3 Mind-Blowing Things You Learn After Saying Fck It & Traveling
If you have ever dreamed of dropping everything and putting your life as you know it on pause to go travel, you should do it. There is never going to be the absolute perfect time and if you are waiting for the travel gods to whisper down to you “it’s tiiiiime”, this is never going to happen.
It takes some diligent planning, saving some cash, increasing your online skills, researching, getting over your worries, and the ability to part with not only things but people and pets. You will have to force yourself to be strong, and believe in yourself that this is going to be a great chapter in your life.
I’m currently writing this while I’m living in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam after donating everything I owned 4 months ago in Denver, Colorado. I travel now for up to 60 days in new countries, out of a backpack and a carry-on mostly filled up with Apple products and yoga pants. I decided to pack my bags after feeling bored in my daily life and city, and knowing that I never wanted my life to be like the Jones’ down the street which was the path that I seemed to be on.
I do not have a set duration of time of how long I will be traveling, and no mapped out itinerary. Call this my pre-mid-life crisis. I’m sure that’s a thing by now.
After being on my newest trip in life, here’s what I have discovered:
1. The 80/20 Rule applies to everything in this world, even traveling
2. You get to know yourself (maybe too well) while traveling solo. What you do when nobody is watching and who you surround yourself matters offline and online.
3. It doesn’t matter where you move to, you will make life however you choose
- The 80/20 Rule is legit on everything, even travel
When I started on my fitness journey years ago, I soon realized that no matter how much I worked out it wouldn’t matter in my body transformation if I didn’t have my nutrition in check. I learned that nutrition impacts 80% of the results.
In business, I learned that 80% of my income comes from a few different tasks including creating content, sales copy and marketing.
In travel, I learned that living in beautiful developing countries comes with 80%-wonderful and 20%-oh-shit.
I started off the planning of my trip by attempting to set up a *home* before I took off. Meaning I wanted to set up a place where I felt stability. I have a bizarre personality type where I need to feel a stable home environment, while also feeling I could leave at any moment’s notice if necessary. Sure, you can send me your therapist’s contact…
I chose Bali, Indonesia because I saw probably one too many YouTuber vlogs describing their amazing life in Bali. After their influence and being sold hard, I managed to get my one year multi-entry visa surprisingly pretty easy and decided before ever setting a foot in the country that I was staying put for a year in Bali. *Foot Stomp*
Instead of the calm beautiful natural world of Bali that I was expecting, on the day of my arrival I was driven through the city to my accommodations and experienced something a bit different. It took around an hour and a half from the airport — only because we were backed up in traffic jams consisting of a tremendous amount of motor scooters on very narrow roads. I realized wow, there’s a lot going on here in Bali. Looking back now, I think I must have been expecting some magical deserted beautiful island that the travel gods had made specifically for me and about 20 other cool tourists. smh.
The vlogs that I watched did have a lot of accuracies, and I soon discovered the gorgeous country of Indonesia and everything there was to offer. However, there are certainly some “Holy S*** Balls” experiences when living in this developing country that don’t get mentioned and took me a bit by surprise. What I also didn’t know at the time was that Bali was actually preparing me for Ho Chi Minh, but that’s a story for another day.
The 20%-oh-shit that the Vlogs didn’t really highlight was the reckless traffic where many tourists die or are in serious accidents often, undrinkable water, a crazy amount of stray dogs, high probability of food-borne illnesses that you can not prevent, subpar healthcare, mosquitos, ATM skimmings, methanol drinks that can kill you, and creepy crawlers everywhere.
But you’re easily able to brush all of those things aside when have a beautiful beach two minutes from your home, $3 margaritas, delicious smoothie bowls, a whole bunch of “eye candy”, sweet smiling locals, $400/month rent with a maid, and wifi everywhere.
So you can understand why I came to the conclusion that living in this country went along with the 80/20 rule. 80% incredible, and then that other 20% takes a little flexibility. But that’s how life always is. You take in the salt with the sugar. I plan on returning to Bali soon because I love it, despite it’s “things”.
