Leaving on a Jet Plane

Every time I went abroad to work I learnt more about myself than I would have done in an entire lifetime of staying in the UK. If you are living and working in your own country, people will have expectations of you and they will place limitations on you. This is because they ‘know’ you and what you are capable of. When you go abroad to live and work you will stand or fall on your own abilities and achievements. Fewer excuses and allowances will be made for you but fewer constraints will be placed upon you.

I first went abroad to work in 1986 as an International Scout on a summer camp in Florida. My age and my lack of experience were incredibly telling. I was awful for the bulk of my time there as I couldn’t really do anything particularly useful. As an immature and sheltered 21 year old I had very few skills, either personal or practical, but through the patience of those around me I gradually improved as a member of staff and as a person. It was from a very low base, but I came back with a new idea of myself.

Next I went to Japan for three years and I veered from triumph to disaster and visited all points in between! Along with the teaching, I had a family to try to support emotionally as well as financially. It was an even steeper learning curve than the summer in the US. My other two overseas jobs were disastrous for a number of reasons but those times in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia were pivotal in helping me to continue finding myself as a person.

If you can’t go abroad, join a club that is doing something you have never tried before or go to a new area with a job. I promise that any opportunity you take to take yourself out of your comfort zone will pay dividends.