Making important personal and work choices while living abroad can be complex...

The Challenge - making the best decision

Challenges around visas, language, styles of communication, resumes, management structure, childcare, attitudes of society etc.... happen worldwide.

- Some of us will decide to continue with what we have always done
- Some of us will see this as an opportunity to try something new
- The lucky ones will discover a transforming experience where we tap into our potential

That is what I want for you!

The Solution - becomes clear when you ask the right questions

Today I have put together some questions to ask yourself. Your answers will help you be clear on whether your are tapping into your potential - or not!

1. Will this stretch me beyond my comfort zone? This is a given for all new expats. If you are new - you are already ahead in this game! Over time, all of us develop a comfort zone of automatic behaviours and ways of responding to situations. They become simply habits - not necessarily good or bad - that make us feel safe. Whenever we stay with our habits and comfort zones, we forego chances to develop and grow. Growth doesn't happen when we're comfortable, and accessing our potential always involves some personal stretching.

2. Does this decision align with my personal values? True potential always aligns with the things that matter to you most. When living in another culture, people may hold different values to your own. Aligning them with your own values will always bring out your best. Making compromises is OK - just see it for what it is. A compromise may mean you'll be more likely to give up when things don't work out immediately.

3. When I think about it, does it immediately feel exciting? Potential is doing what comes most naturally, even when some effort is involved. But it won't feel like hard work, or a struggle. Having a feeling of anticipation is the key!

4. Does it build on my natural strengths? When you work on improving your weaknesses you can expect to become competent. When you build on your strengths you can be brilliant! You may have ignored or set aside strengths at someone else's bidding, or suppressed them because they seemed too easy or irrelevant. Identifying your strengths is an important step in realizing your potential - and unleashing your brilliance!

5. Does it require learning? Learning is an essential part of the process, so the absence of learning is a giveaway that this isn't part of your potential.

6. Will it enhance my value, self-confidence and sense of joy in who I am? This is the most important question of all. Potential makes you more of everything: more valuable to yourself and others, confident, courageous, joyful and more successful. If something fails this test, the others scarcely matter.

We all have far more potential than we normally use. What matters is to open it up and allow it to grow. Start stepping deliberately beyond your familiar habits of thinking and action. Finding and using your potential will bring you a real sense of accomplishment and will add greatly to your enjoyment of your expat work and life.

Are you looking for support to get clear about your future or are you curious about how coaching works? The best way to find out is for you to experience it. I offer a free coaching session on the telephone where you can explore what's really important to you and decide what's next.

We are coming up to the moving season again. Good luck to those of you moving on and repatriating! If you or anyone you know needs information then drop me an email - I'm happy to share any resources I have!

cheers,

Val

p.s. My thanks go to coach Andrew Young who inspired this month's tips.

Copyright 2005. My Global Coach. All rights reserved. Feel free to forward this tip to a friend or organization, providing you include full authorship, and subscription information - of course.

Contact Information

email: valboyko@comcast.net
web: http://www.MyGlobalCoach.com