The Voice of Fear

Adventure is a State of Mind

There are many reasons why people who say they want to travel independently don’t actually do it. I think the majority of the reasons, some might call them excuses, boil down to fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of doing it “wrong.” Fear of not knowing how to fix the things that go wrong.

Everything looks impossible for the people who never try anything.

Jean-Louis Etienne

The Voice of Fear

I once listened to a group of my friends discuss how they didn’t feel comfortable traveling outside of a tour group in another country because they didn’t know if they could find a place to stay that was clean and comfortable in a new city if they didn’t speak the language. My response was to ask them how they figure that out when they are traveling to a city in another state where they have never been. The differences in planning between the two situations are not actually as great as my friends thought. (See If Not Now When.)

Obviously, adventures are to be had everywhere, sometimes even right outside your own front door; but for some reason, most likely that ubiquitous fear of the unknown, people often find the idea of traveling in another country to be more challenge than they can manage. Knowledge is power (and confidence). There are a multitude of tips and strategies to help you feel more confident in planning independent adventures, including travel abroad. I hope as you keep exploring this blog, you will find your confidence growing!

Choose to be brave…and healthy!

Will traveling abroad be scary at times and challenge you? Absolutely! It is likely, however, that only doing things that present nothing new or different or challenging will border on being boring. Anything new can be a challenge, and challenges are exciting and help us to grow. One of the best ways to grow as an individual is to experiment with your life and discover what has the best outcome for you and what you enjoy the most.

When you are traveling to a new place with new people and new ways of doing things, you not only can learn to do things in ways you didn’t even know existed prior to traveling, but you can even try to do things differently just because you want to try out some new personality traits–for example, I used to be shy enough to wait until someone else spoke to me first before I said anything to them. Then I learned that it is considered rude in France to enter a shop without calling out “Bonjour!” to the people working there. Pushing myself to greet others because I didn’t want to be a rude American in France spilled over into making me a little bit more outgoing. I now often say “hello” first when I enter a store or see a friend, even when I’m on my home turf.

Growing and changing, even in small ways is healthy for all of us. How have you benefitted and grown from your travel adventures, even the ones close to home?