As an expatriate you have to come to terms with your new identity as “foreigner” in your host country and “guest” in your own country. Wherever you are now, you are different. Being different is the inherent consequence of expatriation.
Living abroad practically challenges you to evaluate and reconsider your identity. As a result, a sense of loss is a common reaction to international relocation. And we are on our own to beat it and come out stronger.
It´s a common emotional challenge of living abroad,
It´s an inner journey that happens to take place on foreign soil…
The Expat Identity Crisis
The cross-cultural situation and the emptiness of living without familiar ground invariably invite expats to look inside themselves in search for answers on personal questions. You have to cope with this struggle for identity and feelings of not belonging to a particular place anymore.
The foundational questions of identity are forced upon us:
Who was I there?
Who am I here?
Do I hold the same beliefs?
Do I like the change in me?
Where is my home?
Time is required to deal with this confusion. Some will experience it as a challenge others will become insecure, depending on their attitude and sensitivity. Either way, living abroad stimulates you to think about who you are within the new cultural context. By contemplating the questions of identity you are trying to find a new place in this world.
The Inner Journey Begins
I don´t think that there is a standard recipe to resolve the expat identity crisis. Just like there is no ready-made plan of action to become spiritually enlightened. Going down this road you first and foremost have to belief in yourself. Because away from reality, it all comes down to you. Accept your feelings and have trust that you will find your way to deal with it.
How to handle this issue is very personal: Some like to meditate and read books, others visit a life coach or therapist, and again someone else prefers travelling and talking to friends and strangers.
Well, those different methods correspond on one thing: doing self-research. Giving you a moment thought, taking time to reflect and becoming aware of yourself again. Self-reflection or contemplation in some sort of way is what can help to conquer the inner confusion.
When moving abroad becomes a quest for self-discovery…
After All, We Are Human Beings, Not Human Doings
Contradictorily, my search for reshaping identity started with deciding what to do for a living. Wages are low in Mexico and for us as a couple it seemed financially spoken not necessary for me to have a fulltime local job. For someone from a country where post-graduates are expected to have a decent daily job, this was a weird situation full with options.
So, I went from employed to unemployed to volunteer to freelancer. Various stages that each require a different mindset. With ups and downs I went through them to finally arrive at a stage I feel comfortable with. I hadn’t realized how much my education and work defined my life, my identity. Along the way, I was able to break away from this “what you do is who you are”-bias.
What I am trying to say is, in each country the rules are different which offers space for renewal. The unusual freedom I stumbled upon in Mexico made me think and search for who I wanted to be in the new culture. As a result, my life has taken a completely different direction – a direction I would have never followed back home due to the unique circumstances of being different.
Then Life Happens
Despite the discomforts, the expat identity crisis is on a deeper level a gift that forces you to search for who you really are. It is the perfect moment to grow spiritually, to experience your essence, and to get to your core. An outcome that is invisible from the outside, but daily perceptible on the inside.
How did your journey begin?
