I have a journal where every morning I write down the 10 things I want to accomplish during my lifetime. The design of this journal is to write them down in past-tense as if you have already achieved them so you can focus on how it will feel once you accomplish that item. On line number 9 I write “I travel outside the country 1 or more times a year”.
It’s not the most elegant way of saying I want to focus on traveling, exploring, and seeing the world but it gets the job done.
I write this one down because I never want to lose that sense of exploration and curiosity. Â
When you travel somewhere new (even if it’s in the U.S.), I truly believe that you learn more than you could in any other setting. I say this as someone who has a graduate degree, three securities licenses, a divorce designation, and my insurance license.
But traveling allows you to learn about both yourself and the world around you.
I am a creature of habit and have read more books than I care to admit about habit forming and routines. But travel forces you out of all of you daily routines. And it gives me the chance to step back and reflect on whether or not I actually like the life that I am building for myself.
Right now, I am sitting in an airport in Vietnam eating french fries from a Burger King to give myself a break from all of the rice based dishes I have consumed over the last few days. Don’t get me wrong, they have been incredible, but I miss a good salad right about now- making me realize I love my daily lunch habit. Around 2 pm every day I make some form of a kale salad that I eat at my desk while I continue to work.
And as I sit here, I’m taking frequent breaks to do my favorite airport activity- people watching. You get the most immersive cultural experience seeing how people interact, the stores around you, and the conversations being had.
In some ways, it’s a reminder that we all have so much in common. We laugh, we cry, and we all have places to go.
But the most important thing about journal line number 9 is quote that I have in my bedroom. My favorite show growing up (and honestly to this day still is) Gilmore Gils. In one episode Logan Huntzberger says, “You can live 100 years without ever really living one minute”. And to me travel is the way I want to live and experience those years.
I want to visit my extended family in Germany, cruise down the Nile River, and most importantly, I want to understand cultures, history, and meet the most amazing people. And for that, I will be writing down I want to travel outside of the country at least one time per year for as long as I live and am physically able to travel this way.
