What’s the real reason for wanting to take a round the world (RTW) trip? For those who have made the journey, the reasons vary. In this post, I tap into my reasons for wanting to go on a trip around the globe.
…those who don’t have a purpose are less likely to go.
Thanks to the BootsnAll email series I was forced to really start thinking about the purpose of the RTW trip I put on my bucket list years ago. Why do I want to go on a trip of this magnitude? What’s my why?
Do you have a big goal or aspiration? As you read along, see what resonates as you think through your why. This quick exercise may drive your next action steps.
A Little About My Travel Background
I have always enjoyed traveling mostly due to influences from my family. As a child, I remember my mother taking me and my great grandmother on road trips. My mother and I also traveled fairly frequently on airplanes. So much so that I at one point wanted to be a pilot. As a teenager, I took my first international trip; my mother was traveling to Morocco, and she let me tag along. Thanks Mom! The culture was vastly different from what I was accustomed to growing up in a small, rural town in Tennessee. After the trip, I felt more connected to the world. The international travel bug bit me that year.
I took my growing love of travel with me to college where my college friends joined me on my journeys. During college my grandmother who is “not the baking cookies, rocking chair” type of granny (her words not mine) also perpetuated my passion for travel by starting a new family tradition: an annual international trip.
My Why
Now that I set the stage and gave some insight about what sparked my interest in travel, I’ll dive into the why. That’s the question that always comes up when I share my desire to take such a journey. Like many people who enjoy traveling, I find that it is an escape – a break from monotony. Think about it for a second. Who really enjoys the hamster wheel routine of waking up to go to work then leaving work so you can rest in order to wake up and go to work again? I find myself living for the weekend only to be disappointed by how short it is when Sunday comes around and I start thinking about Monday morning. (Who’s with me on that feeling?)
Please don’t get me wrong. I’m very thankful for the job that I have. It has afforded me the opportunity to do and have many things in life, but when I think about the repetition that I go through on a daily basis (and have been going through for many years), I can’t help but explore the possibility that there is something more that I should be doing with the time that I have on this planet. I simply want more; I also want to retrain my brain to be okay with taking calculated risks. Lots of people are so risk averse, that they let spectacular opportunities pass them by simply because they are afraid of the negative things that might occur. What about the possibility of the positive unknowns? Should we not try new and uncomfortable opportunities is search of the potentially positive things that might happen? This type of lifestyle change and way of thinking may not be for everyone, but I am willing to give it a try!
Digging Deeper to Focus on Purpose
I have lived a most wonderful life full of love, joy, heartache, growth, disappointment, failure and many successes. I am extremely thankful for each day that I wake up to experience this rollercoaster ride we call life! As unexpected, challenging and wondrous as life can be, I have not always given life the attention that it deserves. I have been guilty of taking life for granted for many years expecting to wake each morning as I have done my entire life with no issue. In recent years however, I have been forced to become acutely aware of the finiteness of life. The aging process that never seemed to phase my grandparents, parents, nor myself is slowly starting to become visible, and I have recently had to abruptly say goodbye to friends and loved ones due to life ending events outside of old age.
No one wants to live with regret, and for those who have experienced deep regret over something that was within their power to do or not do, they know how painful memories of that regretful moment can be. I am no different; I have regrets too mostly related to time. Time spent doing one thing when I wish I had been doing something else – Thanksgiving spent working instead of being with my family, missing birthday parties, milestone celebrations, and chances to say goodbye because I was out of vacation days. I will never be able to go back in time and experience the moments that I missed. Unlike money, time spent can never be recouped.
Given my recent revelation about how I have been treating life, a spark was ignited in my heart: a desire to make a change for the better by commanding the limited amount of precious time that I have been given in order to live life to the fullest! Wow, huge change right?! I thought so as well which immediately prompted me to think about how the change would manifest. What could I do to create positive change in my life that would result in more time spent doing the things I love? What’s something that I have always wanted to do, but just did not have the TIME to do? Aha! Travel! And not just any travel – an around the world trip!
For me, this extended trip is more than just a trip. It’s an opportunity for me to follow through on the commitment I have made to break free from my daily “life as usual – 9 to 5” routine. It’s symbolic because it is the ultimate break from the norm, and I hope it gives me the confidence to look fear in the eyes the next time I want to do something that others think is bold, scary, unusual or “crazy.”
As I open up and share my story about my travel plan, I have encountered people who think I am crazy (totally expected. It is way outside the norm) and others who have expressed an interest in wanting to join me along the way (awesome right!). I love the feedback from others because it has helped spark conversations with people about their own fears and passions, and it has helped keep me grounded and energized as I break my own mental chains to start doing more of what I love. Change is hard, but sometimes you have to take action instead of being complacent and going along with the status quo. I am not sure what the future holds, but I am looking forward to making time for myself and loved ones. When it’s time for my circle of life to be completed, I want to be able to look back on my life with little to no regret of what could have been if I had only taken action to do the things in life that I had the power to do. If sharing my goals and aspirations will help inspire others take action to make positive change, I am happy to contribute!
What’s your why?
Take some time to really give it some thought. Is there something that you want to do? A trip, a big change, anything? Write down your reasons and reflect on how carrying out your goals will impact your life. Having a strong sense of purpose will keep you motivated and drive you to execute the plans to bring your travel and life desires to fruition. Have feedback for me? Please take a moment to add a comment. I look forward to hearing from you.
Want to view the recap of the BootsnAll email series? Click here.
