As good as our mindset
A positive approach to expat life.
Maayan & Gal are sisters, the founders of Smoozitive, currently living in France. They are helping expats to create a calm and balanced life abroad using positive psychology and mindset coaching. “The key is to find the right balance between a comfortable routine and the thrill of an adventure.”
Make your day-to-day an adventure
In this age of uncertainty, why not take the opportunity to make your own life the positive adventure you want to live?
When we moved to France last year, we had to deal with the obvious technical, logistical and, let’s face it, all the ‘boring-tical’ tasks that any expat must. Quite naturally, we looked to get those things done as quickly as possible and create a comfort-nest for ourselves. To make us feel comfortable and safe in our new environment, we searched for our marks in the new place. We created habits to simplify our day-to-day and even found the ‘sweet’ spots – and not only in the boulangerie.
Living abroad can be extremely stressful at times. That’s why creating a routine is a common solution. The problem is that while we are so focused on making a life, we forget to actually live it.
We’ve all been caught in this ‘routine trap’ before, to the point that we felt like life was passing us by. So, every now and then, we went a little ‘crazy’ – and sometimes drove our spouses and kids crazy too. We did something ‘adventurous’: we travelled to exotic places, changed the interior of our homes, bungee jumped, dyed our hair and even relocated a few times. Those adventurous peaks were great, but we always reverted to routine – and felt like something was missing. That’s when we realised: bringing adventures to our day-today is the best way to live.
Think about it for a minute: living abroad is by definition an ‘unusual, exciting or daring experience’ – an adventure. You actually have the opportunity, right now, to live an adventure every day, because of the situation and the life that you chose. The key is to find the right balance between a comfortable routine and the thrill of an adventure.
Excitement, zest and fun should not be something extraordinary, they can become part of your daily life abroad. It’s just like having vanilla ice cream with sprinkles on – the added layer of enjoyment is what makes all the difference.
Here are a couple of things we do that you could do too, no matter where you are: check regularly what’s going on where you live, and go see, visit and do things you haven’t done before; surprise yourself by doing things that you never thought you would (it could be as simple and daring as going on a date with yourself); take some risks – you don’t have to jump off a cliff but you could order a dish that you don’t know; allow yourself to make mistakes – they can lead to interesting things. You could even do a staycation – which is a great opportunity for fun!
There’s a saying we really love, that has been guiding us for some time now: ‘Every day you should do something that reminds you that you’re alive’, you know… actually alive, not just physically living. So which adventure are you going to go on today?