Lia Rich interviews Ginny Evans-Pollard about her international quest for self-development and life on the road as a digital nomad.
Some of us may be daydreaming out the window right now, reminiscing of times spent in faraway lands, thinking ‘I want to relive that time I pushed myself out of my comfort zone because I can sit here now and appreciate how it influenced who I am today’.
As a coach, I meet all sorts of clients as well as fellow coaches, each with inimitable stories and life experiences. Sharing this is what life is about.
Ginny Evans-Pollard is a digital nomad, life coach, teacher, comedian, journalist, writer…wait, what is she not?! Here I chat with her about her recent trip to South America as a digital nomad and fellow coach, a strong and independent solo female traveler on a mission for transformation.
Lia: You had a recent trip to South America, where you trialed out your life as a Digital Nomad.
Ginny: Yeah. For me, to have a digital nomad lifestyle was always something I wanted to do. You need to have a certain amount of tenacity, and a lot of strength to negotiate on. First I went to Chile, and stayed in one place for three weeks, and it was the most bizarre time because I arrived in a country where there was political unrest. I went straight to the coast and stayed in a summer house by the sea.
At the beach hut in Las Cruces where I spent my first 3 weeks in Chile. Copyright 2020 Ginny Evans-Pollard.
If you had to choose from the countries you went to in South America, which one would you say fit the digital nomad lifestyle the best?
So the best country could be where you speak the language, you've got access to a community, online and offline. Offline is really important. I definitely think that a sense of community is really important wherever you go. Even in the lockdown now, it's become really apparent in the people who are working remotely who didn't usually work remotely.
In terms of being an entrepreneur, I wouldn't say that Argentina was a very good one, rather Brazil. They have an international outlook there. Rio was a great city, but I didn't think it was an easy city to live in in terms of security and safety. Towards the end I went to live in this lady's house in a really poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro called Cascadura. She was very adamant that I couldn't go out after 4pm.
If you are looking for more of a digital nomad community, Mexico is a great place. I'm still part of a Mexican co-working international group on WhatsApp, actually.
On the Streets in Rio Di Janero, Brazil. Copyright 2020 Ginny Evans-Pollard.
How is coaching viewed in the countries you went to?
It's difficult to know. When I said I was a coach in Brazil they knew the word, but in Argentina I got the impression that they didn't really use the idea of a coach and it was someone who is more like a psychologist. I think coaching is quite a Western idea. It's quite a luxury to have a coach.
I would tell people I had a blog, The Plucky Nomad, I was building my brand, and I was a coach, and that was about it. That's how they understood me more, they didn't really understand the idea of coaching.
When we are in our own country we know how things work. As a digital nomad, you’ve got to understand the language then you've got to understand how the culture of the country works. So asking about coaching is a good thing. I would go back with a question in mind about coaching.
Really, I was going there for more of a personal development journey and an adventure.
Eating icecream and laughing with my friend and local, David a fellow global citizen in Ushaia, Argentina the southernmost city in the world. Copyright 2020 Ginny Evans-Pollard.
With the purpose of the trip being for self development and adventure, how did that manifest when you got there?
I was in a situation where I recently split up with my girlfriend after 6 years. It was through coaching that I concluded the relationship was essentially over, and that’s how I made the decision to go to South America.
It’s like action-research, trying to find out more about myself after being in a relationship for so many years. Being with someone else for so long, you often form an identity of being with that person and then you're moulded to that. My trip was moving away from it and trying to discover who I was as an individual.
That's part of the journey, the self discovery, and what better way to do it than traveling because you find out what your limitations are. You find out what your strengths and weaknesses are, what you are prepared to tolerate, and what you're prepared to give up.
On the main boulevard in Las Cruces, Chile the first stop in South America. Copyright 2020 Ginny Evans-Pollard.
What would you say were the things that you were prepared to give up?
This week, I was looking back at videos of me being coached from January 2019. It made me think, why was I staying there? What was I after? That’s why I think coaching is so powerful. For me, it is really moving forward and making a decision.
When I decided to leave London I gave up physical stuff from 20 years ago. All that stuff is symbolic, a metaphor for clearing up a lot of stuff you've been carrying around, and then you got stuck because it was so heavy, and then you move forward because you got rid of it.
I’d be sitting on the couch watching TV, thinking who wants to be doing that? You should be out looking at the world!? So that's what I did really.
So what would you say is a good mindset to be in if somebody was doing a trip similar to yours?
I think your mindset has to be one where you are prepared to take a risk. You have to be open to new possibilities and make sure that you've got support. Make sure that you have like minded people you can connect with. They might be people from home, or they might be people who are not your friends.
It's about that open mindedness that you might have lost in your settled state.
I think I’ve summed it up because I gave up a lot to be able to do what I did. Quite often people would tell me, oh, I wish I could be you going around the world, you're so lucky to do this, and I’d think, well actually you could do this, but you have to make an effort, because I think it does look a lot easier from the outside.
I moved out of my house in London and made a lot of sacrifices. But it was a cleansing process if you think of it that way.
A typical cityscape in Ushaia, Argentina the southernmost city in the world. Copyright 2020 Ginny Evans-Pollard.
Ginny’s trip went a lot further than the 7,249 miles she traveled from London to Santiago, her first stop. It was a cleansing process that took an open mind, coaching, community support, and recognising what could have otherwise been lost if she hadn’t pushed herself out of her comfort zone.
What could life be like if you stepped out of your comfort zone? Coaching can help facilitate that in the same way it did for Ginny’s life-changing experience, by discovering more about who you are as an individual and what you are prepared to leave behind in the pursuit of self-development.
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Ginny Evans-Pollard is The Plucky Nomad founder. She is also a writer, digital nomad, and life coach-check out her sister website or set up a call if you want her to blog for you or contact her. Thanks for liking, following The Plucky Nomad, commenting and sharing this article.
Lia Rich is a Holistic Mental Health and Wellbeing Coach. Check her out here to get in contact.