When you picture the ideal version of yourself, is it who you are today or who you are still striving to be? I’ll admit, I’m a constant work in progress and that is ok. Some of us set goals to towards closing the gap between who we are and who we want to be, and others will wander aimlessly hoping they will end up where we want. This is about the later – and how traveling solo can provide the movement and change you didn’t know you needed.
Too often we wander through life without thinking about where we are heading. One day passes, then another until all of a sudden the things we desired start to pile up until they become so overwhelming that we are frozen, searching for the “perfect” day to start.
Even achieving one or two of those goals requires an immense amount of commitment, focus, determination and time. Taking on more than you can chew can leave you feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated. When that happens we let those goals slowly fall to the wayside as we deem them not as “important” as other things in our life.
Are you guilty of it? (I know I am!)
Why You NEED A Solo Trip
If you are feeling lost, stuck or just unmotivated, my advice is simple… Go on a solo trip.
When you travel solo, you are forced to adapt, react, develop … all at once.
Imagine this…
You booked a flight to [insert foreign country], you don’t speak the language and to top it off you are going alone. The day arrives and you’ve landed in [insert foreign country], now you need to get transportation to your accommodation, which will likely require speaking with someone who doesn’t speak your language, you use whatever words you know and use hand gestures or google translate for the rest. You make it to your accommodations, get settled in and it’s time to make some friends (no one wants to be alone all the time) before heading out to explore the town.
It will be hard at first, but each obstacle you overcome only builds your confidence more.
By the end of your trip, you’ve learned how to navigate a foreign country, turned strangers into friends,
You have learned how to communicate better, solved problems, discovered new foods (that weren’t processed), and most importantly awakened the confidence and independence that laid dormant inside yourself.
How did you do all of it?
Because you had no choice.
You only option was to adapt and grow.
Best of all, it all happened as a byproduct of you traveling solo.
Traveling is the greatest class you’ll ever attend. It can be an incubator for you to develop into the person you have always wanted to be.
It’s easy to think the world is a scary place out to get you when the only news we hear is negative. But it’s not an accurate representation of the world. The truth is, the world is an amazing community filled with people who want to connect and are willing to help.
I can’t promise you that it won’t be uncomfortable at times (that’s the point). It’s natural to have anxiety or apprehension when you are on the plane to a new destination, but once you land & start interacting, you’ll forget why you were ever worried.
After I returned from my first solo trip to Costa Rica my friends asked me “what happened” when I was down there? Truth be told, it took me a while to process everything (I’m still learning from it). What I came away with was the realization that I was stronger than I ever thought and I could handle any situation if I took it one step at a time.
Traveling solo forced me to be independent, trust my gut, accept change and to take more risks. It opened my mind & helped me appreciate the present moment and the people that made it.
A solo trip is not a
It provides the opportunity for yourself to ask “what would the new me do?” and act on that question – without fear of judgment from someone who knows you.
Your experiences and the people around you are a blank slate, take the opportunity to be the best version of yourself.
The Challenge
Whether you are a seasoned solo traveler or new to the game, I challenge you to make it a priority this year.
Take out your goal list and write the following…
“In 2019 I will travel alone to ___________“
The best version of yourself is waiting to be discovered, all you have to do is book the trip.
awesome