Don't Talk Yourself Out of That Trip!

You have a chance to take a trip or you are thinking about going on one. But what about all the things that keep you so busy at home, be it work, pets, kids, or something else? How can you leave all that? Maybe you'd better just stay home.

What about all the things that make you anxious about traveling, like flying, spending too much money, being out of your comfort zone, getting lost? Maybe you'd better give up the trip idea.

Hey, wait a minute! Don't give up yet!

If you are on track to talk yourself out of a trip, please reconsider. I'll try to help you here. I have made some trips that scared me before I took them far more than they did en route. I've also made some trips that did have unexpectedly scary parts, but nothing bad happened in the end. In fact, I recently did a 4,000-mile road trip around the U.S. West with my husband. We had an incredibly wonderful time seeing old friends and family. Was I scared in heavy, fast freeway traffic? You betcha! But it was worth it.

If you can't afford to make a big trip now, consider a small one like a day trip or overnighter. I'm certainly not encouraging anyone to go into debt for a trip in these times.

Photo credit: My husband Kelly took this of a friend cavorting on the beach near Santa Barbara. You can see it on Flickr.

1. Having some spontaneous adventures
2. Seeing people you love
3. Pushing your comfort zone and learning from it
4. Going to a new place you'd like to see
5. Eating
6. Shopping
7. Going back to a place you'd like to revisit
8. Taking in some culture
9. Being out in nature, maybe doing something active
10. Being refreshed by a break from the regular grind

1. Saving money
2. Not being challenged by scary things in unfamiliar places
3. No time to go away, too much important stuff to do at home and work.
4. You'd rather not confront a particular friend or relative you would see.
5. Your health is better when you stay home.
6. It's more ecological to travel less.

Pay attention to your gut feeling and combine it with some practicalities like time and money. What do you really WANT to do?

A question that I find useful is to ask what would be for the highest good of everyone concerned. How do I get an answer? Usually by turning inward, in what some people would call prayer and others would just call paying attention to your inner feelings.

This doesn't always happen fast. Sleep on it, maybe a dream will help. One way or another, you have your own ways of getting clear. Use them!

Photo credit: another one of my husband's in Santa Barbara. It's at Flickr. Click on the image to go there. (Flickr that is, I don't know how to transport you immediately to Santa Barbara, sorry!)

I've been through this one a lot.

Air travel is often cheaper than driving. It saves you a lot of time and it takes you to other continents that are downright hard to get to otherwise.

Statistics prove that it is way safer per passenger mile than driving.

BUT STILL, it may make you anxious.

Sometimes I'm fine but I usually have my moments of stress along the way. Having favorite music on an mp3 player helps, though you can't have it turned on right at takeoff.

On a recent flight, we were going from Guadalajara, Mexico, to Phoenix and on to Denver. My husband had the window seat and I was in the middle. It happened that the man with the aisle seat was an absolutely wonderful person, a Mexican priest who works in Africa. He was on his way to visit family in the US. I had been on a workcamp in West Africa when I was in college, and the time passed all too quickly as we talked abut Africa, mostly in English with a dash of Spanish. I hated to arrive in Phoenix, and I was in a great mood for the rest of the trip.

I can't guarantee you such a great conversation, but it does happen!

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This happened many years ago, but it still motivates me.

My husband and I were living in the charming town of Ashland, Oregon. Life was good. We were self employed and I was writing a book. He was editing a video. We were making enough money.

We were talking about a trip to Mexico to make a video to sell to the educational market, as he had done with a video he had shot in Russia. I wasn't eager to go. Travel brought up all my "stuff" right in my face--that is, my anxieties and uncertainties that I would rather not look at.

One Saturday afternoon, Kelly had rolled out a long piece of metal fencing he was going to cut. He had it on our deck, with the far end tucked well under the wooden railings. An experienced builder, he knew what he was doing.

But somehow the fencing broke loose and rolled itself right back to him faster than he could react. A sharp piece of it hit him right between the eyes.

I heard him cry out and went downstairs to see what had happened. There was some blood and he looked dazed. I drove him across town to the emergency room, where he was given a tetanus shot and the promise that he would have at least one dramatic black eye. He had two, but otherwise he was fine.

I realized that I had an inaccurate sense that home was safe and travel was dangerous.

Not long after that, we flew to Mexico and shot the video program. We had a great time too.