A bit of introspection

“What are you doing next year?”

This seems to be a common question at this time of year for international teachers.

Unlike teaching in the states, international teachers normally sign two-year contracts with options to renew for one, two, or three years after the first initial contract.  The hiring process is much earlier than in the US as well.

As a result this question (“What are you doing next year”) has cropped up a lot in recent conversations with co-workers. On top of that, we have gone through a few difficulties in our personal lives here.  (We won’t get too much into it here, but our friends and family know)

These life-changing decisions have given us pause to reassess our purpose. Our ‘why’ so to speak. I feel that this is a worthy exercise to do once a year anyway to be certain that you are still on the right path. It seems especially important anytime your life comes to a crossroads. Our family likes routine, we even strive off of it.  On the weekend, we make batch lunches for the week.  We go shopping at the same time every week.  We have a morning routine and an after-school routine.  For us, routines are key.

Despite this love of routines, it feels that we get inundated with normal life – these day-to-day tasks of surviving (and keep a kid alive!) get in the way of making sure our life has a purpose.

Here is an edited video from Simon Sinek called Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Action to help clarify things:

Now, this video is a bit more business-oriented, but I think what applies to companies selling their products and services can also help us out in our daily lives.

Sometimes, we focus too much on the ‘What’ and “How”.  What are we making for dinner? How are we going to deal with this illness? Where do you want to go this weekend?  With all of these endless questions, it feels hard to focus on the “Why”. Why are we in Saudi Arabia? Why do you care so much about financial independence?

A family needs time to figure out these ‘Why’ questions.  That is why it is important to have a family conversation that you have to help maintain your why.

What’s our why?

This was actually really hard!  However difficult, this is essential for living a productive personal and professional life.

Has the Western world lost its why?

Many in the modern world are stuck in a relentless Rat Race full of uncertainty. Part of this is culture.  We seem to be stuck in rampant consumerism and the idea that we have to, “Keep up with the Joneses” Many times, we look at our Facebook feeds and see friends with new boats or RVs.  Most of them will use this maybe one or two weeks every year.  But then they say, “The payment is only $350/month!” These same people worry about medical bills and retirement.

Others eat out 3 or 4 times per week but then complain that they are always broke.  Now I don’t give these examples to make fun or people or say that we are better, but perhaps they have lost their why. Facebook is littered with these type of examples.  New clothes, cars, cabins, elaborate birthday parties, and 25 gifts for each child at Christmas.

Now for many people, this spending is what makes them happy.   I would argue that they may only enjoy because they think it is the only way.  Check out this article for people who got out.

Finding your why

This napkin test was developed by Richard Leider to help individuals gain a sense of purpose with their careers.  This is a handy tool to help you determine your why professionally.

For me, I feel that my Gifts are an intense understanding of a particular curriculum and its pedagogy (the International Baccalaureate), to serve my Passion of a community-centered school that can meet the needs of both of us and our son in a culture that Values teachers as professionals and a work-life balance.

What gets me up in the morning is being able to work with motivated students and help them to understand the world a little bit better.  I also want personalized attention for our son and his education and be able to leave work at work and enjoy our evenings and weekends.

While difficult at first, perhaps like us, the napkin test may also help with your personal and professional why.  Should I stay at my job? Well if your job goes against your why, then perhaps it is time for a change.

Our whys changed with the birth of Simon.  Both of us (while still dedicated to our jobs) no longer lived for our jobs.  If anything, we wanted to strike a work/life balance of less work and more life.  This was difficult as two public-school teachers paying for full-time daycare.  Instead of side hustles to boost our savings, we were side-hustling to make ends meet.  That took time away from our son.  That is the why for our move to international education.

Back to the original question

So what are we doing next year?

If everything progresses normally, we see no reason to leave Saudi Arabia this year.  The combination of work/life balance and savings potential at our school makes it a relatively easy decision.

Knowing our why helped us look past the day-to-day and make these watershed moments a bit easier to handle.

So what’s your why? Leave a comment below