Two weeks ago, my family and I landed in the humid air of Singapore to begin another chapter (my husband Andrew has taken on a leadership role here in Asia). As exciting as it is to embark on a new adventure, it\u2019s also been challenging. Starting new chapters and ending old ones is no walk in the park!<\/p>\n
Winding up my life in Australia – packing up our family home, uprooting teenage kids and replanting them in new schools (in a new culture), reworking my own plans, plus 101 other international relocation to-do\u2019s – has consumed much of my mental and emotional capacity.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the challenges of this move, it\u2019s clear that one of the most valuable things that has carried me through is the support I\u2019ve received from family, friends and even people I\u2019ve never met but who care anyway.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve felt tempted at times to whitewash the challenges – to present only the upside and leave the rest unwritten. But I know that [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suf]wearing a mask and pretending positivity can isolate us from ourselves and others.[\/inlinetweet]<\/p>\n
Research bears this out. [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suf]Authentic connections with other people help us handle our hardships better and emerge from them better off.[\/inlinetweet] Yet when life presses in on us and we\u2019re unable to present the \u2018got-it-all-together\u2019 image we like to show the world, our tendency is to withdraw from the very people who could support us most. It\u2019s at this point – when we feel most like pulling back – that we most<\/em> need to reach out and share the raw truth of our lives. Not necessarily to everyone, but to those we know care for us the most.<\/p>\n That takes courage. Courage to lay our pride on the line and reveal the un-photoshopped reality we\u2019re wrestling with. Having done that myself in recent months, when overwhelm and doubt have crept up inside, I can guarantee you that [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suf]the relationships you build from allowing yourself to be vulnerable will far surpass any you may lose.[\/inlinetweet]<\/p>\n I\u2019m still setting up my life here (as I write this, I\u2019m sitting on a musty old rental sofa as I\u2019ve yet to buy a desk… or a sofa!) but just know that I\u2019m very grateful for your support as I make yet another transition and that I know that, like you, I\u2019m exactly where I need to be to make the mark I was born to make. Even if I’m still figuring out how!<\/p>\n Life isn\u2019t always easy. Sometimes it\u2019s bloody hard going. But, as I wrote in Make Your Mark<\/a>, \u201cIn the end, life doesn\u2019t happen to<\/em><\/u> us, it happens for<\/em><\/u> us – to connect, to learn, to love and to become the fullest expression of the person we were born to be.”<\/p>\n So here\u2019s to keeping it real. Here\u2019s to giving yourself permission to not have it all<\/em> together all<\/em> the time and to share with others when you don\u2019t\u2026 and to love hard on others when they<\/em> don\u2019t!<\/p>\n If you\u2019d like to make a comment or share your own story please do. I’d love to hear it.<\/p>\n