If you ever get a chance to live abroad, be it during your youth for studies, or when you are older, and you move for a job, or some other reason, you can consider yourself very lucky. The majority of people would love to have the opportunity to live abroad.
The concept of moving to new, unfamiliar territories, meeting new people, coming to know about new cultures, traditions, cuisines, and even a new way of living sounds super exciting to most people.
If you are lucky, you get a chance to experience this life abroad. However, once the initial rush and excitement start to fade, you will notice that a sense of mild discomfort starts to creep in. Certain things begin to irk you- be it the food they eat, the way they socialize, or only the overwhelming nostalgia of home.
When these feelings start to creep in, people start getting restless and fidgety. They feel homesick, anxious to get back, and even end up losing all motivation in studies or their work. This is when things start to go south.
When it comes to living abroad- building a new life, new friends, a new lifestyle, and being happy, the key is ‘perseverance.’
Perseverance is indeed a new character trait and a more exciting concept. An individual’s perseverance is not something that can be measured. It is not tangible; neither can it be tested.
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However, an individual’s perseverance can be observed by their actions and reactions to stressful situations- how fast they can bounce back from a tough situation, how they can think on their feet, and how they react in general to threats, dangers, and difficulties in life.
It is often said that to succeed in life. You need to have grit and perseverance, rather than just intelligence.
Here are a few things that can help you persevere, show resilience, and grit when living abroad:
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Always Remember the Bigger Picture
When you face challenges and difficulties in life, it can be the most natural thing in the world to get caught up in the little details, the technicalities, and forget about the bigger picture. This is when you need to change your perspective.
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The bigger picture is you completing your course and getting a degree, a good job, or you climbing up the ladder and doing what you have always wanted to do. The bigger picture can even be something as simple as your building a new life for yourself and your family after moving abroad.
The smaller picture consists of the little details- the homesickness, the introduction to a new culture, unfamiliar places, foods, faces. All of these little details make the bigger picture complete.
To create a big, beautiful painting, you have to make sure that you paint each stroke with careless ease. Here, you are the artist, and your life abroad is your canvas.
Nothing Is Presented on a Silver Platter
If you ever spent any time reading about the biographies of successful people, watching documentaries or films on their life, there is one crucial point which will always stand out- they have struggled.
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Unfortunately, not everyone has the supreme luxury of having things presented to them on a silver platter. In reality, most people need to struggle to get what they want in life.
If it has always been your aim to live a successful life abroad, build a beautiful new life, and immerse yourself in the cultures and way of living of a foreign land, you will have to keep in mind that it will not come without struggles.
The only thing that can bring you out of the other side of the tunnel is your ability to persevere. Things might get tough on some days, weeks, or even months, and additional months, they might be even tougher than before; you have to hang on and keep doing what you went there to do. Do it diligently, and there is almost a sure shot chance of you eventually succeeding.
Meet a Newer, Better Version of Yourself
If there is one thing you will discover during your journey abroad, it is a more modern and better version of yourself. When you first moved, you might have had certain preset notions about the place, the culture, and the people.
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However, upon moving, you will notice some very different things in day to day living. You might even come to enjoy and welcome some of the new things that you see and learn when you are living abroad.
Allow yourself to go through the journey with an open mind and an open heart. Allow yourself to learn the new ways of doing things, and allow yourself to enjoy them. You are not betraying your own culture by adopting new ways of living in a foreign country.
By learning to persevere and doing things differently, even if they are uncomfortable at first, you will meet a very new and different version of yourself. A version that has experienced new things and learned from them, a version that has experienced life, its nuances, and thoroughly enjoyed the journey.
This new version will not only surprise others around you but also yourself, once you realize the power of just persevering and sticking through with your plan. Once you see yourself standing on the other side of the tunnel- successful and happy, you will be thrilled to meet this new version of yourself.
Learning to persevere and show grit is an acquired skill for most people. Thankfully, it is something that gets easier with practice. Always keep the bigger picture in mind when you are stepping into a difficult time in your life, and keep in mind your end goal.
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No matter how many times you fall weak and wish to give up, remember this end goal, and keep pushing through. You are sure to have a happy and successful life abroad that you have always dreamt of.
Not everyone is as lucky to be able to go through the adventures and challenges of living abroad. If you get a chance to experience it, remember to do it with an open mind!
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