If I gave you five minutes to list the following:

- Your five most important values,
- Five things you truly believe,
- Five words that define who you are,

… would you be able to do it ? What would your answers be?

If you find that you would need to think long and hard about it, you are not alone.

I ask all my new expat clients to answer similar questions before I start coaching them. Many find the exercise difficult, as they have never taken the time to articulate their own values and beliefs before.
Unfortunately, experience has shown me time and again that those who are unaware of their personal values have a significantly harder time dealing with expat life.

Think about it this way: Your values act as your compass. They show you where your True North is.
Without a functioning compass, it is all too easy to veer off course. Chances are you will end up pursuing the “wrong” goals- that is to say, goals that are not aligned with who you truly are and what you truly want. Expatriation, or any significant change, for that matter, becomes much more challenging when you do not know yourself well.

Instead of writing a long post about what I believe is a very important topic, I will break it up into a series of shorter posts over the next few weeks. Stay tuned for practical tips and techniques to help you identify your values, define yourself from the inside out and use your values as a decision tool.

In the meantime, please share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Emmanuelle

PS: Happy Hanukkah to all those celebrating!