When you’re moving from one place to another it’s inevitable to find new things. You’ll encounter new cultures, people and experiences, even if you’re not going too far away. The term soul searching often comes up for expats and people on the move. Where you’re searching for the place where you feel the most at home. In some ways what many people search for is a place and a state of mind to be who they are, regardless where in the world they were born.
Soul searching is easier to do when you’re out of your normal context and allows you to experiment. The problem with soul searching is that it’s quite external and reactive, rather than driven from within. To use a basic comparison, soul searching is a bit like setting out into the world to buy a hat. You have no idea what kind of hat you want, but you’re willing to travel near and far and try on hundreds, maybe even thousands of hats, to find the one that fits your head perfectly, has the right colour that resonates with you at the time and feels right as you wear it and see yourself in the mirror.
You’re probably sensing that I’m making a point here. Soul searching is great if you have lots of time and money and are not too fussed with the outcome, as long as it feels good there and then. With my clients I work more with core finding. This is a more focussed activity that is driven entirely from within and helps you bring out the magic that is already you. To articulate with certainty, focus and detail the hat that you actually really want (and knew you wanted all along) and use the right map and travel plan to find the place that sells this hat. Time wise, it can take a little while to go through this, but it’s much more powerful than setting out to search for something elusive and hope you find it.
Seek and you shall find they say. Well, it’s only true if you know what you’re looking for. Soul searching is likely to overwhelm you and lack any form of accountability to actually create change. Core finding identifies your purpose and gives you a clear framework on how to achieve what you really want in specific areas of your life.
I’ve taken myself and many of my clients through this process and it’s really powerful. If you’d like to see how it could help you (regardless if you’re and expat or not), drop me an email and we can chat more about how this could help you create change in your life right now.
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