What Next?
It’s nearly impossible to define a period while you’re sat right in it. But for us international folks in China, I would say that we’re all in a state of Chronic Contingency Planning.
When I first moved to Shanghai almost 10 years ago, the chapter in the book would read “The World Meets In China”. Why spend your life on a plane meeting clients at their Global Headquarters? Just sit in Shanghai and wait for them to inevitably come to you. That was a large part of the business case for me to be here in the first place. And now I find myself approaching a decade here, the longest I’ve spent in one place since I was a child.
Reflecting on the last six months, the chapter for today would read “What Happens Next?” My conversations with other foreigners are no longer repeatedly and concentratedly about how to manage China growth, China speed, China adaptation, China innovation. These days they are much more likely to veer onto the topics of overseas vacations, overseas promotion goals, overseas family and friendships, overseas retirement plans. We all continue to value our lives in China, and we’ve all chosen to stay here when many of our peers have left. But the razor sharp focus on China has gone. And I leave every conversation with the strong sense that all of us have one eye on the “What Next”.
On a personal note, I’ve been better than most in keeping up with the outside world, even as international platforms continue to be difficult to access from China. The Mosaic of China podcast has been an integral part of that, and I will continue to expand upon this project. But I’ve recently hit a mental block in releasing new episodes, and I attribute it to this state of Chronic Contingency Planning. Editing podcasts has become a joy in my life, I recommend it to anyone who needs to quieten their busy brains with hours of isolation and distraction. But these days I find myself needing to distract myself less, and spend more time crafting my own “What Next”. And it comes at a stage in my life when I’m also taking stock of a career spent making international connections, and re-engaging with the many people who have helped me reach this point.
It’s most likely that the answer to my own “What Next?” will be to continue as is for now. I still enjoy my life in Shanghai, both the rough and the smooth. But I’ve needed to take the time to make sure this is an actual choice, rather than just standing on the conveyor belt of the status quo. It’s taken weeks of self-examination to reach this point, but the words I’ve written today suddenly came to me fully formed when I woke up this morning. So I’m sharing them here in the hope that they resonate with you, whether you’re reading them in China or not.
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