I have been meaning to write a blog post about giving oneself grace. It has been one of those lessons I’ve been trying to learn over and over again. And I’ve been struggling with the post – I started it and then I got kind of stuck, because I’m still in the middle of relearning it. Not that there is a “done” state for this type of thing – but perhaps because I’m still actively struggling with it, I need to step away for a bit. I’ve been writing long enough to know that sometimes you need to set that piece of writing aside for a time and come back to it later. Like when you’re having an argument with someone and you decide that it would be more productive to give each other some space and revisit the topic when you’re able to have a productive conversation. And what is struggling with life lessons if not having an internal argument with yourself?
So instead, this is perhaps a bit more of an update than a post. These past few months, I’ve been busy with moving to Tokyo, Japan, with my husband and our cat. (And yes, I did add it to my LinkedIn profile because this has been like full-time job, even if I did have some client work in the mix as well!) Busy selling our house back in Baltimore, finding an apartment, and now getting ready to move and set up a new apartment when we didn’t bring much furniture or any appliances with us! Then of course, there’s the whole part about moving to a new country where I don’t speak or read the language (at least not beyond an elementary level)—yet.
Lots of things have been rolling around in my head over the last few months. That is, in addition to the endless to-do lists, constantly shifting timelines and dependencies, and the myriad dances of who needs and who is supposed to send us which information when…. (Can you tell I’m a project manager?) But sometimes our greatest insights come from when we’ve brought our experiences and lenses into a wholly new realm—whether that’s a new field, the wild world of international relocation, a new language and culture, or simply learning something new.
Here are few of the topics I’ve been musing on in my head recently:
- How to know when you’re ready to move on from a role or from an organization or field
- The power of sharing photos 1:1 (or actually being social)
- Finding handholds and building bridges when you don’t understand the conversation—and how helpful visual aids can be
- That I’d probably remember the reading I do for learning better if I wrote about what I’ve read
While I’m not promising anything, if you’d be particularly interested in reading my thoughts on one of those topics, please let me know!
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