My friends and family are of course a little sad that I'm moving to the other side of the world. However, they've all been extremely supportive of my decision. No matter how much support I have, I still have those moments where I question if it's really the right thing to do. It's always hard to keep a cool head when people start pointing out the bad bits. What will you do when you get back? Do you have a job lined up for when you return? How will you afford everything? Won't you miss home? What about your friends? How is this rogue decision going to help you work towards a professional career? Aren't you worried that everyone will have changed and moved on with their lives when you return? Are you just doing this to postpone the reality of working a 9-5?
Believe me, these questions often run through my head, but I've now become quite good at putting them to the back of my mind and focusing on on what's best for me. I've also become quite good at coming up with really great responses which reflect my values and help me stay calm. Just want to clarify that most people aren’t assholes and never actually grill me with patronising questions about my life choices... but it’s important to think about these things nonetheless.
Sometimes, we fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others which in turn makes us question our decisions. I'm definitely guilty of this at times. However, I've really made a conscious effort to stop doing this and my confidence has improved immensely. Sometimes it's extremely difficult to know if you're making the right choices in life. Truth is, you'll never really know. There's always going to be that question of 'what if?' when looking back on your choices, but that's no way to live. Just making a choice in the first place and sticking to it is often half the battle. After that, it's up to you to make it the right one (obviously don't make shitty immoral choices that go against your values then try to convince yourself it's the right one though... that would be a bit stupid and just wouldn't really work...haha) As Mark Manson expresses beautifully in The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (which I highly highly recommend if you haven't read!),
“Life is about not knowing and then doing something anyway.”
I could quote a lot more from this book, but that's enough of me trying to sound like an inspirational life coach. When people ask me what I’m doing with my life and I tell them about my solo travel plans, a lot of people respond with:
“Oh my God that sounds amazing, I’m so jealous, I wish I could do that.”
I never really know how to respond. I kind of just awkwardly laugh and say thank you? Firstly, jealousy is bad. Secondly, if you wanna do it, then do it! Believe me...if I can, you can too. Sometimes I think people respond like this because it sounds nice, but deep down I don't actually think they "wish they could do it"... because if they really wanted to they would have done it (or at least started to plan) by now. I understand that other things in life may take priority like jobs and relationships... but you have to remember that:
“Money returns, time doesn’t.”
As much as I wish I came up with that quote... I didn’t...credits to the Travello app twitter page. If you've always dreamed of quitting your job/taking time off to travel, pushing your boundaries and experiencing something completely and utterly out of your comfort zone, then you gotta do it...and you gotta do it now! I'm not saying immediately quit your job and hop on the next flight, I'm saying you have to make the decision, set a goal, then start planning. There's never gonna be a right time for these things and you’ll never really be ready, so just go for it. Also, if you're really content with your life, your job, your routine... then absolutely don't force yourself to travel the world and live out of a backpack for months just because you see others doing it and think it looks kinda cool. You shouldn't ever put pressure on yourself to live a certain way just because other people seem to find it fulfilling. You might be totally happy with your mediocre routine and that's so okay!
Whilst I can't wait to go, of course I have my fears. I'm feeling relatively calm now because I still have a few months before I leave, but I know that I'll be a nervous wreck the night before my flight. I will most definitely cry my eyes out on the plane after saying bye to my family and friends and think 'Oh god, what the hell am I doing?'. Then again, what's really the worst that could happen? I guess the worst case scenario would be that I have an absolutely miserable time and have to get a flight home. Okay, there are definitely other extreme worst case scenarios but let's keep things lighthearted and not think about those... (don't worry Mum, I'll be careful!) As Cheryl Strayed says in her wonderful book Wild,
“Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves...”
As long as you choose to stay motivated when things go wrong (which they inevitably will) and tell yourself a positive story, ambition will almost always overpower fear and you'll be able to face any type of adversity and come out the other side stronger. I hope reading that made you all cringe a lil bit... sorry not sorry. If you've made it this far, thank you so much for indulging in all my quote filled deepness and I hope you can take something away from this post! I might have gotten a bit carried away... again, sorry not sorry.
Feel free to comment your thoughts below! :)
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