Creating a plan for your travel goals

I admittedly have a hard time understanding people who don’t have a desire to see the world, God’s beautiful creation. There are so many incredible things He has gifted us, but one of them is nature! Traveling to see the various creations and cities filled with different cultures and people breathes LIFE into me. Awaiting those vacations and adventures adds joy to my life and something to look forward to when the monotony of life becomes too much.

I realize people have different priorities, responsibilities, and reasons to not travel. I also acknowledge that some people don’t have the money or are tight with the money they do have. I get it, it’s not cheap. But I am also not the person that thinks saving all your money for retirement is a good thing. Unfortunately, we are not guaranteed a long life. Last year, my great uncle passed away just a few weeks after he retired. I don’t want to work my whole life toward a dream that isn’t promised. I want to live now, in the moment. I want to explore the world while I am healthy and able and don’t have things holding me back. I want to soak in the significance of the world in every possible moment. Breathe in it’s goodness, exhale it’s peace.

I’ll admit, traveling can be tiring though. I push the boundaries of my days off to soak up as much times as possible. Often, that means late night flights and starting back to work early the next morning. It can mean catching up on sleep for a full week and likely a little craziness catching up from time away from the office and home responsibilities. But it also allows me to prioritize my life in the order that is important to me. My work and chores are a means to living my life, they are not my life. Prioritizing living life has been an invaluable lesson I wish I learned earlier.

I’d like to pose a few questions for you to think about:

• Is traveling a priority for you? Why or why not?
• What is holding you back from traveling more?

If you’d like to travel, whether near or far, spend a few minutes going through the following exercise:

1. Write down one destination or trip you’d like to go on. This could be a month long trip, a getaway weekend or any anything in between.
2. Set a date that you want to travel there by.
3. What do to need to do from now to then to make it happen? Write down every action step-by-step (request time off work, collect money, plan logistics, etc.). Set goal dates for each of those action items.
4. What obstacles may get in your way?
5. How can you plan for/work around those obstacles? Are there sacrifices you’ll need to make (i.e. no eating out for a few months to save money for trip)?
6. What regular check-ins will you set for yourself to make sure you stay on track?

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine