Everyone has their own life goals and ambitions, but even when two people have the same goal, the specificity of how they perceive that goal can set them apart completely. You both might want different things out of that goal, or you might want to go about it in entirely different ways. Travel is a common example of this, but while two people might want to visit the same place, one might want to go for the culture, while the other might want to go for nature.
It’s natural to become inspired by external sources when conjuring up your own goals, but understanding what you want out of them can help you to meet them on your own terms.
Knowing When and How to Travel
It’s not just the question of why you should travel that varies between people, but the feelings that the entire experience evokes in someone can range from excitement to anxiety to everything in between. Finding yourself in a situation where you desperately want to travel and see the world, yet are also massively daunted at the prospect is natural, but it can also lead to a situation where you feel stuck. Taking that uncertain step can be incredibly difficult, and it’s all too easy to recede back into the comfort of the familiar.
At this point, making any sort of compromise can feel tantamount to taking that step backward. However, it’s important to understand what kind of compromise you’re making and why you might or might not make it. You don’t need to meet some invisible standard of travel – you don’t need to go backpacking on just the bare essentials if that’s not what draws you to the idea in the first place. Some people live for the experience of completely immersing themselves in another world and culture; others just want to retreat to somewhere new as a quiet observer. There’s no right answer, just multiple experiences.
One of the most difficult aspects can also be trying to decide on the right time to actually go. If you wait too long, you might become too settled, and leaving might require too much upheaval, but if you go now, you might not have as much money as you’d like. Waiting for guidance might mean that you automatically choose an answer without meaning to, so it’s important to be conscious about your planning.
Festivals and the Level of Commitment
Another situation where you might not feel as though you want to experience something to the same degree as other people could be music festivals. The famous examples, like Glastonbury, can often conjure up images of learning to live in a way that’s unique to the festival environment for a number of days. For some people, this can be exactly what is appealing about the whole activity – finding yourself in a situation with your friends where you can just relax, let go of stress and live in a more basic and spontaneous way for a matter of days, but others will feel the effects and nerves that come from not having a comfortable bed or clean, reliable toilet.
There are in-between steps to explore here, however. Firstly, you could research festivals that only last for a day, meaning that you can go and watch the acts and enjoy the atmosphere without feeling the need to sleep in a tent for days on end. Alternatively, you could explore other accommodation options for those longer festivals – such as Glastonbury festival glamping, which can allow you to get what you want out of the experience without giving up your luxuries.
Avoiding Unrealistic Images
Due to the prevalence of social media and the internet, it’s easy to find yourself in a situation where you feel as though you’re failing because you’re not meeting some sort of pre-defined image of success. If you feel as though you’re in a job that you’re happy with, in a relationship situation you’re happy with, in a home that you’re happy with, with a good relationship with your mental health – what else is there to meet? You don’t even necessarily need all of these to think of yourself as happy, and expecting to find yourself in a situation where you’re 100% content all the time might just be unrealistic.
You don’t need to be rich, and you don’t need to necessarily do anything that these kinds of cultures promote so heavily. Learning to be happy with what you have can help you to appreciate the best moments in your life while you’re living them.
