Is Outerventions a Real Word?
When things change, we’re in for a few surprises. I surprised myself a few years ago by moving from the U.S. to Taiwan with two suitcases of hubris. “Outerventions” is a word I made up to describe when the unexpected happens. Toll fare for the interesting road. Most outerventions are positive if they happen because we choose to grow.
Today, I center my growth around living peacefully so I have space to get stronger and take chances. My personal goal was developing a Taiwanese mindset to go with my Westernized brain, so I’d have mental models for an international career and family. That’s the goal. No one understands all there is to know about where we’ve been, but I learn from my best and worst days, enough to help myself. Maybe a few others.
If Instagram is some kind of gratitude journal and my private conversations are more like a misery journal, then Outerventions is something in-between. It’s not my biggest wins or each time I tripped over myself, it’s spending too much time asking, “what does this mean.” I share what I’ve learned living out of these suitcases, chasing goals, looking for something good to eat, and beautiful things to photograph. ☕️.
