Issue 14 - Now what? The plight of the expatriate partner?

The expatriate world is made of those who work and those who accompany them to their assignments. More often than not the expatriate partners cannot find the same or similar terms of employment they had in their home countries or even in a country where they were previously assigned. The dilemma re-surfaces with pretty much every move – what am I to do now? Museum trips and local culture exploration behind me, how can I satisfy my professional and career cravings?

Considering that we are almost always insanely busy, this time away from work and professional engagements may be your chance to figure out what you are here for. What is your reason for being on this planet? They say that we are born with a life purpose – our gift to this world. Far from being about a job, a career, or a profession, life purpose is about things we are meant to accomplish. Many people die with their music still in them – would not it be nice to discover yours before it's too late?

Mortality will eventually claim all of us, so when you think of that what really matters? What will you regret doing or not doing? What experience must you have to feel you've lived a completely satisfying life?

Some people never look for their life purpose, others never find it. To try to find yours see if you can answer the following questions. Take a large piece of paper, jot down the answers as they come to you – using mind mapping perhaps – and then see what common concepts thread through your answers.

1. Think back to a time of crisis in your life or the life of others close to you, the kind that divides your life into “before” and “after”. What did you do during it or immediately after? Most likely you did what seemed most vital and real to you and your actions would be a strong indicator of your life purpose.
2. Think of yourself in the old ripe age with friends around you. What are they saying about the impact you've had on their lives?
3. Imagine that someone gave you a large billboard to use as you wish. Thousands of drivers pass by that billboard every day. What would you put on that billboard to influence them? What would you say? Draw?

Having worked through the answers to these questions you'll see a common theme emerging, the theme of the impact you want to create. Whether it's helping people in need, creating something big, learning everything there is to know, or something entirely different, the words should point you in the right direction. Now what do you do to get there?

Everything we do in this life can be qualified as a game. What is the game you are playing at the moment? Is it taking you any closer to your life purpose, to the impact you want to create, to the legacy you want to leave? Are you good at the game? Do you like the other players? If the game you are playing does not in any way reflect your life purpose, what would be the game that will?

Wherever you are on your journey towards your life purpose, use small actions to get there. What can you do every day, every week, once a month to get closer to what you want? Make sure those small steps add up to your big goal. Our everyday actions, however mundane they may seem (like cleaning the house or doing taxes) are part of the structure to support us on our way – as long as we don't use them as an excuse to postpone the actions that really matter. If you really want to travel and have not done so in years because your family relies on you to make dinner every night, that would be an example of your everyday routine diverting you from your life purpose.

And most importantly – have fun along the way! If you are moving towards something that will make your whole life matter, that's the only way to do it!

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