Some expat coaching tips if you're Not sure where expat life is taking you

Flowering thyme adds a splash of color to a rocky mountain path under a clear blue sky.

As a professional expat coach I'm naturally inclined towards being a planner – if there is something happening off in the future, I’m that person with the spreadsheet neatly organised with lists that are dated, cross-referenced and detailed to a level that is (quite frankly) ridiculous at times.

So, needless to say, when I took up expat living, I had lists … many of them. Lists and files for managing every part of moving abroad. There were meetings with lawyers, trawling real estate websites, organising banking and internet. I was convinced that by getting ahead in doing this I could (and would) avoid some of the pitfalls I had read about while scrolling the myriad sources of advice, both good and bad, that live online.

I was convinced that I could draw a map for what, when and how I would build a successful, thriving life abroad – one in which my coaching career flourished, my relationships would be diverse, wonderful and thriving, my health and fitness more robust than it had ever been.

In short, I would create the expatriate life I wanted one neatly organised step at a time.

Why did I think this?

Professionally, this approach has served me well – in my professional life I was appreciated for my project management expertise, in leadership I was seen as organised and future-focused. All good so far.

So – if something works for you – why change it?

Here's what actually happened.

Living abroad turned out to be dynamic, thrilling, unpredictable, surprising, transformational – all things that don’t really respond to organisation and planning

In this process I learned something ...

What I’ve learned is the wonder of just being in it all…

What I’ve learned is that being still in the moment, where I am, offers so much opportunity for discovery … for that thing that I wanted in an adventure like living abroad …

Transcendance

What I’ve learned is that experiences of transcendence – experiences that take us beyond the physical reality to an appreciation of beauty, creativity, deeper insights into ourselves and what is around us – are not found buried in a spreadsheet or a neat plan.

I’m guessing that this is what you were seeking when you moved abroad - right?

They are found in the present moment - not the future and not the past.

Here’s the challenge:

How willing are you to sit, on a comfortable seat, in the now, without judgment?

Neither yearning for your past life nor straining ahead to what might come next.

Just curious, connected to this moment right now with eyes and ears open.

Try it - let me know how it works for you.