Alisha landed in Korea a week ago. This is her second country in a list of six. She started in Japan in January and plans to live in a different country each month for five more months: South Korea, India, Egypt, South Africa, and lastly Botswana.
With the rapid trip plan, she’s definitely living right now as though she’s leaving.
I’ve noticed a similar pattern in my own habits and thoughts after I realized I probably won’t be in Korea much longer, less than half a year. I like the feeling now, but it doesn’t always feel great.
Like right before I left for Korea, I remember feeling the weight of the move start to settle on me. I wasn’t worried about Korea – I was worried about leaving Kentucky. Saying goodbye is usually the hard part.
It’s definitely a change from when you have no plans to leave. For example, the pros of living as though you’re leaving:
- Stronger motivation to train others
- Urgency to do things now
- Emphasis on enjoying the present experience instead of looking ahead into the future
- Feels more adventurous
- More hopeful
On the other hand, though, some cons of living as though you’re leaving:
- Scarier in the sense that you might not know what’s next exactly
- Less commitment
- Feels less grounded sometimes
- Loneliness, a big one but it can also feel lonely when you know you’re not leaving for a while
