I attended an event a few days ago, and there was something at the event that really caught my attention. There was a girl who shared her experience of relocating to Singapore and finding a new job. While she was talking about reaching out to strangers on the streets and doing something she’s never done before, she just suddenly burst into tears!
New environment, new culture, new language, new job, new challenges… sounds familiar? We’ve all been there.
In a global economy, people move around. Nearly 250MM migrants (3.3% of the world’s population) live outside of their country of origin. Most of them leave their hometown to find new opportunities in another country. But how good are their adaptation and learning skills in this whole process? How can they cultivate the “global mindset” to be more courageous and resilient when facing changes?
I can personally tell from experience that it’s not easy, especially if you’re on your own.
I’ve traveled and lived in three continents and survived in three different cultures/languages. Each time is a challenge. But once you complete your first challenge, you will get used to other challenges. It’s like building your muscles; the more you train yourself, the stronger you become. Little by little your actions will produce the “compound effect” and eventually alleviate your fears.
Whatever fear you have whether it is fear of rejection, fear of criticism, fear of failure… all these fears will turn into new experiences and learnings when you start taking action.
Fear is not the problem, waiting to stop feeling afraid is. You definitely do not want to wait forever. Here are some quick tips that you can follow to conquer your fears:
– Identify your top priority and possible solutions.
– Start small. Set up a time to take the first step doing what you’re afraid of whether it’s making a cold call, initiating a coffee chat or asking for help.
– Find a friend or coach to hold you accountable. Share that experience with your friend/coach afterwards and go do it again.
– Give yourself a reward after completing the exercise 5 times.
Doing is always more important than thinking. At the end of the day, remember that we shouldn’t be judged by our peak of excellence but by the distance we have traveled from the point where we started. That’s the magic of compound action.
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