Make sure to do your research thoroughly on the countries that you are getting ready to either visit or live in. But most importantly, lower your expectations and be open to embracing the great while understanding there will be a need to be flexible in a first world country mindset.
2. You Get To Know Yourself (maybe too well) While Traveling Solo.
Who You Surround Yourself Matters.
Here’s what happens when you travel solo. You learn who you truly are when nobody is watching. And it’s up to you to level up your own self.
When you travel for short periods of time in different places, nobody knows who you are — or cares. Maybe your Airbnb host cares a little, but let’s be honest, it’s primarily because they are expecting that 5 star review. Caring is a business transaction for them. So it’s still better to call your mom if you want true authenticity in other words.
As a solo traveler, there is nobody surrounding you to give a judgmental eye that might have previously been a motivator. Especially when you are traveling in developing countries, there is nobody to impress or even smell good for.
You might find yourself going a day or two longer for a shower than you normally would, wearing that pair of jeans far past the normal “threshold”, waking up an hour or two later than normal, putting off deadlines you set for yourself.
Although this can be blissful at first, it can be torment at the same time. Even if you happened to encounter someone who might cast a judgement on the rare occasion, you know that the next day or flight you will never see them again in your life so WGAF. And sure, you’ll meet some friends for a week or so but then they took a flight here or you took a train there so you’re usually always back to solo.
So to keep your spirits and motivation high, you write down your core values, understand a routine that you function at best, and the necessities you need to be at your best within your living accommodations. Keep motivational tools at your disposal, such as loading up your kindle, audible and being apart of online communities.
For personal interaction, which you truly do need, I have found that the best thing that you can do is surround yourself in Facebook online communities that give you both the back home comfort, local community, and like-minded communities.
- Facebook Masterminds & Mentorship Groups: Find mentors and groups that want more than the average for themselves. Take in their content, contribute and sign up for a course (but no bs courses).
- Facebook Back Home Comfort: Stay connected within you Facebook and share authentic stories on what you are experiencing; the good and the bad! They will be your comfort blanket, and the people who will always give you encouragement to keep going. This is especially needed when you get in periods of loneliness and lows — which do happen!
- Facebook Like-Minded Community Groups: Search communities that you are professionally associated to or have something in common with. While I travel, I frequently search digital nomad communities for girls and also other online remote worker communities. One of my favorites is Digital Nomad Girls
- Facebook Local Community: Search digital nomad or expat communities for each city you get into — these groups have some of the most helpful and welcoming souls on the planet for anything that you need. You’ll find anything from local housing posts, fun events to go to, hair salons for expats, etc. I have found during my travels these last few month Chiang Mai Expats, Saigon Expats, Canggu Expats, Bangkok Expats
3. It doesn’t matter where you move to, you will make life however you choose
No matter where you choose to live, you have to make the most of it. Although a lot of people might call me an adventurer, I am an introverted person at the core who loves reading and drawing and can go days without realizing a sound was not made.
What I have discovered in my journey is that I have to acknowledge that if I choose to let my introverted comfortable self be in total control(without anyone judging or watching as mentioned before) then I will miss out on experiencing.
It is imperative to set certain rules for yourself for whatever goals you are trying to accomplish while traveling. For instance, once a week I do an exciting experience or hike or make sure to have a fun local connection over a meal.
The best way to meet people in your journey or to find new experience is by the online Facebook groups. Another couple of resources are networking at some of the co-working centers as well as
Summary
Travel will truly let you discover deep into your soul, and I hope that you take the leap soon. There are a ton of resources available to help you along your journeys, and people to connect with. Begin your planning today!
I couldn’t be happier that I chose to travel solo for my pre-mid-life-crisis. I am discovering so much beauty in this world, meeting some amazing people, and beginning to understand so much more about myself and tuned into what it is that I want for my life. I look forward to writing more about the journey and how to travel with *more* ease.
