Often when we move to a foreign country, away from home, we tend to focus on what we are losing and who we are leaving behind.
We experience grief of giving up our old life back home and missing out not being with our loved ones.
When I moved to Australia 16 years ago, I was focusing on everything and everyone that I’d left behind, everything that I’d given up and realising how good I had it back home, which intensified my feelings of grief, guilt and second guessing my decision of moving abroad.
Re-adjusting to a new culture, new language and making new friends all while feeling isolated, lost and out of place made it harder to look for the new opportunities ahead.
Having to re-build a new life in a foreign country was very challenging for me, as I couldn’t let go of my old life back home and embrace the big change with new opportunities.
Holding on to our old life is infused with the desire to feel secure.
Living abroad we face ongoing changes, whether it is the new culture, new language, different work environment or becoming a mum… all while living away from home, without our support system, exposes us to an overall of additional challenges. It triggers additional emotional pain and a desire for more stability and belonging.
Through my life experience as an expat in a foreign country, I have learnt how to become emotionally resilient and turn the challenges into new opportunities.
Transitions and change bring challenges and new opportunities. Facing challenges is a natural part of living. What matters is how we react to challenges and what meaning we give to it.
It is up to us whether we choose to embrace this change as positive or negative.
Whenever you find yourself in a challenging situation, ask yourself:
“what can I learn from this?”
“what part of me has to grow in order to overcome this challenge?”
Being emotionally resilient doesn’t mean we don’t suffer and that it won’t keep us from hurting when difficult times and challenges occur. It means that we have the ability to adapt to stressful situations and adversity reasonably well.
Improving your emotional resilience starts with you, recognising and acknowledging honestly every emotion you experience without any judgment.
– Take some time to feel your feelings without judging yourself
– Acknowledge, allow and gently accept your emotions – journaling and brain dumping your thoughts and feelings on paper can be therapeutic and helps clear your mind
– Practicing mindfulness and gratitude are very powerful tools to nurture optimism, which has been transformational for me
– Engage in self-care and nurture you mind, body and soul.
Ask yourself what is one small thing you can do today that will make you feel better.
Practising resilience helps prepare us to acknowledge, confront and deal with the challenging and painful situations that come our way.
Through my journey and personal transformation as an expat abroad, it has become my purpose and my mission to support women like you break free from feeling homesick and re-establish a sense of belonging so that you can start living and loving your life abroad.
If you are ready to break free from feeling overwhelmed and reconnect to yourself, your power and your purpose, then please reach out to me and schedule your free 60min. Clarity & Connection Coaching Call.
This is an opportunity for us to come together, connect and gain more clarity, where we create an aligned action plan for you where you are going to walk away with actionable steps that you can start working on right away.
I am committed to helping expat women handle change with joy and thrive abroad.
Looking forward to hearing from you and getting to know you.
Much love,
Xanthi xxx
