1. RISK IT! “The dangers
of life are
infinite and
HOW EXPATS CAN BUILD among them
is safety.”
A MORE SATISFYING -Goethe
LIFE ABROAD
The webinar will be starting soon……..
2. YOUR HOSTS
Norman Viss
Lindsay McMahon
Everyday Expat
English and Culture
Support Center
3. TODAY’S WEBINAR
B R O U G H T T O YO U B Y E X PAT E V E R Y D AY S U P P O R T C E N T E R
S P E C I A L G U E S T: L I N D S AY M C M A H O N
What are some risks
that expatriates might
take? What does risk
mean to you?
How does risk-taking
differ across cultures?
How can we use risk-
taking strategies to
make life abroad more
satisfying?
5. WHERE DO WE EXPERIENCE FEAR OF
TAKING RISKS?
The amygdala is the
center of fear, emotion
and decision
making, fight or flight
response
Adrenaline is released
to create alertness to
respond to emergencies
We fear judgment by
others and our own
judgment of ourselves
Fields (2011)
8. HOW RISKY IS EXPAT LIFE COMPARED
WITH NON-EXPAT LIFE?
70.4% of survey
respondents said that
expat life is more
risky than non-expat
life.
9. COMMON RISKS FOR THE EXPAT
COMMUNIT Y
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Isolation Missed retirement Breakup with Deterioration of
income partner relationship with
family at home
10. RISKS THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN AS AN
EXPAT
Change in culture Going from familiar
Starting a business to unfamiliar
abroad Giving birth abroad
One spouse giving Not knowing the
up career language
Interacting with Choosing to live in a
locals local
Buying a house neighborhood, not
with other expats
11. Individual characteristics
Regional differences HOW IS
RISK-
Local economy TAKING
DIFFERENT
Religion ACROSS
CULTURES?
Different interpretation of
risk (financial risk, risk of
losing face, risk of losing
status)
12. 80
SUCCESS IN
Percentage that agree LIFE IS
70
DETERMINED
BY FORCES
60
OUTSIDE
OUR
50 CONTROL
__________
40
D o yo u a g r e e
or disagree?
30
W h e r e d o yo u
20 t h i n k yo u r
c u l t ur e w o u l d
fall on this
10 chart?
Pew Re s e a r c h
0 C e n te r, G l o b a l
US Britain Spain France Germany A t t i t ud e s
Project, Nov
17 , 2 01 1 .
13. RISK TAKING IN THE UNITED STATES
“Nothing
ventured, nothing
gained.”
“Where there’s a
will, there’s a way.”
“We have nothing to
fear but fear itself.”
17. HOW HAS YOUR WILLINGNESS TO TAKE RISKS
CHANGED SINCE YOU BECAME AN EXPAT?
I am now able to take
39.4 42.4 more risks
I now want to take less
risk
3 15.2 What is risk?
It hasn't changed at all
18. “GO TO
ZERO”
__________
Imagine the
worst thing
that could
happen if
you took the
risk .
Make it
realistic.
What would
you do if you
took the risk
and failed?
F i e l d s ( 2 01 1 )
25. SURROUND
YOURSELF
WITH
OTHER
RISK-
TAKERS
__________
Find other
people who
strive for self
growth.
Spend time
with people
who view life
as an
adventure.
27. WRITE 3 SPECIFIC RISKS THAT YOU CAN TAKE
IN THE NEXT YEAR TO MAKE YOUR LIFE MORE
SATISFYING
28.
