Traveling is awesome. Period. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to travel. But what is holding people back? They react super enthusiastic about it but when it comes to actions, they simply don’t do it because of all kind of reasons. But then, when IS the perfect time to travel? Well, the answer is really simple: NEVER! There will always be reasons why you can’t or shouldn’t pack your bags and just leave. People use excuses to justify their decision of not traveling. Let’s sum up the most popular ones!
1. I don’t have money.
2. I don’t have time now, but I will do it some day.
3. I have obligations here: study, work, paying bills, etc.
4. I don’t have anyone to go with.
5. I am not familiar with traveling nor foreign languages.
And now let’s talk about these so called excuses.
1. Clearly, this is a matter of setting priorities. Stop buying materialistic crap and focus on what’s really important in life and what really makes you rich.
2. How long will you live? No one knows that. You better start living your life now and stop postponing your dreams.
3. Seems a legit reason, but… Yes, there is always a but. What I want to make clear here is that it’s all about planning. You definitely need 2-3 years for preparing these plans, saving money, finishing obligations here like your study or decide to quit your job on some point. When you are traveling around, you will be having recurring costs (’paying bills’) as well, so basically there is no difference. That’s how I see it.
4. Why would you need someone to go with? Ofcourse it’s nicer when there’s a friend or a partner to go with, but traveling alone has its own benefits like having all the freedom to do what you want or no irritations/fights with each other. And did you know it’s even easier to find friends on the way when you’re on your own? Enough other einzelganger travelers who eventually seek companions.
5. Well, this is the perfect way to learn. Why don’t you start close to home? If you have enough certainty, you can go further. And how many languages do you think you need to know? If you know English, you can already communicate with a large majority on this planet.
This leads us to the one and only conclusion and that is: people are scared. It’s all fear, the unknown, which holds us back and stops us to get out of our comfort zone. We live in a society which forces us to live in a certain way. We ought to do something with our diplome, otherwise it was waste of our time earning it. People actually start to look alike and loose their own goals, ambitions and identity.
Everyone seem to forget that life IS all about taking risks and by choosing the safe path, they miss some great opportunities in life!
Concerning the ’ when-question’ in our situation? It was obvious: graduated, just married, young and full of life. You don’t need more. It’s like Chandler said: ‘Could there BE any better timing?’
I just got one good tip for you; if you DO overcome all those excuses one day, don’t talk to others about it. Just make your decision, announce it and go for it! People around you are scared themselves, doubting and skeptical about everything and wanting to stop you as well. Don’t fall for that 🙂
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