Moving Without Fear

The fear of change
Like many, your New Year's resolution may have been to find a new job, change careers or travel to another country for better opportunities. However, with this kind of change often comes fear...a fear of the unknown.

If you find yourself thinking, "I'm not good enough to move anywhere else" or "I'm really afraid to leave my comfort zones", then this article may help.

Take note of the following points in as you prepare to make a move;
1. Be open minded: When we move, we are torn between the fear of leaving our present life behind to face the fears of the prospects of a new life. It’s a tough balance to strike. Its important you act smartly and be open minded to innovative changes in your movement.

2. Once you have made your move, face your present reality. If things are not perfect yet, do not make the mistake of over-comparing your present status with the previous. This will assist you in avoiding anticipatory stress, the feeling of not knowing what’s around the corner, or the helpless feeling you can get – which can cause immense anxiety and undue stress.

3. Do not set your expectations too high, let yourself get surprised:
Your mindset and attitude toward the move, and getting in the right frame of mind can mean the difference between an expat's glory or his abject failure. Positivity is important, as is the desire to make it work. However, it is crucial to prepare well for the unknown.

4. Try to learn the language of your new environment: This will affirm your relationship with such community and empower you with communication bridge since every ethnic group values whoever speaks or understand their language and this gives you a better chance to be successful.

5. Research and ask for help: Speak to as many people as possible; friends, family, colleagues. If you don’t know of anyone, hop online onto the many expat forums that exist and post your questions there, ask for help. Get to know the media landscape, research the property market and prices, get the names of contacts, look at the job market and research local resources that are available.

5. Meet local folks: it's essential to have friends who are citizens of such country or city. The advantages of this is unlimited because the citizens understand their land more and they can give you appreciable guide.

A friend once shared her experience of how meeting local folks and establishing friendship with them in her new country helped save her life. She said: 'It was my local friend who called me on phone that insurgents are killing foreigners in the market and it seems they are coming to our building since its an expatriate dominated population, he emphasized that I should leave immediately'.
I quickly notified others and we vacated the building without taken anything except our documents and cash cards.
We escaped to our country's foreign embassy and later heard that our building has been burnt down.

This story highlights the last point which is the importance of saving wisely as an expatriate.

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