29. CONNECT WITH US ONLINE!
Lindsay Norman Viss
McMahon Everyday Expat Support Center
English and Culture
@EngandCulture @isointer
https://www.facebook.com/englishan https://www.facebook.com/expateveryd
dculture aysupportcenter
30. CITATIONS
1. Zero: Leo Reynolds
2. Fields, J. (2011). Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance.
3. Blanke, G. (2004). Between Trapezes
4. Chris G: Chris Guillebeau
5. Steve Jobs: MarkGregory007
6. Cat in a box: thegloaming
7. Bird on shoulder: ohhector
8. Socks in the air: CraigGrocott
9. “I will”: Carnie Lewis
10. Skydiving: Guy James
11. Analyze: Learning DSLR Video
12. Ice skating: Sean_ Alexander
13. Backpacker meditating: campra
14. 10 Billiard Ball: ( Avichay )
15. Learn the language: sarspri
16. Amygdala: cheerfulmonk
17. Safety: calignosus
18. Small steps: Arbron
19. Thank you: vernhart
20. Networking: kk+
21. Internship: TalentEgg
22. American flag: Cayusa
23. Einstein: Zhang Erning
24. Dalai Lama: ImsBildarvik
25. Oprah: Story Accents
All images are licensed under Flickr Creative Commons.
31. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
How Language Learners Can Silence the Inner Critic
How Video Diaries Brought me to Conversational Fluency in
Spanish
Editor's Notes
What is risk?Risk can be interpreted in a lot of different ways, which we will get into todayDictionary definition
-This fight or flight response is being triggered not only in situations where we are in physical danger, which is good-But it is also triggered in situations where we have to speak in public or where we could choose to take a risk that might help us grow as people in our lives as expats. -Jonathan Fields, in his book Uncertainty (2011) recommended just noticing how “alive” you feel in moments when the amygdala is triggered. -Think about how you might be able to channel that energy -Our bodies are wired to protect us from physical harm but those protective mechanisms seem to hold us back sometimes.
-In my experience, everything feels more intense when you are an expat-the highs are higher and the lows are lower and we are constantly tested -When living abroad, expats have a unique opportunity to create a very rich life, full of experiences that allow them to grow and to learn so much from their experiences. But as expats, we are constantly confronted with a choice:-take the “safe way”, create our own little safe world within the host country and stay in the same place -or take small, gradual steps, small risks and build on those risks to take bigger chances, which allow us to grow.
Survey results will be compiled and emailed to all attendees
Risk is a good topic to be discussing for expats
Isolation- 51.5%Missing retirement income/opportunity: 36.4%Stress/breakup with partner: 36.4%Deterioration of relationships with family back home: 27.3%
-The Pew research center did a survey in November 2011 and asked about the extent to which people agreed with the statement, “Success in life is determined by forces outside our control”. -They found that only 36% of Americans in the US believed success was determined by forces that can’t be controlled (64 percent believe success is determined by forces within their control)-Whereas in Germany 72% of people agreed with that statement. (28% of people believe success is determined by forces within their control)-We can see a big difference-How would you answer this question?-There isn’t any data that proves the link between internal locus of control and risk taking but there seems to be a logical correlation between the two. -If you believe that you control your life and your own success, you might be more likely to take risks.As you adjust to life in the culture that you are in, how does this play a role? If you consider yourself a risk taker and others in the host culture do not.Norman’s pointLocus of control- a term that comes from psychology but can be applied to culture and worldviewInternal locus of control- the person believes that they control their own lifeExternal locus of control-they believe other factors like the environment, a form on God or other people control their livesIt should be thought of as a spectrum, not an either/or
Acknowledge our own subjectivity as Americans.Ethnographic term- subjective I- (Peshkin)- we operate with our own subjective lens while interacting with other people(Lindsay) My father is a small business owner and I got a lot of my ideas about risk taking from himGive our own examples of risk taking in life abroadLindsay- lived in a house of expats in BA where Spanish was the only language that could be spokenShowed up in a remote town in Guatemala (Totonicapan) to look for a place to live, study Spanish and volunteer. There were no other expats or speakers of English in the town.We have nothing to fear but fear itself, Franklink Delano Roosevelt, 1933 the Great Depression
Build your confidence-You have taken many risks in your life. -Let those be the platform from which you take your next risk. -Reflect on them. Write them down. -You took a risk by choosing to live abroad. -To make it more concrete, think about the risks you have taken just this year. -Really think about it. How did you get yourself to take the risk? -What did you learn from taking the risk? -What would have happened if you hadn’t taken the risk?Gail Blanke- Between Trapezes
-By the way, just to note 42.4% of you said that since you became an expat, you are now able to take more risks than before.-So what are those risks? -Reflect on them-Articulate them
Example- risk of isolation- if you move into a neighborhood with local people, not expats, who don’t speak your language-Write the information down. -Be very specific.What exactly will you do if that “worst case scenario” happens. Write your plan. If you have a very clear plan about what you will do if you take the risk and fail, you might feel empowered to take the risk.
