By Poornima Vijayashanker
At the beginning of last week, in spite of my writing frenzy, I made it a point to take a break to have dinner with a dear friend, Anna, who was visiting from Toronto.
Anna share with me that she’d soon be done with her MBA, and she’d really like to take sometime off. She even thought about moving to New Zealand! However, the thought of uprooting herself and starting over again seemed like it would be too much. Plus I’d visit!
Upon hearing this I told Anna to seriously consider the move, because even if she moved there and hated it, it would not be forever.
She could return to Toronto whenever she needed to.
Then I told her that a little over a year ago I was faced with the same decision. I was presented with an opportunity to move to the East Coast to teach at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering. At the time, I had been living in Silicon Valley for 9 years. My network was here, my friends were here, my family was here, my boyfriend, Aaron was here, and I had somehow mentally gotten used to living here.
Deep down I knew I need a break and a fresh perspective. Plus I knew what my life would be like if I continued to live in Silicon Valley, but I couldn’t help being curious and wondering what life would be like elsewhere.
I took the plunge, packed up the essentials, and Aaron, who was also open to the adventure, and I moved to North Carolina.
In our minds we felt like the move would be semi-permanent. Anticipating that we would be there for at least a year maybe more.
When I got there, I dove right in: making new friends, building a network, and of course teaching. After 6 months Aaron and I had a tough decision to make. There were a few challenges I was facing, in terms of growing my business, so ultimately we decided that while we had fallen in love with our new life, moving back was the best option.
A few months after returning it felt like I had never left! But I was happy to come home having experienced a life elsewhere for awhile.
The beauty of impermanence is that no experience lasts forever, good or bad. So if you’re caught making a tough decision that requires you to try something new, give it a shot. Even the worst thing imaginable will be short-lived, and the upside could be an enriching experience!
Now I want to know: have you ever been presented with a new opportunity but worried about altering or uprooting yourself for it?
