Finding Your Voice during Expatriation
John Niland from the Self Worth Academy is a
professional who I appreciate very much for his excellent advice. I had the
opportunity to meet John some years ago and I am an avid reader of his articles
and tips.
His February newsletter covered an article on
“Finding your Voice”. It was around the same time I had published the post “The
Voice” and “Presence” of the Expat Accompanying Partner”. Reading Johns’
article, I found it practical and a positive perspective on finding and
embracing ones’ “Voice”.
The following is an extract:
“It’s often hardest to start something….To find
your voice, you have to do something. Whether that is writing, hosting,
singing, making people laugh or making a video; you cannot find your voice in
splendid isolation. There is always that scary moment of trying it out, dealing
with rejection and then trying some more.
During those initial days, self-worth is vital.
A loyal friendship with yourself allows you to deal with set-backs – those dozen
of things that just “don’t fly”. Unlike self-esteem which craves positive
self-evaluation, self-worth makes no such demand. It allows you to befriend
yourself until you find your voice. And in finding your voice, to find
yourself”.1
Comprehending this, the key is “self-worth”,
befriending and valuing oneself.
To do this, it is important to accept oneself,
to know what we like and what we want to accomplish. Expatriation is a period
where we may feel that we are going unheard or hold little importance (this
could be due to giving up a career), however, if we find that inner
“self-worth”, then we can find the determination and passion to find “our
voice”.
With “self-worth, we experience an inner
serenity that is no longer dependent on what others think of us or how we are
perceived. It entails with it the “self-confidence” to make things happen.
Expatriation is a perfect period to find ones’
“voice”. It is a period where one has to
deal with the ups and downs of life abroad. For an Expat Accompanying partner, It
is a period where you often have to know your “self-worth” in order to accept the
downs - to find the strength and personality to carry on during times of
solitude (long periods alone at home in a foreign country).
In times of solitude, we can sometimes more
easily find our “voice”. We have time to listen to our thoughts and ambitions
and let our inner self and creativity guide us.
In my case, during a period of expatriation as
an Accompanying Partner, I found my “voice” by writing. I finally had the luxury
of “time” and a “new environment” which boosted my creativity and desire to put
my “idea” in place and in action.
Since childhood, I had a desire to write. My
idea was to combine this with my expat experience, as well as, my recruitment
expertise. I wanted this combination of experiences and knowledge to be
valuable advice for Expat Accompanying Partners looking to return to work.
My “voice” belonged in my blog. I launched the blog during my expatriation. At
the onset, I technically had to figure out the layout and find my writing
style. The first few posts took time to write but once the mechanism was in
place, the voice came naturally and I didn’t want it to stop anymore. I found a
real enjoyment and desire to write and to share experiences and advice. Now that
I am back from expatriation and with a full time career and family to take care
of, the voice is still there, it is a part of me which I sincerely like and
value. The launching of the blog was the result of me finding my “self-worth”.
Looking back, starting the blog was like a
self-therapy/ introspection; a constructive means of finding my “self-worth”.
If you feel that you have not yet found your
voice or that no-one is listening to it, then embrace your self-worth and
explore and try ways of expressing your voice in a constructive and enjoyable
manner. As John points out in his article, this could be writing, this could be
singing. The importance is to try. Don’t live with regrets or wait for others
approval or encouragements.
Encouragements and approval don’t always come when you need them. Find
what it is that you enjoy doing, don’t feel an obligation to follow the crowd. If
you are true to yourself and like who you are, it will be so much easier to
find your voice and move forward in a constructive and positive manner.
A special thanks to John for his valuable
insight, which assisted me in analyzing my journey to finding my “self-worth”
and this post on Finding Your Voice during Expatriation.
To read more from John on self-worth, please
consult: https://www.selfworthacademy.com/1
“The Self-Worth Safari” is now on
Amazon, for release on March 21st
Photo: Pexels