-What assumptions do you make about the type of person you are?Are you the “risk-taking type” Is there a risk-taking type??-We tend to put ourselves in boxes, based on what we believe we are capable of. -This is very limiting. -When you hear yourself saying, “I am not the type to____” catch yourself and challenge that assumption.
Could be someone you don’t know or could be a family member, mentor, -Read their books, -read their blogs, -learn about how they view life, -how they approach risk, -how they learn from their mistakes-Post their quotes or stories in your home where you will see them every day
-We all have an inner critic. -We have a bird on our shoulder that criticizes every move we make. -Its purpose is to protect us but it is rooted in our childhood hurts and it is often no longer needed in a lot of situations. -Have compassion for the inner critic-Learn to recognize when it’s not helping you move forward in your life -Pay attention to the times when the inner critic is speaking the loudest.-Develop self-awareness. -Be curious about yourself.- Investigate your thoughts.-Check resources section for a post on language learners and the inner critic-Shift your thinking. Redefine success and failure. Success is taking chances
-Procrastination is not really about laziness. -It is often about fear. -We tend to procrastinate on things when we are afraid of making a mistake, they might be risky, we might be afraid that we won’t do well enough on those tasks. -Procrastination can be linked to perfectionism. Perfectionism is the feeling that if it can’t be done perfectly, it shouldn’t be done at all. For expats:- taking a language classjoining a clubapplying for a promotionvolunteering to make a presentation-If you can notice when you procrastinate, you can push yourself to move forward and take that risk. -Lack of action creates fear. Acting will lessen the fear.
Later in the webinar, we will talk about writing very specific goals, what risk would you consider a success if you could accomplish it?-For now, keep in mind that it is important to create “social” accountability. -Tell the people you care about what you are doing. -Keep them updated on your progress.Bennie Lewis, Fluent in 3 months- Create videos- saying what you will do and by whenStart a blogUpdates on facebookLetters homeYour own personal diaryNotes around your house
- I have an expat friend here from India.- He wants to quit his job and travel around the world.I asked him what is stopping him- he gave me the details about the price of the flight and the difficulties of getting a visa. I told him that if he wants to really make this happen, decide that the details are secondary and move forward from there. Decide that you will take this risk. If you go through the details too much before making the decision, you will talk yourself out of it.It is ok to take a calculated risk, but keep things in perspective.If taking this risk is important enough to you, the details shouldn’t matter.Start with the decision to take the risk, figure out the details from there
-Surround yourself with other people who also take risks and challenge themselves.-Find people who operate with a mindset of self growth, -People who look at life as an adventure and look at challenges as opportunities. -This could be a group of other expats, or local people or a mix. -Norman, were you able to find a group of people who inspired you to take risks while you were living abroad?-How can you find a group like this? Meetup.com, ….??-Distance yourself from those who hold you back
-Develop a daily ritual where you do something that centers you. -Exercise, meditation, chanting, mindfulness training-The activity should allow you to develop a sense of spaciousness in your mind and body and a sense that you will be ok if you take the risk and don’t succeed, -the sense that who you are is much more than any failure or success- you are not defined by your successes and failures-This will also help you develop self- compassion, steadiness of mind
Norman- will present this partVolunteer to give a presentation at workJoin a language classAttend a networking or social event in the local languageGet an internship in the local language
