People & connections around the world

For those who have been traveling a lot in their lives have probably experienced that depending on where in the world you go, you will always find different behaviours, beliefes, norms etc. For those who hasn’t, now you know.

It’s funny how different we actually behave towards each other and how much it varies from culture to culture and country to country. It shows how much our environments affect us. During my 3 years in Australia, my behaviour, thoughts, beliefes etc have changed so much and it has been interesting to come back to Sweden again where almost everything is still the same as it was when I left. I was walking home from the gym the other day and I have started noticing that i’m keeping my eyes on a higher level then I have done before when I was just staring down at the ground while walking, like most other people do here. Now I try to connect more, even if it’s only for a short period of time like making eye contact and smile to someone on the walk, it can totally change a persons day (if they see you, haha).

I notice a huge difference from where in the world you are located. I definitely don’t get the same response here like I did overseas. We don’t have the type of culture where you start talking to strangers on your walk, in the park or at the bus stop.

With that said, it’s nothing wrong with either or, just different and I think it’s interesting to see how different we are depending on where we are coming from and what kind of environment we have around us. That’s the beauty of traveling, you learn, grow and change, I would say almost always for the better. We are supposed to.

However, why do we do that? What’s the reason behind it? Is it because we actually don’t want to get contact with someone or a stranger? Are we too caught up in ourselves and are not taking notice of our surroundings or is it just a thing everyone does and then others are just following the same pattern?

The two last options are the ones I think are the most common answeres. We may want to, but are too insecure, self conscious or just don’t know how. Our societys stress and press on us are probably keeping us too much up in our heads which makes it really hard to be present and take notice of what is happening around us.

I have been doing this a lot before and sometimes still do. Some days we just don’t feel it or just want to be in our own little bubble, but not all the time right? Not me. I have always been seen as shy and the one who never really talked that much, which I didn’t. With all personal development work I have done on myself the last couple of years, I have thought about it a lot and wonder if that was actually true or just something I felt I had to live up to because that’s how other people expected me to be. Interesting question..

There where many times I wanted to say things, have an opinion but I was too affraid of saying the wrong thing or get to much attention. Strange, all I wanted was attention, to be seen and heard, but still I didn’t want too much attention because then I felt exposed and uncomfortable. Haha! Maybe because I wasn’t too familiar with it, it didn’t felt normal to me and all new and unfamiliar things usually feels a bit uncomfortable and you want to go back into your little shell again where everything feels familiar and secure.

These days I want to be seen more, heard more and make an impact on others, help and be of service in different ways. Even if I have become so much better at making contact with others, I can still feel very uncomfortable at times and go back to my old thinking of not being enough or not saying the right things in a conversation. These are all normal thoughts though, especially if this is how you have felt for years. It takes time to change that and I both want and have to, if I want more out of my life.

I feel like there is a bigger purpose for me and everyone else then only work, eat, sleep, do things we are supposed to do or just never reflect over our lifes and where we are. There are so much more out there!

If you are like me and don’t want to fall into typical norms and behaviours, here are some important questions you can ask yourself and reflect on:

• How do you want to show up?

• How do you want to be seen & remembered?

• How can you make yourself and others feel better?

• How would you like to help others?

Think of how you want to be, not how you should be. If you feel like something is missing, then you should take a look at your current life situation and things and people around you. What kind of impact does it have on you? Is it something you need to change to feel more satisfied with yourself, your connections and life in general?

Reflect and be intentional with your choices. Lead yourself so you can get the most out of life, since we only have one.