A friend of mine recently emigrated from Australia to the US, no big deal I’m sure you are saying. Swapping sunny Sydney for sunny California doesn’t seem too hard on the soul. Moving from Cork to Dublin, then crossing hemispheres down to Australia, and now traversing the pacific ocean. None of this I would consider done for the experience of travel, all done in the name of bettering her career. Sacrificing family and friends along the way, ditching her personal belongings, uprooting and starting a fresh at the next destination is full of challenges. To some this might sound very trivial but shifting your life like that is no easy task. As someone who has had one foot in two continents I understand the difficulty in constantly having to monitor your life in more than one place.

The stress of transferring your life from one country to another is no different to making a shift in your career or changing direction in life. At the start we are all consumed by fear and our mortal enemy self-doubt. Once we make the move though the adrenaline that goes with it kicks in and all of a sudden you start finding solutions to problems. A weight is lifted from your shoulders, and you feel free, all your senses become heightened and you are no longer held back by self-doubt. More importantly you know deep down that you can’t reverse the decision. When the security net of stability has been taken away you make it your mission to find ways to make things work. A part of you has changed as much as your surroundings, you grow as a person and become more confident. What once seemed difficult now feels like a walk in the park. These kind of experiences can only propel you forward

There’s no doubt that making these transitions can be frustrating. It’s the little things that can feel like they aren’t going your way. Obstacles seem to be put in your path at every turn. Take for instance a career change, you know deep down that you can really make a go of the new career. You know you are passionate about whatever it is and all you want to do is make a go of it, you see and feel it in your future. But at this moment in time you just aren’t capable of having it right now. This is where the frustration kicks in. Frustration is a sign of change on the horizon, it means you haven’t given up and something better is on the way.

My brother just had a new born son this week, 8 weeks premature. Looking at a pic of him I couldn’t help but think how frustrating it must be for him to not have the skills to communicate with everyone around him. Yet in a few months he is going to do things that will get him the attention he needs. Until then he will keep experiencing the frustration of having to rely on those around him. A struggle for his first words, getting his first steps. While my brother and his partner will have to experience the frustration of no sleep and a coping with a crying frustrated baby.

Think of everything you have done in your life up to now. Finishing School, getting a Driver’s License, going to College, and getting a job. You adapted and then overcame. You are at your most troubled right before you bring about change. Once you reach that tipping point, stick with whatever was a struggle this will help you turn courage into consistency, and eventually consistency turns into competency. So whatever frustrations you have going on in your life try and see it as a challenge to overcome, or an opportunity to grow. At some point your reality will catch up with your dreams.

In the meantime you just need to have a little patience and a little faith that whatever is meant for you, won’t pass you by.