential for growth. And I love the hashtag! It’s the theme song of all voluntary immigrants. Being forced to be in a constant state of beginner’s mind is something that falls into the exhausting-but-rewarding category. (And sometimes it reverses to the rewarding-but-exhausting category, which is when I resort to taking a nap.)
For some of us, living abroad was the risk, and it opened our eyes to whole new ways of being and doing the mundane (laundry comes to mind, again). And for others, risk could be starting a new career path, going back to school, participating in their first civil rights march. The choices are endless.
Along every new path I've meandered, I have learned that every risk has always positively impacted and changed me, as well a few people I meet along the way. I've learned to stop thinking of these changes in terms of risk, but instead remembering the personal growth and boundary expansion that will come with each new adventure. When I do stop to think back on all of the really cool experiences I've had, of course they were all risky. Of course I had fears and doubts. But when I remember how satisfying it is to have tried (even when I've failed), it's all worth the effort.
Thanks for the aha moment! Have been feeling a bit TOO comfortable in the bubble of like-minded immigrants and English-speaking shop owners and restaurant staff this essay pointed out to me. Back to venturing into unexplored neighborhoods and the unknown (and frequently confusing) spaces!
Hi Shanna - Thanks for your delightfully random, insightful and entertaining musings. Moving abroad does involve risk taking, experimentation, courage and a certain amount of head-scratching. But in return, after three months of living in Lagos Portugal, I rise to find a great new adventure waiting at my doorstep each day.
Well said Shanna! (I hope you rescued the cabbage, or was it an offering, being outside a convent?!) Around these parts, you never know! ;)
In answer to your question, both! Yes, I am a risk taker (We live in the big city of Porto, after all!)
And I like to take the path of least resistance and comfort too. (Am still procrastinating on a big project that scares the bejeezus out of me. I operate in the Portuguese mode on my laptop because it is easier than trying to figure out the secret keys and how they work in English mode! Two examples.)
And as much as we love living here, it certainly takes 100% extra energy to operate here.
Never did I think that the language would be so difficult. It makes the French, German, and Russian I studied look like a breeze. (Yes, even Russian!) I was conversational in Italian in 3 months with a private tutor back in the day. I am conversational in Portuguese after 3 years!
I will be studying it until I am fluent or until I die, whichever comes 1st. Could be the latter at this point. ;) I am commited to ongoing study!
And these days, just going out and socializing is a big risk. Thanks to Covid, we avoid events with a lot of people and that will be SOP from now on. (I love that I have not been sick in over 2 years! Would like to keep it that way!)
This was very well said. Living outside of your comfort zone is essential for growth. And I love the hashtag! It’s the theme song of all voluntary immigrants. Being forced to be in a constant state of beginner’s mind is something that falls into the exhausting-but-rewarding category. (And sometimes it reverses to the rewarding-but-exhausting category, which is when I resort to taking a nap.)
For some of us, living abroad was the risk, and it opened our eyes to whole new ways of being and doing the mundane (laundry comes to mind, again). And for others, risk could be starting a new career path, going back to school, participating in their first civil rights march. The choices are endless.
Along every new path I've meandered, I have learned that every risk has always positively impacted and changed me, as well a few people I meet along the way. I've learned to stop thinking of these changes in terms of risk, but instead remembering the personal growth and boundary expansion that will come with each new adventure. When I do stop to think back on all of the really cool experiences I've had, of course they were all risky. Of course I had fears and doubts. But when I remember how satisfying it is to have tried (even when I've failed), it's all worth the effort.
Thanks for the aha moment! Have been feeling a bit TOO comfortable in the bubble of like-minded immigrants and English-speaking shop owners and restaurant staff this essay pointed out to me. Back to venturing into unexplored neighborhoods and the unknown (and frequently confusing) spaces!
Hi Shanna - Thanks for your delightfully random, insightful and entertaining musings. Moving abroad does involve risk taking, experimentation, courage and a certain amount of head-scratching. But in return, after three months of living in Lagos Portugal, I rise to find a great new adventure waiting at my doorstep each day.
Well said Shanna! (I hope you rescued the cabbage, or was it an offering, being outside a convent?!) Around these parts, you never know! ;)
In answer to your question, both! Yes, I am a risk taker (We live in the big city of Porto, after all!)
And I like to take the path of least resistance and comfort too. (Am still procrastinating on a big project that scares the bejeezus out of me. I operate in the Portuguese mode on my laptop because it is easier than trying to figure out the secret keys and how they work in English mode! Two examples.)
And as much as we love living here, it certainly takes 100% extra energy to operate here.
Never did I think that the language would be so difficult. It makes the French, German, and Russian I studied look like a breeze. (Yes, even Russian!) I was conversational in Italian in 3 months with a private tutor back in the day. I am conversational in Portuguese after 3 years!
I will be studying it until I am fluent or until I die, whichever comes 1st. Could be the latter at this point. ;) I am commited to ongoing study!
And these days, just going out and socializing is a big risk. Thanks to Covid, we avoid events with a lot of people and that will be SOP from now on. (I love that I have not been sick in over 2 years! Would like to keep it that way!)
Always insightful and entertaining! Thanks!