We’ve all been there, spent hours endlessly scrolling through Instagram. Trying to think of how we can actually move abroad. How we can become that relaxed woman sipping coffee on a terrace in Europe, or wandering the rice fields of Bali.
But when we actually think about doing it; talking to our employers or taking the leap to freelance, finding an apartment (and which neighborhood?) a place to work from, a new gym, a new coffee spot, that healthy place we love for lunch, etc. we get overwhelmed. It all sounds too challenging. So we settle back into our ‘somewhat satisfying’ daily lives, still dreaming about it.
The study found there are numerous benefits to living abroad, including; greater life satisfaction, decreased stress, improved job performance and increased clarity on the types of careers that best match your strengths and values.
We get it, we’ve been there too. It’s why we started Behere, to make living abroad actually possible for women. But we also know everyone needs a little push to follow their dreams.
This research, might be that extra encouragement you need to finally do it.
A new study found living abroad is a rare kind of transitional experience that helps clarify your ‘self-concept clarity’. Self-concept clarity is your understanding of who you are and where you are going in life. So essentially, living abroad helps you find yourself, something we’re all trying to figure out.
Living abroad helps with this because your new environment helps you discover what you do and do not value. Plus, the influences of your home culture, society and network are not present. When you interact with new cultures, you realize which values are yours and which are simply a product of your upbringing.
The study found their are numerous benefits to living abroad, including; greater life satisfaction, decreased stress, improved job performance and increased clarity on the types of careers that best match your strengths and values. This has become so important today, with the vast range of career options available.
In order to gain the most clarity, the study showed that you have to actually live abroad. So going traveling or backpacking through 5 countries in 14 days won’t yield the same results .
The researchers wrote, “Our studies demonstrate that living abroad affects the fundamental structure of the self-concept by enhancing its clarity. The German philosopher Hermann von Keyserling wrote in his 1919 book:
The shortest path to oneself leads around the world.
Almost 100 years later, our research provides empirical evidence in support of this idea.”
This study proves what we’re doing at Behere and the lifestyle we’re helping people attain, is extremely helpful in better understanding who you are and what you want. And we think that’s pretty darn cool.
The study was conducted by researchers from Rice University, Columbia University and the University of North Carolina and can be found here.
This article was originally published on Behere.