Happy Tuesday!

It’s been two weeks (!!) since I came to Medellín, Colombia. I’ve been following my system for making life transitions less overwhelming, and it’s worked well thus far.

I still don’t speak much Spanish, leading to embarrassing moments like not knowing that the cashier asked if I wanted a plastic bag.

But I got the groceries I wanted and managed to cook healthy meals. I made a lot of time for my internship tasks and self-learning. And I’m roughly on track to fixing my sleep schedule.

So, the 3 things that made my life transitions easier:

1. Having a vision for the new phase of life
2. Having good default choices
3. Being kind to myself

🗺️ 1. Having a vision for the new phase of life

What do you hope to achieve by the time your next transition comes around?

When you start a new job or move to a new place, there are so many things to do.

In Medellín, there are language exchange nights, hiking, food tasting, and cafe hopping, to name a few.

There’s no way I can do all of them without sacrificing something or overextending myself.

That’s where my vision comes in. It helps me:

• Filter out shiny new objects
• Prioritize & align my actions toward my goals

For example, part of my vision for the summer is fixing my sleep schedule. That means turning down invitations that prevent me from going to bed at the same time every night.

Frankly, this requirement filters out 75% of the “fun” events in Medellín—most events happen at night.

However, I also knew that variable sleep schedules contributed to my migraines two months ago, so I didn’t feel the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).

It’s only been two weeks, but I now feel sleepy at around 8 pm and wake up naturally before my 5 am alarm. I also get a lot done before 8 am, leaving more time for other activities like grocery shopping or attending meditation sessions held during the day.

🥑 2. Having good default choices

When you start a new phase of life, you usually don’t have a routine.

This makes it easy to give in to temptations or quick fixes that can morph into unhealthy habits.

The solution? Have good default choices, especially for your health and finances.

• I brought a packet of oats from India as a backup meal for the first week.
• I have a list of “go-to” vegetables and fruits, making meal prep less difficult.

Thanks to my default choices, I’ve only eaten fast food once since arriving in Medellín. And since meal prep is easy, I don’t feel tempted to eat out often.

❤️‍🩹 3. Being kind to myself

Life is hard.

Beating myself up over my mistakes or tiny stuff makes it harder.

Two principles that helped me be kind(er) to myself:

You will make mistakes. It means you’re growing! Remedy the mistakes and move on.

Your pace is the best pace. No need to FOMO or feel bad about it.

That embarrassing moment with the supermarket cashier?

• She might not remember me or the embarrassing moment the next time I’m there. So why should I agonize over it and try to keep it in my memory?
• I started learning Spanish 60 days ago. That embarrassing moment exposes how much Spanish I have to learn, that’s all.