Traveling solo is an exhilarating experience. It is something that sets you free from the bondages within yourself; the ones that you make for yourself when you say it is impossible for you to do or be someone when you the situation presented itself. Traveling on your own may first come to your mind in lack of a good partner; you must have felt the sting of abandonment when your best friend had to ditch the travel plan due to an emergency work situation or you simply didn’t manage to find someone whom you could trust due to monetary constraints and other worldly issues.
Well, at least you have found out that you are there for yourself in time of need as it is impossible for someone else to be there all the time is fairly impossible. Now, all you have to do is getting rid of your own fears which are stopping you from taking all the right decisions, albeit seemingly outrageous.
There may be a number of things stopping you from bringing free to fly. I will discuss some of it right here so that you realize cutting the cord of fear, anxiety, and self-doubt is a whole lot easier than you’d think.
- You’re afraid you’re shy
Traveling alone is not synonymous to being an extrovert. When you’re completely on your own, it is okay, sometimes even better if you are a person who likes to be reserved in front of complete strangers. It is in your best interest when you’re careful of the people that you speak to, but it has its limits and you have to understand you have to interact with at least a certain number of people if you want your trip to be successful both physically and mentally.
For instance, you will have to ask for directions if not anything else when you are stranded in a place where GPS connection is hard to come by and you are trying to determine which route to take. Just see it this way, it is an excellent opportunity to make new friends, acquaintances at least which will give you the confidence to move further away from your place of comfort and make an even bigger leap the next time you’re out.
- Fear of letting go
One of the most limiting things when it comes to taking any kind of big leap in your life, like deciding to travel alone. The first excuse that anybody comes up with is they are afraid to let go of responsibilities. It may feel like such a horrifying thing when you do it for the first time but it’s easier than you think. When you decide to let go of your job, you don’t have to go and do the same old anymore; when you decide that you’re done paying mortgages for your house, consider it sold. When you decide that it’s okay if your children study in international schools while roaming around the country or maybe continent, it is not a worrying thing anymore.
Different people travel around the world for different reasons, and the timings also vary accordingly. If you’re going for a week-long trip, plan accordingly; if you’re going for a month-long trip you’re planning would be different, similarly if you’re planning a trip where you’ll be out of the country for an entire year that takes another kind of planning. Whatever you do, do not let go of your dream due to external reason, make it work, it always does.
3. Safety concerns
This one is entirely for the women out there, but it can’t hurt if the men read it too. Safety is always the primary concern of every girl out there. Whether you want to roam around your own city or want to go out of it, it requires some guts, I will give you that. But think of it this way. You have survived your life till now because you knew how to conduct yourself anywhere that you go. You have survived the big bad world up until now and you will be better for it if you try to push the envelope now. And when you finally make that big bold move and come out on the other side successful you will only have yourself to thank.
- Financing your trip
When it comes to financial issues, sure there will be an upper limit to it and we know that there will be times when you will feel like can you make it without turning out your pockets altogether. But trust me, if you compromise on some of the things you will find that it is quite easy and quite doable as far as managing the economy is concerned.
For instance, you book with the travel agency that gives you special discounts and dorms rooms and maybe sharing rides which all will cost less.
- Feeling of guilt and missing people
You are missing your loved ones halfway down the course of the trip and you feel that you have left them alone. But truly you haven’t. Wherever your loved ones are, they only have your best interest at heart. So, all you have to do is explain to them right why you want to do what you want to do. Tell them how much you have thought it through before finally taking the big leap of decision that you really want to go solo on a trip. I am sure they will understand it perfectly.