How to stay motivated as a new immigrant
Credit to Author: Hazel Morley| Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2019 19:28:54 +0000
Relocating to a new country and starting again can be full of promise and opportunity. It can also be very stressful. The settlement process and all its challenges can be overwhelming and it’s easy to feel powerless and discouraged. When this happens, it can have a negative effect on how we think and feel, which in turn, affects our overall well-being.
Needs for personal growth
To feel happy and successful we need to feel in control. In psychology, this concept of control is known as self-determination theory. The theory suggests we all have three innate needs for personal growth:
- The need for competence – to feel we are good at what we do, to learn different skills
- The need for connection – to relate to others, be supported and provide support
- The need for autonomy – to feel that what we do matters, and we have control over our work and goals.
As a new immigrant it can take a while before we feel in control and these needs are being met. Finding meaningful work and building a community network usually takes time and requires discipline and persistence. Meanwhile, we may feel demotivated and begin to question our capability and belief in the settlement process. This can lead to a lot of emotional discomfort, low energy and low mood.
However, when these needs are met, we become naturally motivated to pursue our interests and goals for our new life. We are likely to feel more fulfilled, engaged and satisfied. All of which are key to our emotional health and well-being.
Focus on ‘how’ rather than ‘what’
The process of finding fulfilling work can be complex and time consuming. Many people don’t know what their career passion is and, even if they are clear about what they love to do, it is not always possible to fast track to the ideal job when you are an immigrant. Our previous experiences and qualifications are often not recognized or accepted in Canada.
Cal Newport, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. in his provocative book ‘So Good They Can’t Ignore You’ believes that what you do for a living is less important than how you do it. His advice is to concentrate on building your career capital i.e. rare and invaluable skills and knowledge, through a process of ‘deliberate practice’, over time. As you continue to focus and systematically do your work – any work that interests you – with passion, you will excel in your field and then you can use your career capital as leverage to build the kind of lifestyle that’s important to you. Newport’s research claims that ‘working right’ (working hard) will help you find the ‘right work’ (the love for what you do) and the ‘rewards’ (a lifestyle that you value). It’s an interesting perspective for anyone who is feeling stuck or frustrated with a job situation or has no idea what their passion is.
Be productive rather than busy
This process of regular and deliberate practice, or ‘doing the deep work’ as Newport calls it, to improve our career capital requires discipline and focus. Distraction-free concentration to get our best, most creative output, which will look like this:
– Spending less time on social media and other online forums that keep us busy rather than productive
– Being more intentional when we are online – e.g. thinking clearly about what we want to learn/achieve
– Setting stretching goals that challenge our capabilities and encourage us to step out of our comfort zone
– Prioritizing our time to focus on that which is relevant to our most important goals
– Pursuing opportunities for new experiences that will add value and provide recognition
– Being persistent, crafting and refining our skills to get good at what we do
– Being willing to do work we may not enjoy or be good at (initially).
When we learn how to take a planned and focused approach to building our skills and knowledge, we start to feel competent and that competence then becomes part of our identity (the way we think about ourselves). We get recognition from others for this competence, which reinforces our self-image and we become naturally motivated to achieve and contribute more.
Building your career capital will, as comedian Steve Martin once said, enable you to “be so good they can’t ignore you”. The rest then, will follow.