Risk, Ambiguity, and Stress – How Well Do You Cope with this Triple Threat?

How well do you handle risk and ambiguity, and the stress that goes with them?

I’ve been faced with a lot of both in recent weeks, and while I’m pretty good with the risk, I’m pretty terrible with the ambiguity.

A number of months ago we decided to leave the condo where we’ve lived since late 2016.

As with any big decision, there were several factors at play, one of which was that we wanted to reduce stress by reducing our fixed monthly expenses.

We also wanted to be closer to family, and away from the soul-sucking traffic in Central Florida where rush hour lasts all day.

Because of the “closer to family” part, my husband isn’t ready to go overseas again just now, so we’re staying in the US for a while.

This move isn’t any more risky than many we’ve undertaken, and it’s a lot less risky than some. But the level of ambiguity has been hard to take (and a lot more stressful!), especially regarding the timing.

When I sent my last newsletter, I thought I’d be all moved by the time I sent this one. . . but the discovery of some serious electrical problems in the house we’re moving to has put the actual move on hold until. . . I don’t know when.

As an Anywhereist, you can live in one place for years, or you can travel constantly, or anything in between. But you also need to be able to embrace change, accept a certain amount of ambiguity, and take a few risks, all without flipping out.

So I revised and updated an old article for you.

Read: Risk and Ambiguity – What’s Your Tolerance and Why Does It Matter?

Tips & Tricks

Mindset

One of the ways we humans reduce stress is through routines and habits.

And that’s why ambiguity is so darn hard to handle. When a situation is ambiguous, our routines don’t work – or we worry that they won’t.

Communications Professor Walid Afifi suggests that we can learn how to handle ambiguity better, and that the ability to do so is one of the hallmarks of a good leader.

Here are 7 ways to help you develop better ways to cope with ambiguity.

Read: Coping with Ambiguity: 7 Ways to Relieve Stress

Where to Go

Are you up for a European adventure? Check out Portugal.

According to The Portugal News, “Portugal is home to happy expats.”

In fact, an InterNations study ranks Portugal as the #1 European country for expats, and among the top five worldwide.

What makes Portugal so inviting?

• Quality of life
• Cost of living
• Ease of accommodation
• Personal happiness

Read: Portugal is Home to Happy Expats

If your interests lie more in the Spanish-speaking part of the New World, be aware that Panama is making significant changes to its Friendly Nations visa.

They introduced this visa while I was living in Panama, back in 2013. It was created by a Presidential executive order, not legislation, and it gave easy residence to folks from a list of over 50 “friendly” nations, including the USA. With this visa, you could live and work legally in Panama, and it included a path to citizenship.

While some of the changes make it less appealing (it’s a temporary visa that must be renewed, where before it was permanent from the get-go, for example), there’s another change aimed specifically at digital nomads.

The new remote worker visa allows for stays of 9 months, and can be renewed for an additional 9 months.

Read: Panama’s Residency Programs will Change in 2021

Tools

Choosing attractive brand colors that speak to the right audience is both an art and a science.

Dealing with colors can be technically tricky (does that yellow really complement that green?), and it’s also a marketing challenge (will my audience respond favorably to those colors?)

Don’t believe me? How well do you think a business catering to Harley Davidson aficionados would resonate with a pastel pink, purple, and blue color scheme?

This article by Lavinia Aparaschivei first walks you through some basic color theory, and then shows you how to quickly choose a palette using the Vectornator tool.

Read: How to Create a Unique Color Palette

Habits

Lauren Johnson Gonzales says walking every day can change your life.

She’s not wrong!

Regular walking – outside in nature, preferably, can up your creativity, improve your health and longevity, and lift your mood.

Here are five reasons to establish a walking habit.

Read: The Life-Changing Power of a Daily Walking Habit

Creativity

Do you remember StumbleUpon?

It used to be a fun way to discover new websites of interest. From any web page, you could click the “Stumble” button and be taken to other sites. It was random and quirky.

Sure, you could spend a lot of time going down rabbit holes, but you nearly always encountered interesting things along the way, and made new connections.

Sadly, StumbleUpon ended in 2018, but now there’s a worthy successor.

Creator Kevin Woblick has created Stumbled.cc. He purposely chooses sites that are weird, interesting, educational, or interactive. He does not list Facebook or Twitter posts.

“Stumbling” is a fun way to learn something new and make new creative connections.

Read: This spiritual successor to StumbleUpon makes the internet fun again

Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links. That means, if you click and purchase, you pay exactly the same amount and I’ll earn a small commission. These fees help me to keep the free information flowing.

In Case You Missed It. . .

What does it cost to live in Las Tablas, Panama?

That’s a question we got a lot when we moved there, so I totaled up our expenses and put them into a blog post.

This was a few years ago, but comparing our cost of living in Panama vs our cost of living in Central Florida, we saved easily 50% each month.

While prices in Panama have increased since then, so have prices in Florida. I suspect our savings would be even greater if we moved back to Panama today.

Read: What Does it Cost to Live in Las Tablas, Panama?

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