Some people's lives change with
a major turn
Others' slowly drift into
something we only maintain
Life is never meant to be put on a shelf,
waiting to be lived again "someday"
Ava Houkes | Expat Partner Coaching,
Leadership & Life Transition Advisory
Helping expat partners, internationally mobile professionals, and leaders reclaim authorship and bring life fully alive again through coaching, advisory, and facilitated conversations.
Life comes alive when we consciously participate in it
That is a life Above the Common: stepping out of unconscious or postponed living and into conscious engagement with life.
Ava guides individuals, couples, and organisations to unshelf potential and bring life fully alive again through advisory, coaching, speaking, teaching and facilitated conversations.
Her work focuses on expat partners, internationally mobile professionals, and leaders navigating complex professional or life transitions.
How Life Can Get Put On a Shelf
Certain life situations require intense focus, adaptation, or responsibility. During these periods, people often place parts of their own life temporarily on the shelf in order to navigate what is happening around them.
This can happen in contexts such as:
international relocation
expat partner transitions
demanding leadership roles
major career or life transitions
periods of rapid professional success
Nobody intentionally chooses to postpone life. Yet in these moments, shelving life can feel responsible, necessary, or even inevitable. Or it simply happens without anyone noticing.
Without conscious re-engagement, what was meant to be temporary can drift into permanence.
The life that was placed on the shelf never fully returns.
Ways to Help Unshelf Potential
Depending on the context, my work takes several forms:
1:1 Advisory and Coaching
Supporting individuals and couples navigating identity transitions, relocation, leadership challenges, and questions of life direction.
Organisational Advisory
Working with organisations that support internationally mobile professionals and leaders navigating complex transitions.
Workshops and Facilitated Conversations
Exploring themes such as authorship, conscious participation in life, and identity in transition.
Speaking and Teaching
Introducing the philosophy of living Above the Common in organisational and professional environments.
This Work Is Especially Relevant For
expat partners navigating their transition and identity shifts
internationally mobile professionals and couples
leaders in high-responsibility environments
executives involved with complex transitions
organisations supporting internationally mobile professionals and leadership development
What clients say
Rather than telling you what this work does, I prefer to let clients speak for themselves.
A Life Above the Common Begins with Awareness of What's On the Shelf
If something in this perspective resonates with you, you are welcome to explore the work further.
If you’re an expat partner navigating life abroad
If you’re living outside your country of origin and finding that something in your sense of self, direction, joy or belonging has shifted, you’re not alone.
Whether for work or personal reasons, as an expat yourself or as an expat spouse (also called trailer spouse), relocation often changes more than logistics. It can quietly affect identity, agency, and how at home you feel in your own life.
For this specific context, I offer the EPIC (Expat Partner Impact Consult): a focused conversation designed for expats or other people in big transitions, who want to:
Make sense of what this transition has impacted internally
Regain clarity, direction, and personal authorship
Decide what kind of support would genuinely help next
Not an expat partner, but recognising yourself in this?
You’re welcome to enquire about other coaching options.
