Poh Gan

Growing up in a migrant family can mean learning to understand everyone else's expectations before you even know how to attend to your own needs, wants and values.

You learn what makes sense. What will make your parents proud. What will honour their sacrifices. What you should want.

But what happens when the life that makes sense to everyone else doesn't feel right to you?

In my conversation with psychologist Vi-An Nguyen, we explore the tension between family expectations, cultural values, and learning to trust our own inner wisdom.

Vi-An shares how she began noticing the difference in her body between following a path shaped by expectations and listening to what she genuinely wanted. One felt heavy. The other offered a different kind of clarity.

Sometimes, our bodies tell us something before we can fully explain it with words.

Honouring our roots doesn't have to mean abandoning ourselves. We can hold gratitude for our families while making space for our own values, needs, and choices.

💬 Have you ever struggled to balance family expectations with what you truly wanted for yourself? I'd love to hear your reflections.

🎧 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝟮𝟯 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀.

📝 The podcast blog is also out now!

#CulturalIdentity #MigrantMentalHealth #BuddhistPsychology #SelfTrust #ThePractitionersHeart