I finally did it!
It was the winter of 1998, during that strangely quiet time between Christmas and New Year’s. The office was a ghost town and I was flipping through our company’s magazine.
Suddenly, my eyes landed on article that grabbed my attention. It listed 10 ways to work more travel into your life. And I devoured it.
My favorite tip? Commit to visiting one new place every year.
“Hey, I can do that!”, I thought. And in that instant, I vowed to give myself this gift.
You see, I had a serious travel bug. I would dream about visiting exotic places that were as different from my world as possible. Places like Japan, India and Turkey. And I could hardly wait to see them all!
The problem was that no one I knew wanted to travel with me. My friends were either not interested in visiting the places I drooled over, or they were saving their vacation for trips with their partner. (Totally understandable.)
So instead, I let my dreams collect dust and went to places like the Jersey shore. Or Cancun.
But back to 1998! Things would be different now with my new commitment, right?
Well, sort of.
For the first few years, I’d count work trips to cities like Chicago and Atlanta as my “one new place”.
Until a couple years in, a relationship for which I nearly upended my entire life, ended. And something inside of me clicked.
I realized that I was sick of pushing my desires aside and compromising my life away. I thought of the years when I had counted business trips as my “one new place”, and it became crystal clear—this was NOT what I had in mind when I made that promise to myself!
Then before I knew it, I found a women’s travel group and was on a plane to Morocco.
I’m happy to say that I’ve kept that travel promise to myself ever since (unless there was a year when I intentionally chose not to go because I didn’t feel like a trip.)
The best part is that in addition to racking up frequent flyer miles, I’ve gained so much from this decision.
I’m fulfilling my own needs, taking that pressure off my relationships.
I’m feeding my soul with what it craves.
I’m allowing myself to disconnect from my day-to-day, reconnect to myself on a deeper level and return home reinspired and reinvigorated.
And you know what else? I’ve met a lot of friends who love to travel, just as much as I do!
So, I’m curious…
Where in your life are you blaming other people for not getting something you want?
How is that making you feel?
What can you do to take control and give it to yourself?
What are three ways in which your life will benefit by doing this?
If you’re up for it, let yourself get truly honest about what you want and need. Then take on the responsibility for making it happen. Start with something small, just to try it out!
Caring for yourself in this way reduces your stress, fills you up and helps you feel empowered and happy. You then bring all these qualities into every area of your life: your work, your home, your relationships, etc.
Think of what could be different if you take ownership of meeting your needs. Will you give it a shot? I hope so!