Spain calling. Why I would love to work remotely.
Together with two friends, I was enjoying the reopening of the terraces last weekend. Friends that I had not seen for a period of almost two years. And because we had not seen each other for such an extended period, we almost immediately went into deep talk. In the earlier days, we spoke a lot about football, dating and television shows that in fact none of us cared about. This Saturday it was about the bigger decisions in life.
I cannot really explain why, but I would love to work remotely in another country. Working in Spain just sounds lovely to me. For a long period of time, I have been searching for reasons why I feel that way. Is it because of the food, the weather, or the feeling of freedom? There are tens of possible explanations and on the other hand — I do not feel I have found the answer yet.
We ordered our second cup of coffee. And just as I am right now, I struggled with explaining why I actually want to work in Barcelona or Valencia or any other Mediterranean city located near the coast.
I start an incoherent story about my little sister working at the Azores, our family travels when I was a kid, and the recent feeling of being locked up in the house because of Covid. All possible reasons why.
And while I am bumbling through my explanation, one of the guys looks at me, laughs, and interrupts me.
[…]
Getting started
Sometimes, I have trouble with getting out of my head. I love philosophy, deep conversations, and abstract topics. And thinking before action is a great antidote for staying out of trouble, but it can also lead to passivity.
Since I was young, I had amazing big dreams, about starting companies, travelling the world, or writing books, without actually getting one step closer. Sometimes I felt like a salesperson, experienced in selling future dreams out of thin air.
A dream without a plan will always remain a dream. I never had the plans; I only had the dreams. They felt too overwhelming and abstract to really get started. I did not have a clue what, where, and how I should take the first step.
Currently, I can better deal with this, applying two simple rules:
- Describe your dreams as concrete as possible
- Take the first, smallest step possible in the direction of that dream. The rest will follow.
This was not the problem now. I knew what kind of small steps I could take today to be able to live and work in Spain in a few months. And still, I did not do something concrete to make it happen.
I am not able to justify to others and to myself why I want to work abroad. I live a good life here, why would I change?
[…]
My friend looks at me, laughs, and interrupts me.
“Jeroen, you do not always need a reason to try out new things. You just want to experience this and see if you like it. That is enough.”
I started learning Spanish and informed my manager. Hasta la vista baby!
