Episode 135: Moving to Europe for the Summer - How I Made it Happen

Aug 24

Karolina has had the absolute joy of living out one of her wildest dreams - living in Europe for the summer! Today, she shares exactly how she was able to accomplish it. Let’s just say there were some MAJOR mindset blocks to work through to make this experience a reality, and Karolina unpacks how we can navigate our own mental blocks and bring a piece of our dreams to life right now.

This episode reveals how ditching alcohol can open up our mind and show us that our lives have a bigger purpose. We’re so glad you're here, beautiful!

The journey to a summer in Europe.

When alcohol is in the way, it blocks our intuition. Sometimes we don't even know what we want. When you ditch alcohol though, so many possibilities become available. We start to believe that anything really is possible!

I grew up in a very Polish household. It was my first language, and I visited Poland regularly as a young girl. I fell head over heels in love with different cultures and traveled extensively as I got older. As a child, I had a Polish passport, but it expired and I never received my Polish social security number. To renew my Polish passport, I needed to reapply for citizenship.

When I was still drinking, I felt so overwhelmed by the citizenship application process. But when I became alcohol-free, my mindset completely changed.

I realized I actually could figure it out.

Navigating difficult bureaucratic processes, I just kept taking each step one by one. I obtained my Polish social security number, and then I finally received my passport. I now have dual citizenship, and I’m an official citizen of Poland!

There’s a quote from Oprah that I absolutely love where she says, “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.”

Before I went alcohol-free, so many things felt impossible. There were logistical hurdles, sure, but the mental roadblocks were what ultimately held me back. After ditching alcohol, I began challenging what I used to think was impossible. I started having the courage to ask, Why not?

If we get out of life what we ask of it, then WE are the key to living our dreams. When I ditched alcohol, I also ditched the lie that life couldn’t be better. My life today is proof that all of us have the ability to live the beautiful life we desire!

Living your dream a little at a time.

Sometimes we make our dream out to be so big that we don’t know how we’d ever get there. And of course your big dream is valid, right? And it’s ultimately the end goal you are working toward. But there's no reason why we can't start living the dream a little bit right now.

For example, my husband has this incredible vision of owning a catamaran to sail down in the Caribbean, but they are super expensive, so while he works toward that dream, what are some ways he can bring it to life now?

Maybe he starts with getting sailing lessons. After that, he could rent a sailboat for an afternoon or a day. I bet there’s a way to rent a boat for a weekend down in the Caribbean.

How can you live out your big dream in a little way, right now?

If you have a dream of writing a book, you could start with attending a writer's workshop. After that, you could step it up and go on a weekend writer's retreat. The point is that we don’t have to wait to experience small bits of joy pertaining to our dream as we work toward bringing it to fruition!

My long-term goal is to live in Europe, and as I work toward that, I’ve been creating ways I can experience that big dream little by little. While we can’t move to Europe just yet, my husband and I realized we could totally live there for a summer. We found a way to bring a slice of that dream to life.

We still had roadblocks to navigate though. A big one was my husband quitting his job. There was a lot of fear and hesitation around losing guaranteed income and challenging our sense of security. We also needed a way to pay for our mortgage and find someone to care for our animals. And what about the war on Ukraine which borders Poland? Was living there for a summer even going to be safe for us?

All of these could have been reasons to keep us from moving forward, but the truth is, there is ALWAYS a way to figure out the logistics, right?!

When we stop ourselves from finding a solution to the logistical problems, we are ultimately giving in to a lie or fear that we don’t deserve to have that dream or that we’re not worth that experience.

So what did we do?

My husband quit his job, we found an incredible company that finds people who are safe and reputable to stay in your home for free while caring for your pets, and I planned to allocate some of my book deal income toward expenses. We also decided to fly into Paris to assess the danger level before heading into Poland.

Do you see what I mean? If you actually look into the roadblocks and brainstorm options, I bet you can find a solution or get creative. If there's someone else out there who's done it before, then you can too!

Claiming your worth and the power of proximity.

Logistics aren’t what ultimately hold us back, though. Most of the time it’s a conversation about worthiness. I’ve struggled with thinking that I should be happy with what I have. Maybe I was asking for too much. Do I really deserve this? You could be asking yourself similar things.

We often get stuck in these cycles because of beliefs passed down to us from when we were younger.

“The other shoe is always gonna drop.”

“You're not worthy of everything coming true.”

“You get what you get and that’s it.”

I truly believe you have these dreams for a reason and they're pointing you toward your biggest calling. Know that if you have a call on your heart, it has a purpose, and you are meant to follow it.

Sometimes a challenge to seeking out your dream can be your environment. If no one in your circle is going after what you are, could it even be possible?

Proximity is power!

Associate with people who are doing or going after the thing that you want. Very quickly it will start to normalize that dream for you. When thinking of moving to Europe, I made friends with digital nomads.

If you want to write a book, surround yourself with other authors or aspiring authors. If you want to launch a business, connect with other entrepreneurs. If other people are doing this, why not you?!

Decide that you're worthy of it. Tell yourself that you deserve to live your dreams. You are meant to step up and live into your desires. When you do, you create a ripple effect showing others what's possible!

“Your intuition is never, ever wrong. She's just trying to make you happier and more fulfilled, and more in touch with an ability to help other people. And if your intuition has guided you here because she knows that it's time to ditch alcohol, don't ignore her either.” Karolina Rzadkowolska

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Karolina’s book is available in hardcover, Kindle, and as an audiobook. Be sure to get your copy of Euphoric: Ditch Alcohol and Gain a Happier, More Confident You today and leave your review.

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