How to get over your concerns with long-term travel

“Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.”  — Bill Cosby

When I first made the decision to travel to Southeast Asia for 3 months on my own, I was excited.  Excited about exploring the world on my own.  Excited about eating wonderful food.  Excited about meeting new people and learning about different cultures.

As the trip approached, however, my excitement was joined by another emotion; an emotion that didn’t seem to belong and was quite unexpected.  Fear.

Fear?

Yup!  My mind seemed to be engaging all its creative facilities in helping to come up with new things for me to worry about.  Some of the things on my mind:

• What if I get lost in a random city?

• What if I hate traveling on my own?

• What if my wallet gets stolen by a monkey?  (yes, it has happened before – check out Youtube for some examples)

So what do do when you’re afraid of something?  Well, you could run away from it.  For me, that would mean canceling the trip.  But as Chuck Norris said, “Running from your fear can be more painful than facing it, for better or worse.”

Bill Cosby said:  “Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.”  And for me, whenever I had feelings of doubt or anxiety crop into my consciousness, I thought about why I wanted to travel.  I thought not about getting lost but about exploring unchartered territories, immersing myself in a different culture, and making new  friends.  And then, I thought about worst case scenarios, and the reality of how those scenarios would play out.  If I get lost in a random city … I’ll find someone who can help direct me, or buy a map.  If I hate traveling on my own … great, I’ll learn how to make friends while traveling.  If my stuff gets stolen … I can buy new gear.

And thinking about it in this way was great in helping me put everything in perspective.  I’m taking a trip on my own for 3 months?  Of course my mind is going to be uncomfortable with that!  Talk about getting out of routine.  But putting it in perspective helped me work through my concerns (and get on with my trip planning).

Lessons Learned

• Fear can be a powerful detractor to keep you from doing what you want; sometimes the more you want it, the more fear will try to steer you away

• The best way to deal with fear is to recognize it for what it is — a state of mind — and decide you want your intended action more than you are afraid of it

• Once you have made that decision, consider worst case scenarios, and recognize that they are not only unlikely, but also not the end of the world if they happen

• Realize that ultimately the best way to conquer a fear is through action