AIESEC has always been a voice in advocating for "leaving your comfort zone", and providing opportunities to do this--whether through exchange or not--has been the greatest vehicle in which AIESEC has provided a platform for developing young people's potential. In the past four years, I consider myself to have lived in this realm of "outside my comfort zone", whether it was by being an engineer doing business or a Canadian working in a global environment. Of this, I am truly proud of myself.
What's been interesting though has been this journey in the past 5 months--post-AIESEC life. Having lived in the realm of the uncomfortable for so long, frankly it's been quite uncomforting returning to a place where I used to consider comfortable. I remember a chat with a friend in Brasov where I had told her I really wasn't interested in "settling" back in Canada for what I was to be doing next. It was of interest to continue staying out in Europe, exploring a new location and living what one might consider a more dynamic life. She responded by asking why I was so insistent that I could/should not do this in Canada, and at at moment, I could not respond.
Months later, I discover that the "AIESEC"-life was something that I was so comfortable with, and that leaving my comfort zone involved exploring new forms of growth in this non-AIESEC connected environment and working in something that could be more stable. What used to be out of my comfort zone (being abroad, traveling constantly, the ever-changing environment) was no longer. This was actually now my comfort zone and now, I am asked to leave it.
It's a fresh start. For the past years, I could be regarded as very experienced and knowledgeable in AIESEC. But now, no longer can I consider myself well-versed in what I do; I return myself to the state of a beginner, a beginner at conquering this new front. It's definitely been tough, but I've already seen quite a bit of what this new life could include, some things that I know I was missing in AIESEC and I must admit I quite like it. Not sure just exactly where I'll end up, but for now I'm quite excited to immerse myself in this new area to expand my horizons yet again...
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Changes
So it's obviously been quite a while since I've written here...
And as the world changes, I really wonder how much I have changed too over the past two years. I becomes more and more difficult to define what contributes more to the changes I see: the changes in the world around me or the lens from which that world is seen? Nevertheless, I consider all change to be a sign of progress, so I'm glad we all have taken a step forward.
Having too much time for myself has given me too many things to think about at once, so perhaps this outlet for my thoughts will once again prove useful. We will see.
But for now, a specific change that has caught my eye. Having once again completed a form of the MBTI test, I see a rough indication of how my own perceptions of myself have changed. I traditionally scored quite consistently in the INTJ realm, but find myself slightly different. Based on a quick test at http://www.career-test.co.uk, I find the following results:
It's hard to draw specific conclusions just from this, but one thing I definitely see is that my time abroad and involved in different activities have left me more balanced in almost all areas and have left me using the response "It depends..." when hypothetically faced with different situations. If this means that I am now more adaptable and appropriate in different situations, then irregardless of Type-Index changing, I am satisfied with this personal growth.
And as the world changes, I really wonder how much I have changed too over the past two years. I becomes more and more difficult to define what contributes more to the changes I see: the changes in the world around me or the lens from which that world is seen? Nevertheless, I consider all change to be a sign of progress, so I'm glad we all have taken a step forward.
Having too much time for myself has given me too many things to think about at once, so perhaps this outlet for my thoughts will once again prove useful. We will see.
But for now, a specific change that has caught my eye. Having once again completed a form of the MBTI test, I see a rough indication of how my own perceptions of myself have changed. I traditionally scored quite consistently in the INTJ realm, but find myself slightly different. Based on a quick test at http://www.career-test.co.uk, I find the following results:
It's hard to draw specific conclusions just from this, but one thing I definitely see is that my time abroad and involved in different activities have left me more balanced in almost all areas and have left me using the response "It depends..." when hypothetically faced with different situations. If this means that I am now more adaptable and appropriate in different situations, then irregardless of Type-Index changing, I am satisfied with this personal growth.
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