How Do You Know The Difference Between Change and Growth?

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During the past week or so, I’ve been spending a lot of time and mental energy looking back over the past year.

Apparently, I’m not alone.

A very thoughtful Fast Co. article, titled, You Are Not the Person You Were Before the Pandemic, caught my attention. A freelancer I respect also sent out a pretty retrospective email. . .

One of my smaller decisions early on was that I wouldn’t get my hair cut until I felt confident that doing so wouldn’t endanger anyone.

Just for fun, I decided to document my hair until I felt comfortable getting it cut again. So every couple weeks, I snap a picture.

Since March, 2020, my hair has experienced a lot of growth and change. We generally think of growth as being positive, while change can be positive, negative, or neutral.

Change and growth both feel like they’re happening slowly. When we’re in the midst of it, sometimes it feels like there’s no change at all. That’s why it’s so important to document it. (Other times it can feel like a runaway freight train, but that’s another topic.)

If you’re feeling stuck, feeling like you haven’t made any progress in a while, it helps to have something objective to look back on. That’s how you know you’ve grown.

Whenever you set an objective, your process should include tracking your progress. Then, when you’re feeling like nothing’s happening despite all your hard work, you can quickly see how far you’ve actually come.

And if, despite taking all the “right” steps, you still feel like this past year has knocked the stuffing out of you, take heart.

Tara Haelle is a science journalist who’s written about things like infectious diseases, and she thrives in emergencies. She describes how she rolled with the punches during the early phases of pandemic lockdown. But then. . .

I knew it wouldn’t last. It never does. But even knowing I would eventually crash, I didn’t appreciate how hard the crash would be, or how long it would last, or how hard it would be to try to get back up over and over again, or what getting up even looked like.

She explains why she (and all of us) have been feeling this way, and goes on to talk about helpful strategies for coping.

Read: Your ‘Surge Capacity’ Is Depleted — It’s Why You Feel Awful 

Tips & Tools

What’s the best note-taking app for you?

Speaking of change and growth, and the need to document and measure. . .

One of the places you can do that is within a note-taking app. Are you looking for a good one? Here’s a nice rundown of 13 different apps to consider.

Read: 13 Best Free and Paid OneNote Alternatives in 2021  

After travel restrictions are lifted, will you go abroad?

Once more travel restrictions are lifted, do you plan to spend time in another country? I know I do.

Depending on how long you’re there, and the way you have your finances structured, you may run into a situation where you need to get paid in that country’s currency.

How do you do that?

Nora Dunn, aka The Professional Hobo, has a recommendation. She uses a service called Wise (formerly TransferWise), and explains why it’s better than PayPal.

Read: Wise / TransferWise Review: How I Saved $2,000+ in Banking Fees

Why you might want a second passport

Up until this past year, the US had one of the most powerful passports in the world, as measured by how many countries we could enter without a visa. Today, not so much, mostly because of COVID.

If you want to see what your passport will do for you, check out this interactive site. It ranks countries by passport power, and shows how many you can enter without a visa, where you can obtain a visa at the border when you arrive, and which you need to obtain a visa for in advance.

FYI, the US passport rank has slipped to 16th place, behind such global powerhouses as Andorra, San Marino, Vatican City, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and a bunch more.

And in case you’re wondering, the four top-ranked countries are Germany, Finland, Spain, and Switzerland, with visa-free access to a whopping 134 countries. (US citizens have 106.)

Check out: Passport Index by Rank

In Case You Missed It. . .

Jackie Lange had already lived in several different countries when she moved to Boquete, Panama to retire.

Then a surprising thing happened: a new business opportunity dropped into her lap and she decided to run with it. 

Although hew new business is definitely not location-independent, Jackie really embodies the Anywhereist mindset. 

Listen: Episode 16: From Texas to Panama and a Surprising New Business

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