Why moving away sometimes is the way to move forward

Thoughts on innovation with a very personal take on it

I don’t say this is an innovation post from the start, but rather a personal reflection about innovation and overall, the embracing discomfort mindset that you need in order to thrive. You’ll make the connection soon…

From city-hopping to idea-hopping

I was born in Porto, and lived near the sea coast all my life… until I turned 18 and moved to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.

Luck defined that the majority of people from my class was not from Lisbon but from all over the country, which allowed for a solid friend group to be created, defined by a common characteristic of being in Lisbon but coming from elsewhere: navigating together the challenges of living in a city without parents, friends, or money at the end of the month (at least we could all have one dinner together, instead of eating pasta with pasta for dinner, with no extra money for other ingredients).

These friends were my safe spot, and it was with them that I shaped my identity, one that has persevered until today. Lisbon is made of as many people from Lisbon, as people from all over the country. However, people are colder, distant, always busy. Considering my origins, that was a bit of a shock at first.

I then moved back to Porto for what ended up being 2 years, but that life was mundane, without a purpose, filled with routine of waking up, commuting, working, and coming back home. In my hometown but with no friends, as they were back in Lisbon, all continuing their studies, while I opted to start working for a while.

Somewhere along the way in this job, I made it finally back to Lisbon, eager to start a post-graduate degree in Intelligence Management & Security. Discomfort meant having to try to make something out of nothing, and understand when and until when you should be feeling inadequate. Temporary discomfort comes from wanting to break free from a potential long-term discomfort. So staying was worse than leaving, again.

I’m speeding up, otherwise it’s boring. Eventually, I made my way to other apartments, and yet another rented apartment, and months later, I started working for Google, Covid came, we stayed home, I learned Data Analysis & Storytelling, got a new job in the new area which I enjoy a lot.

Photo by Roger Bradshaw on Unsplash

Then… 2022 comes and I move to the Netherlands, for a relationship which didn’t last. Before making the decision to move abroad, while walking alone in the streets of Weesp, Amsterdam and Utrecht, I felt calm, at peace, and with a feeling of awareness around my surroundings that Portugal didn’t give me. This calmness of a small city in the Netherlands in April 2022 gave me a lasting feeling I couldn’t shake, and it made me realize that maybe moving away was, in fact, moving forward.

Navigating a new job, house, country, and language could’ve been a big challenge I’d back out from, if I had prioritized comfort. But it was only by embracing discomfort that I was able to open the many doors that bring me to who I am today, and what I could learn until now.

Central-Europe way of thinking?

Living in the Netherlands has taught me a lot about work-life balance. People here value their time. If you’re working late, it’s not a badge of honor: it’s a sign you’re not managing things well. And that’s a lesson worth taking to heart. We’re replaceable at work, all of us. If we were to disappear tomorrow, someone else would fill our role. So why not make sure that, while we’re here, we’re also living?

Nature vs Nurture?

Life in the Netherlands has opened doors to two years of introspection about the meaning of life: over time, and I’m 29 now, I’ve discovered that we are a product of our surroundings, what we accept to nurture, more than nature itself.

I’ll rephrase it: I think we’re more shaped by our surroundings than we admit. More than by our nature, even. Sure, I have my father's temperament (and hopefully work beliefs too) and my mother's warmth around people. I have my grandfather’s stubbornness. But I’m also the sum of all the places I’ve been: the ones that felt like home and the ones that pushed me beyond what was comfortable. I’ve learned that we’re far more resilient than we give ourselves credit for. We adapt. We grow. We break and we heal. And through it all, we keep moving.

Considering companies are composed of humans, here’s the connection to work: we tolerate so much, we settle into what’s comfortable, and sometimes we forget we have the choice to move away: to move forward.

Change & Innovation

I’ve seen colleagues hold back brilliant ideas because they didn’t feel confident enough to speak up. I’ve heard people, including family, say they’re just not the kind to handle change well. But I don’t buy it. Humans are built to adapt. We were nomads once, after all.

