Moving to a new country taught me to stop fearing mistakes, ask questions freely, and care less about what others think.
People Don’t Think About YOU!
We depend a lot on the opinions of others. We are often self-conscious and try to look good in other people’s eyes. When I was younger, I worried much more about what people thought of me. Now that I am older, not so much. I learned that, just like me, most people are self-conscious, and everyone mostly thinks about themselves. I’m not trying to say that this is good or bad, but this is the fact that we simply accept and live with. In general, people don’t have the time or energy to worry about everything else besides their own lives. And that’s the reality for all of us. We are all limited in time and energy and don’t have the capacity to take care of too many things at once.
I Didn’t Pretend To Be Perfect
I also stopped being afraid of looking stupid. A few years ago, my family and I moved to the United States. It was hard at first because of the different culture and language. Sometimes we had no idea what people were talking about. But we decided to dive in. We started attending an English-speaking church, and then I got a job at a school where I had to learn so much. Believe me, there were tons of situations where I looked stupid. But I didn’t care. I decided that I would ask questions whenever I didn’t understand something. I would ask for help if I needed it. I would not try to be perfect all the time, but instead I would be real, honest, and do my best at my job.
And I found that people generally appreciate that. Most people are happy to clarify things and explain what they expect from me. Communication is the key to any relationship!
Learning And Adapting Are The Greatest Skills
Now, a few years later, I have improved so much in my language skills, but I still often find myself in situations where I misunderstand what people mean or assume something they didn’t intend to imply. So this is an ongoing process of getting to know people, learning to adapt to different personalities, and looking for ways to be helpful and serve others better in all circumstances.
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