I haven’t been anywhere for a while because, well, your girl’s broke: money- and time-wise. But I absolutely love traveling. It’s one of my passions.
If this sounds like you, this post will help you recreate the experience of travel until you’re able to do it for real. It’ll also help you gain clarity so that the next time you do travel, you’ll get the most out of your trip. It’s how I’m getting through this dry spell, and I know it’ll help you too.
So how do you experience travel while you’re at home? It’s all about recreating these four key experiences:
Recreate experiences of self-reliance
When you’re not in the comfort of your home, you problem solve. You navigate new spaces (where’s my connecting flight?), you use your voice (can you help me find?…), and you make big decisions (where are we eating?). These are all examples of relying on your own skills and getting by even in the face of uncertainty.
Every time I take a solo trip, I have to remind myself that I’m resilient and I’m resourceful. These facts are also true in my everyday life, but when I’m stressin’, it doesn’t feel like that.
When you’re not traveling, try to recreate experiences where you challenge yourself. These opportunities to lean into your strength and creativity are great ways to remind you that you’re capable.
You could challenge yourself to figure out something new by:
- Signing up for a workshop at the library
- Doing a new creative activity like a paint night
- Buying some fresh ingredients and making a new meal… without a recipe, or
- Using public transit to get to a new place in your community
When you challenge yourself and succeed, you create a back-log of evidence that you can. You can figure out how to complete that work project, you can lead a team, and you can solve a problem without knowing all the steps in advance.
It’s okay to accomplish something through your own determination and trial and error (and if I’m honest, it’s only the error part that scares me). So, even though step-by-step itineraries are helpful in travel and in life, we also have to be able to adapt and figure things out as we go. You can do this without jumping on a plane.
Recreate experiences of awe
Getting to see, eat, hear or experience something that’s not common in your home is an amazing aspect of travel.
But you can do this at home as well. You can experience this sense of awe just by speaking with someone who’s lived in a different space or time.
If you speak to someone who’s older than you, you might find that the space you occupy now didn’t always look like it does. The buildings we inhabit and the streets we walk through were different in the past. Talking to someone who’s lived through those times is also a form of travel.
If you’re lucky enough to live in a diverse community, talk to people about their first homes. You can travel to another country by speaking to someone who’s from there and engaging in respectful dialogue about whatever they feel comfortable sharing.
An alternative for introverts: read a book that’s set someplace else. We all know that a great story can move you through space and time, so why not try traveling through storytelling?
Recreate your labels
One of the best things about traveling somewhere new is that no one knows you (unless you’re famous… heyyy). You can enter this new space with a clean slate and introduce yourself without your credentials.
So many times when we seek travel, what we’re really seeking is a step back from the roles that we fill in our everyday lives. We’re looking for a break from some of the responsibilities that we fulfill day in and day out.
Move away from your “title.”
If you’re a mom or a student or a pharmacist, make space for yourself away from these labels. Retreat into yourself so that you can analyze how those labels are affecting your actions and your well-being.
I think it’s important for us to be mindful of the ways in which we let external expectations shape our identities. You don’t have to be curt because you’re in a busy workplace. You don’t have to party because you’re a millennial. Those are other people’s expectations. You get to decide whether or not they’re true for you when you’re home and when you’re abroad. (Read: 3 Useful Questions for When You’re Worried About Time)
4. Recreate freedom
Along the same line of stepping back from your “title,” could you take a moment to check in with yourself? What do we really mean when we say, “I need a vacation”? A lot of the time, what we need is:
- A break
- A nap
- Some good food
- To heal
- To explore
- Time away from noise and chatter
Use this time to identify whether there’s something in particular that you’re craving. And if there is, work on it before you leave for your next trip. In other words:
Don’t depend on time abroad to solve all of life’s struggles.
You’ll get so much more out of your trip if you go into it without life-changing expectations. You’ll have less pressure to “find love” or “discover yourself” or blah blah blah. All those things are great, and of course, all those things can happen while you’re away, but if you travel after already having done the work, you’ll be open to receive whatever that new space has to offer to you instead of checking in extra baggage (literally or figuratively).
Summary
So, before you travel, make sure you’re already at a place where you’re meeting your basic needs. Make sure you’re in a positive physical and emotional state so that you can get the most out of your trip.
And if you can’t afford to go anywhere for some time, travel at home by:
- Experiencing awe through story-telling
- Creating experiences of self-reliance
- Reclaiming your identity by taking a step back from your traditional roles, and
- Creating a space where you can freely ask for what you need
If you’d like more ideas about how to make time for self-care, join our email community below. I’ll send you some helpful PDF workbooks to help you move through a journey of personal travel.
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