How to do Hard Things

Over the summer, I listened to "Do Hard Things" on a road trip. It's a book by teens for teens (okay I'm a little old) encouraging them to discard low expectations and reach higher. Why just scrape by, actually excel. Don't be lazy, do something really hard because the experiences will enrich your life.

Living overseas means doing a lot of hard things. Looking at some of my overseas experiences the past 10 years, I marvel at the enormity of the difficulties and the size of the rewards. This is true of people living in their home nations as well, nothing is easy. Still, it's one thing to be in a hard situation. It's another to choose to do hard things in that hard situation.

Here are two hard things an overseas dweller can do to enrich their experience. These are tried and tested suggestions I can promise anyone have 100% returns.

1) Meet the culture. This is hard (obviously, that's today's theme). It's easy to get in a clique with people from your own country and never experience the culture of the nation you live in. Step out, try the food, the language, the clothes. Go beyond being simply culturally senstive and learn about where you live.

2) Meet other expats. You'll get lonely sooner or later so you'll turn to people from your own nation. Look around you! The South African lady is brilliant, that Aussi might enjoy tea with you, that bizarre American family with 5 kids is loud but their cool. Don't hang out only with people from your own country. Enjoy the diverse international crowd, meet someone different who you have nothing in common with and make a friend.

3) Pick one thing that sounds hard and is outside your comfort zone, and do it. It's your choice, something that scares you, that you wouldn't normally try, and do it. Why not?

I'm working on hard things this fall as well. 1) Create acceptable study habits to promote the chance of more As on exams. 2) Learn how to run a soundboard. 3) Eat every bizarre Pakistani dish that exists.

Don't scrape by, do something hard. If you made the effort to go overseas, make the effort to take it to the next level.