When You Don't Know Which Path To Take Next, Get Lost
If you need to find clarity, take yourself on a trip.
encierro / Shutterstock By Elisabeth Tuck
Most travelers will agree that they learned something about themselves from their adventures.
Throwing yourself into a unique and often confronting cultural experience can really help you to fine tune your inner being.
It’s not all about figuring out who you are because that isn’t a static condition anyway.
It’s about understanding yourself, your feelings and your dreams, and thus being able to direct your life in the best way possible.
Life on the road is a never ending lesson.
It teaches us about our strengths and weaknesses, the limits of our capabilities, or even that we don’t have them.
We learn everything from basic skills like how to pitch a tent or say hello in another language, to the things that instill within us the strongest feelings of fear and joy.
Through these lessons, our understanding and awareness of the person we continue to form.
As you travel, try new things.
Try the things you would never have imagined yourself enjoying and fall in love with them.
Try the things you love and find awareness in your dissatisfaction.
Explore new directions and do the things that you shy away from.
Face your fears and embrace your passions.
Give time to everything and let yourself be taught more than you ever thought you could know.
Travel is not about opportunities gained, though there will be many; it is about opportunities not missed.
It is about having no regrets, as the things that you will regret most will be the chances you bypassed, not those which you did not enjoy.
Most of us reach times in our lives when we don’t know which way to turn, which direction is best for us to continue progressing, what will make us happiest and most successful.
This is such a personal and unique track that cannot be advised or guided by anyone else.
The only way we can understand what will fulfill our emotional and physical needs is to understand ourselves and the state we are in at that time.
Next time you feel lost, and unsure of where to go, don’t look outside of you for the answers, seek them within.
If you need to find clarity, take yourself on a trip.
A journey of a day, a week, a month or a year to broaden your thoughts and find your place in the world.
Gain clarity from your internal reactions to external circumstances.
Let the planet be your teacher, and introduce yourself to the person you wish to be.
Elisabeth Tuck is a travel writer who has worked her way around the world, managing international volunteer programs on four continents, and combining her love of travel with a successful career. Her work has appeared on GoAbroad, Thought Catalog, Huff Post, and Matador Network. Visit her blog for more.