How Finding My "Global Life Ingredients" Changed Everything (And How You Can Find Yours)

Last week, when I saw the #WanderlustWednesday hashtag while scrolling through Instagram, I felt a little down because the only place I was wandering that day was to campus.

As I later walked back to my car, I mentally walked through my Global Life Ingredients – my list of the five things that are most important to me at this point in my global life. I asked myself…

Are my husband and I are both happy and satisfied with our work and lives? Yes.
Am I able to easily visit and help out my family in Oregon? Yes – I’m going out there next week.
Do I have freedom and flexibility in my life and work? Yes.
Am I a part-time nomad? Yes! I spent a month in Europe and month in the Pacific Northwest this summer.
Am I changing the conversation around re-entry? Working on it!

The FOMO (fear of missing out) I’d felt earlier faded. I now felt happy. Satisfied. In the right place.

Do I want to live abroad again? Travel around the world with my husband? Yep. That longing will never go away. It’s part of who I am. But right now? I’m happy living here in North Carolina because my current criteria for my ideal global life are being met.

A few years ago I stopped thinking in terms of living abroad (and feeling happy, adventurous, and my true self) vs. living at home (and feeling much less happy, adventurous, and like my true self). Instead, I started thinking about living a global life that makes me feel happy, adventurous, and my true self at home and abroad.

Thinking in terms of living a global life changed everything.

I no longer feel a tug-of-war between my need for wings and my husband’s desire for roots, for example. I don’t struggle with FOMO as much as I used to, because the things that are most important to me, the things that bring me the most satisfaction at this point in life, are part of my life. And because I now think in terms of living a global life, I don’t struggle with re-entry like I used to. Rather than being a sad ending, going “home” is just another step in my global journey.

No matter where in the world you’re living, creating a global life that you love will help you find happiness, satisfaction, and smoother re-entry experiences.

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Head over to Facebook and join other global adventurers who are finding their Global Life Ingredients in our Re-Entry Relaunchers Unite! Facebook group!