If you asked me to think long and hard about what my biggest flaw is, I would say that I say no far too often. I tend to be somewhat of an introvert, so when I’m invited out or the opportunity arises to do something that may push me out of my comfort zone, I tend to decline and play it safe rather than take a chance. I have been making an honest effort at saying yes to things more often and to not cancel when I do agree to something, and I have also been working on having more positive thoughts and energy. Part of the reason why I made this blog was to hold myself more accountable in this aspect – if I’m constantly turning down opportunities to do things and go places, I have nothing to blog about, and this blog will end up flopping before it even really gets started. It has been about a month or so since documenting my adventures and travels, and it is honestly great to see how much I’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time, all stemming from actually saying yes and thinking positively. I’ve found that since committing myself to doing more (even if it means pushing myself out of my comfort zone), I’m rapidly crossing things off of my bucketlist and am generally happier. No longer am I the girl who is stressed out from working constantly, saving for nothing in particular and unhappy with life. Since making a conscious effort to say “yes” and think positively, I have long term goals that I am working towards and short terms goals to tie me over until I can achieve the long term ones.
This past Saturday I attended a concert that I honestly wanted nothing more than to skip. I purchased the tickets and sold them on StubHub a few days before the show, and I honestly felt torn as soon as they sold. On one hand, I was happy because it meant that I didn’t have to go somewhere with 30,000 people and feel awkward and uncomfortable and maybe not have that much fun. On the other hand, I knew that I was missing out on having any fun at all by saying no, and that playing it safe instead of assuming I would have a blast was not thinking very positively at all. After I sold the tickets I expressed my thoughts to my boyfriend, who in turn ended up buying better tickets than the ones I had sold. As it turned out, he wanted to go to the concert a lot more than I thought he did, and was bummed when he found out that I sold them. In a bizare stroke of luck, we ended up being able to buy amazing tickets (center stage, two rows away) with the money from selling our subpar tickets (in the stands alongside the stage, seven rows away from the front, and very far away from the stage). As soon as I found out that we could go to the concert again, I made the decision to change my thinking and to go into it with a more positive state of mind. Instead of thinking that it might not be fun and might be a waste of money, I began to think that even if it wasn’t fun, at least I would be there with someone I cared about and we could not have fun together. We went to the concert and it was easily the best concert I’ve ever been to. I had an absolute blast and ended up being beyond grateful for the second chance to go.
After this weekend, I am more sure than ever that saying “yes” is important and that a positive mind set is necessary. Thinking positively has even started to help me at work! My days seem shorter and the bad days, which are countless, seem to matter less because I can be grateful for the fact that I have a job that allows me to save up to travel the world.
I’m sure by now you might be thinking, “that’s great and all, but how does this relate to travel even a little bit?” If that was your thought, I’m sorry for rambling, but I promise that there was a point to all of this. Traveling as an introvert can be hard. You don’t always know what to say or do, and it’s easier to sit in a hotel room or on a beach by yourself than meeting new people or taking chances or doing things that push you out of your comfort zone. When I was in Jamaica that was an issue that I found myself running into – it was hard to push myself out of where I was comfortable and do things that scared me, made me nervous, or I was apprehensive about. I was beyond nervous to get into a cab at night and go to the Rose Hall Great House to go on a ghost tour – I had never been in a cab before, let alone getting into one in a foreign country where the cars are on the wrong side of the road. It was my first time leaving the resort property and I wasn’t even leaving with a tour group, just my boyfriend, myself, and the cab driver. Despite all of my fears and apprehension, I had a lot of fun on the tour and learned a lot both from the tour and from my cab driver.
That’s usually how it works out too. Despite all of your nervousness and regardless of how uncomfortable you may feel when you do something out of your comfort zone and try something new, you usually leave the experience glad that you gave it a shot. If you find that after trying something new you absolutely hate it, at least you know that it isn’t for you and you never have to do it again.
Traveling as an introvert can be challenging, but it is important not to let those tendencies get the best of you. If you run into that problem while you’re abroad the best thing to do is to tell yourself that you didn’t come to another place to do something that you could do at home, and that you won’t be in this place forever and that you don’t want to leave wishing you had done something that you skipped out on because you were afraid.
Sometimes in life, and especially when traveling, the best thing to do is simply roll with it.
ineffable wanderlust 