A Year of Transition — Crafting my Personal Navigation System
I moved, again. This time it was back to the West after living in Nepal for three and a half years. And once again, it’s a new country and a new career. As I reflect on this past year, I identify certain routines I have developed and personal traits that have carried me through the years, especially during my transitions. This is not a post intended to help someone be “successful” or create “transition” strategies. It is rather a way for me to identify some skills I developed, without much reflection at the time, that have proven helpful — maybe even essential — in adapting to new cultures and environments. By no means am I a pro but I recognize and acknowledge how my own strengths have been re-validated, as I most recently navigated what it feels like to be a stranger amongst the familiar.
Remembering the Transferable Skills
A career or location change can make you feel you are always “catching up.”
In new surroundings we all feel we have to learn new things in record time. Certainly, there will be new software, tools, techniques, and processes to learn in our digital new world. While this seems overwhelming at the time, remind yourself that you have the essential transferable skills — skills in adaptability, such as a special strategy for learning something you’ve not encountered before, but this time a little faster and better. And once you’ve done this, take stock of what you did and how you did it. Reflection like this will give you a huge boost in establishing even more self-confidence.
Create Routines
Everything is new, so find a coffee you can like.
When we move to a new place, our “usuals” are upended, including the availability — or non-availability — of our favourite foods or having to make-do when acquiring new furniture or even arranging it in the new living space. These new challenges underscore how important it is to create new routines or creatively adapt previous habits. So, find that coffee shop that you like, carve out time to exercise or enjoy an activity in the new physical environment that can bring joy. And find a new favourite restaurant.
But also find the time to stay connected to your people. I surprised myself to learn I was not the best at doing this, since my immediate focus caused me at times to fixate on survival. Connection with friends and family can be essential for a good transition. Connection with friends and family is a reminder of the support and love that ultimately fuels us through our transitions.
Empathy and Caring Go Farther than Technical Skills
Our new colleagues are people like us.
The core of all that we do involves people. Take the time to observe and understand who these new colleagues are and what their life stories can tell us. When we learn who our “new” people are and what their needs are, we can better fit into their processes. We each have our unique ways of understanding our world and creating ways to navigate the systems around us. In general, when a new person joins a team, it means disruption of the equilibrium for the others, even if ever so slight, and this means there will be an adjustment period for all involved. By placing my past accomplishments on hold for a time, by taking a step back to observe others and understand them, I can all the better contribute to the common good and thus, find my role in the new system and find my space. Taking the time to understand people and showing care will go a long way to ensure that you will enjoy the support from new colleagues as you begin to contribute and perhaps even make changes. This ethos is a far cry from one based on asserting one’s own ideas and touting personal accomplishments.
Take it Slow.
Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day.
In most cases things might not progress as fast as you want in your new environment. It’s the antithesis of your imagined transition phase. You want to learn quickly, contribute quickly, and do everything yesterday. In my case, by taking this year as a time to slow down and focus on a meaningful transition rather than doing everything at once, I was able to observe the culture of the organisation and create routines/structures that could benefit others and at the same time support my long-term goals and plans. Slowing down and taking a step back is never a bad strategy. Maybe it’s always an essential element in the transition to a new place.
Newness Can Be Isolating
Be nice to yourself.
Transition to a new place and career can be isolating. It can seem a long and arduous journey no matter how much you feel up for the challenge. Life takes its toll on physical and mental health in any case. As new moves require facing new and sometimes increasing challenges, we should keep in mind the value of our acquired strategies and personal routines. We need to consciously value these as we forge new levels of familiarity amid the newness of it all. So, give yourself the grace and space and most importantly the time that you need, as every transition forms yet another layer at the foundation. When I/we strengthen the base, I/we strengthen the self.
I have found it to be helpful to go back to those earlier spaces where I faced similar challenges and drew strength from them, or remember what not to do the next time. If you have come this far in life and feel you have survived, chances are you will survive what is to come. I invite you to think back to the times you also went through similar experiences and especially when you encountered entirely new and uncertain challenges. You either did the right thing and thrived or you made mistakes and learnt from them. While at times all this might seem a bit trite, the reflections and routines can pay huge dividends.
