Year-In-Review: What Kept Our Expat Community Motivated in 2022?

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As 2022 draws to an end (Thank goodness and good riddance), we take a moment to look back at interviews with members of our expat community to recall what kept us motivated to keep going throughout this eventful year.

For restauranteur Ignace Leclair, who “enjoys accepting challenges,… (he’s) learned to live it up with the difficulties and overcome them in a creative way with a positive attitude despite the circumstances.”

Entrepreneur, mother and newbie to Beijing, Sarah Krasicki shares, “We’ve definitely had our ups and downs since arriving in Beijing. Yet all we can do is take each day as it comes and be thankful for our health and all we have.”

Teaching couple Robert Skupien and Rosalyn Thomas are motivated by “Blue sky days! Beijing has many more of these now than it used to, and every season here is great with better air quality.” and “Friends in Beijing, work, our dog, and the great things that Beijing has to offer” respectively.

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For Steve Northcott, there’s no rest for the wicked! “I am excited to retire but I never want to be bored. So, I am always wanting to do more. To figure things out. To create. I have a difficult time with rest. So, I don’t need much motivation to get moving to be fair. But to use a quote, I guess I would share the wise words of David Bowie, “I don’t know where I am going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.”

Veteran naturopath Melissa Rodriguez’s motivation comes from her kids, “I want to be my best self, the healthiest I can be in order to be the best parent that I can for them. And I think about my grandkids too. I guess that’s because I’m a long-term planner! My faith also gives me inspiration and encouragement to strive to be a better person day by day and contribute to the betterment of my community in any way I can.”

Great Wall expert and self-professed Wall-Nut William Lindesay‘s motivation comes in the form “To keep backache and stiff joints at bay, and stop the old man from entering my life and house! The Great Wall itself is a monumental motivation to me. It’s a survival story … how and why it was built … who and why it was built for (against). People on both sides of the Wall were trying to survive. We are too.”

Chris Hayden shares what motivates his children, “My wife and I both feel strongly about curiosity and fun learning as motivators for our children. We are constantly trying to expose them to unique experiences and give them a broad view of how the world works and how beautiful and fascinating our planet is! We want to foster lifelong learning and international mindsets in all three of our children (though our youngest is only beginning his journey as a learner being only one year old).”

Teacher Vanessa Delgado says, “One of the main things that keeps me going is the incredible people I have met in China. I think that there is such a unique profile to the people in this country, both Chinese and expats. From my extremely smart students who are genuinely fun, smart, great kids, to my amazing group of friends and my partner as well.”

Cosmetic entrepreneur Irina Fan tells us her motivation: “I base my life on spiritual principles. I do meditation and prayers every day, and I also do a lot of service to people who are in need. That gives me a lot of energy and motivation to keep going.”

And here’s a call to action from Andrew Morrisey: “Make it to the gym, no matter how your body feels like dragging you somewhere else. You’ll feel great afterwards. Give yourself cheat days, yes, but have exercise goals and do something with them like sign up for a triathlon or a Spartan run. Challenge yourself to give yourself a sense of achievement. Get out of the house with family and friends on great weather days. Share new experiences with them”

Images: Courtesy of contributors

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