Everyone should make it a priority to live for extended periods across multiple countries and cultures is the single best thing anyone can do in their life.

These are the four things I have learned about myself and believe are invaluable skills for anyone to learn through living abroad.

Seeing the World from a Million Different Perspectives

Living abroad puts things that really matter into perspective.

After having lived across multiple cultures and countries, riding for miles on the back of small metal bikes to remote villages to sit with families under thatched roofs, it always gives me pause when someone uses a firm voice at a barista when their order is misinterpreted.

"I said half and half, not whole milk!"

While I am by no means immune to this behavior, when I do it or find myself getting frustrated, I try to take a moment to reflect and put what I am getting angry about into perspective.

Even more importantly, we live in an increasingly polarized society and interconnected, complicated world.

Living across countries and learning about the world through vulnerable conversations and customs of people drastically different from mine has opened my eyes to the importance of being curious about different perspectives.

It has made me a better interlocutor, willing to listen with the intention to understand.

Being Receptive to New Possibilities

Whenever I think about how insufferable I must have been when I joined the Peace Corps in 2015, commenting and critiquing every cultural or practical difference between living in the US and Mozambique, I cringe.

You might be surprised to hear this, but this is something I hear from almost anyone and everyone who even visits another country: "Why do they do it that way? That doesn't make any sense."

However, experience has taught me that customs and norms are different for a reason. I have learned to have a more open mind to new opinions. I no longer judge everything just because it is different or relate it to the culture I grew up in.

I now embrace these differences with curiosity and novelty when I come across a difference.

Learning to Be Adaptive

I believe that adaptability is the single most valuable and undersung skill that anyone can develop.

I think the title of Paul Arden’s book sums it up perfectly: It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be. If you are willing to adapt and receptive to learning, there is almost nothing you can’t grow into.

More than anything else, living in new countries for extended periods has shown me my power of adaptation if I am willing to embrace the process and remain curious.

Learning About Yourself, Finding Your Routine

Seemingly at odds with adaptability, I have learned the core habits that I must have in my routine, no matter where I live.

While the routine of being adaptive is valuable, having some core things that you can count on—milestones—in my day is super important. Across all the places that I have lived, I have realized that spending 45 minutes at a gym at least five days a week is non-negotiable. No matter where I live, I always first locate a gym, purchase a membership, and establish a gym routine.

Moving from country to country has forced me to ask myself, “When I strip away all other parts of my day, what are my must-haves to maintain my sanity and stability around who I am?”