Expat Jealousy - Am I being left behind?

I am writing this after spending 6 weeks at home in Nairobi. I was able to see a limited number of friends and family within reason as we are in the middle of a pandemic after all.

While catching up with friends relaying all sorts of good news; job promotions, buying new homes, entrepreneurial endeavors, expanding friend groups and changing career paths. I couldn’t help but feel perhaps I am being left behind. This in addition to following #madeinKenya brands on Instagram as well as adding more influencers from home to my follow stats left me with a touch of the green eyed monster.

Part of the envy comes about from being away from the familiarity of your home country. Your friends back home are expanding their friend groups and you are no longer a part of it, your peers are starting successful businesses and thriving and the colleagues you left behind are growing in their careers. Social media continues to provide an avenue to further fuel the envy and as an expat stay at home mum, its easy to wallow in feelings of inadequacy.

This may seem like a pity party, I promise you its not! It is more of a recognition of feelings and attempting to deal with the feelings in a healthy manner. A few ways I am tackling this is by recognising that my journey is MY journey and my successes beyond those at home will come, drafting weekly gratitude lists that include being thankful for my friend’s successes, being intentional with social media use to avoid comparison and also recognising that the grass always seems greener.

Vulnerability is a key piece of building connections and as Brene Brown says “Seeing and recognizing what causes shame can lead to being open to connecting in a more profound and meaningful way”