And in work, just like in life, we need to remember that. If we stay put because it’s comfortable, we risk missing out on something far better. If we’re afraid of discomfort, we’ll never find out what’s possible.

So, discomfort is something that we can train ourselves to stop feeling.

If I hadn’t faced these feelings of inadequacy, shyness, feeling like a fish out of water, and all those things, I don’t think I would have made it all this way: and I’m not saying I’m the President of the USA or a big Forbes personality, but what I mean is that I am were I’m feeling alive, respected, valued, and heard, because I push for that to happen.

Brian Solis, Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow and famous Innovation keynote speaker, brings the point home in a similar way.

You can have more influence than you think, if you start leveraging it well. I don’t know the specifics of your company, but part of it might be meritocracy, part of it office politics, but if you don’t take action, nobody will take action for you.

Innovation, in life, in work, comes from movement. From knowing when to leave, when to push, when to change. It comes from the courage to step away from what’s familiar and into what might be better.

Just this week, I had a new long-term mentee explain how they had recently understood that if they don’t push for themselves at work, nobody will, which they thought was a sign of lack of compatibility in the company. But in these countries, why would they “babysit” you? If you want to grow, you bring in results, you show your grit, persistence and confidence. If you don’t do it, nobody will.

Examples from the News

While I type this, my mind goes back to Jaguar’s new controversial take on electric vehicles and the “copy nothing” reinterpretation of the founder’s original version that just came out two days ago:

“A Jaguar should be a copy of nothing.” - Sir William Lyons

So when they are going back to the roots of Lyons’ original motto for boldness, they are being innovative, and they are embracing discomfort.

Innovation is also not about endless brainstorming sessions or throwing out wild ideas without context. True innovation comes from an understanding of the problem, the needs, and the willingness to act. It’s about applying creativity with intention. It’s about taking risks, but with purpose. Innovation is not chaos: it’s a clear-eyed step toward what might be, driven by the belief that there’s always a better way to do things. And that belief only matters if we decide to act on it.

(I’m not saying I love the cars, but they took it to where they intended it, whether we like it or not, they stayed true to the brand.)

And last quote for today: take it from Winston Churchill (who seemed to switch parties and politics a bit frequently):

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”

Winston Churchill

Key takeaways:

> Innovation and life are defined by movement, and movement requires some uncertainty and discomfort sometimes. You can live through it, even if you don't think you can make it.

> No one will push you if you don’t push yourself. And if you don’t, you’ll never know what you’re capable of.

> Change isn't always bad. Stability isn't always good.

> It’s been ten years since I left my childhood home, and I’ve learned that discomfort is a sign. It’s something we can train ourselves not to fear. It’s a signal that maybe it’s time to change something.


> What is a comfort zone anyway? Isn’t it also under constant change? Didn’t you also not do that activity until you did it and it became comfortable?

Some end of the year reflections for change:

What working in a Belgian corporation and living in the Netherlands is teaching me:

• People value their life apart from the 9-5.

• Dutch have niksen, Swedish have fika and Danish have hygge. They all have their words to embrace a state of enjoyment of life, doing nothing (it is a bit on the bad side sometimes) and overall enjoying life’s little things.

• If you’re working late, you’re just unproductive, not the other way around.

  • Why are you working late anyway? If you die, you’ll be replaced. So make yourself just a bit irreplaceable, but remember that if you die tomorrow, you’ll be replaced. Your legacy won’t be anything different if you find a work-life balance.

  • When you die, your life usually gets summed up by two dates and a dash. It doesn’t include your hobbies, or anything else. It’s year of birth dash year of death. So, inspired by Sahil Bloom, I say: make the dash count.

• In these countries, they really enjoy hikes, nature, cycling, and overall, anything that isn’t work.

  • I’ve seen friends have sprint retrospectives over beer on a Friday afternoon by a canal in Amsterdam.

  • I’ve heard friends share other stories about partying with coworkers, and going for drinks for Vrijmibo (same as enjoying the afternoon off once you step out of work).

I hope you enjoy this reflection. Sometimes we do need to look back in order to look forward :)