I remember the most anxious I ever felt and there was almost an instinctive need to get moving! There’s something about moving that is more than just a bunch of bones and muscles relocating geographically!

Moving can be associated with uncertainty and adjusting to new surroundings. Leaving behind the familiar and adapting can evoke sadness, nostalgia, excitement and anxiety. The point is that it stirs us. That was the catalyst for Pixar’s Inside Out, wasn’t it? When we have to start again, what are my qualities now?

People moving away from a job, a hometown, or a country, often leave behind significant relationships, family and friends, and support systems. There can be feelings of loss, loneliness, disconnection. Who am I when I am not there?

As Riley discovered in Inside Out, we can then be placed into a challenging position where we have to address our current coping strategies and our levels of resilience. Things become real, we have to adapt, problem-solve and manage stress. When I moved to China aged 28 I never felt more alive but it wasn’t comfortable by any stretch of the imagination. What I was experiencing was growth and opportunity, broadening horizons and fostering confidence in myself but it could have been viewed entirely differently depending on my attitude. That’s when we begin to look at the narrative of our life and edit.

When Riley lost a sense of being in control of her life, a certain level of autonomy disappeared and her troubles literally became a backpack that she carried around. So she headed out, which brings me back to my initial point. When we are moving it is a metaphor for change - we seek, we note, we experience, we adapt as things change. Some enjoy this feeling as they walk their dog, cycle country lanes or climb hills - it puts you in a certain reflective frame of mind. When someone is walking alongside you and supporting that thinking it can be a very powerful contribution to your wellbeing. We can embrace change but we have to be willing to move a little.