Our first episode of Season 2 of Lucky to Be Here is with a familiar name… Veronica Sepehr joins me again. This time, we discuss Canadian Immigration 101 for international students and professionals. If you ever wondered whether Canada could be your next step, this episode is a great starting point to explore that. You can also sign up for Veronica's new newsletter here or follow her on LinkedIn.
But as you know, our newsletter does not stay in the specifics of these conversations. That is the whole point of it (and if you know anyone who would benefit from joining us here, make sure to share the sign up page with them!). So today, I was inspired by something that Veronica said in passing but I picked up immediately.
During our conversation, Veronica shared that usually people think about Canada as a plan B to other destinations, like the United States or countries in Europe. There is truth to that statement. But in her eyes, Canada is a great option on its own, not just as a plan B.
This stuck with me because we often deal with the inner battles of what we want and what we need, especially when these things do not look the same. It is an inner tension that I am very familiar with to the point that I very often quote my go-to song to refer to this: Rolling Stones’ “You can’t always get what you want.” (This link take you to a YouTube radio, you are welcome).
We frequently fight with our circumstances. That is part of our nature as human beings. But sometimes when we lose the grip, we realize that the alternatives we were refusing to pay attention to might actually surprise us. Here is an example of mine: There was one year in my career early on when I both finished my college degree and started my master’s, both in economics. There was a very quiet voice in my head that thought maybe that was not the route to follow, but I kept at it. At the same time, I was fortunate to grow my portfolio as a freelance journalist and started writing mostly about economics for a newspaper in Buenos Aires. The more I kept doing my work, the more I thought the master’s in economics did not make as much sense to me… and I was miserable. Making a very long story much shorter, I refused to look at the alternatives I had available until my physical and mental health were in the trash for a bit. But then I did. What was the plan B that surprised me? Changing focus to international studies, nurture my writing and explore academic research. If you are here, you know how things have worked out since for the most part. It was worth it. In the playground of my career, the reset started when I realized that the Space of my playground, the scope of work and interests I had been so focused on, needed a review.
I share this because sometimes there are alternatives right in front of us that we struggle to even acknowledge, either out of stubbornness, pride, shame, or unawareness (or all of the above, which was my case). Today, my invitation to you is to ask yourself: What is one situation or area of my life in which I am avoiding or refusing to let a plan B arise? What is behind that?
I look forward to hearing from you on what this reflection sparks, and as always, you can also comment on YouTube and Spotify too (and please rate and review to help us spread the word!). Do you know anyone who could use this episode and reflection? Please share it with them.
See you in a couple of weeks!