Are you the reason you are not achieving your travel dreams?

Often when I meet people and they learn of my nomadic life they express interest and ask questions like ‘What was it like to live in Turkey?’ or ‘How did you become a diving instructor?’ The initial interest is usually followed by an expression of envy and sometimes regret. I often hear, ‘I wish I had done those things.’ Do you hear about other people’s adventures and wish they were your experiences? Well, they can be.

More people are travelling than ever before. It is pretty straightforward to get from one end of the world to the other these days. It is also easy to travel on a pretty skinny budget. I don’t believe money is usually the reason people do not accomplish their travel dreams. I think, in most cases, people who do not travel as they would like to have chosen other things in their lives over travel.

Priorities

Life is all about priorities and making decisions. As individuals we each have different things we value. The main difference between those who achieve their travel goals and those who envy them is that the travellers have chosen to prioritise travel. 

Personally I prioritise shark experiences. When I visited South Africa it was to dive with Great Whites. When I moved to Australia I wanted to see the Whale Sharks at Ningaloo Reef. I had done it within three months in the country. I have a friend who plans her travels around potential penguin encounters. As I said, we all have different priorities.

In the shark diving cage, South Africa

Choices

It is rare people can afford everything they want in life. Travellers have probably sacrificed a career move, denied themselves expensive goods and / or stayed in on Saturday night a few times more than they would have preferred in order to make their dream a reality. For dedicated explorers the thrill of new cultures and experiences far outweighs another Saturday night in the pub or spending money on a new car when your current model is fine. They choose travel. 

Much as I love my family, who are in the UK, I chose to leave to experience more of the world and hopefully fit in a few more shark dives. Travel is something my family has always had a passion for so fortunately they understood. (They struggle to understand the sharks!) Over the years my family has enjoyed visiting me in various locations. 

Courage

Wanting to do something and making it happen are two very different things of course. Leaving everything and everyone that is familiar to you is scary. Heading into the unknown, especially if going alone, can be confronting. Not only are you going to have to cope without your usual support network you are bound to learn a lot about yourself. Any traveller will tell you how easy it is to make friends travelling, but that initial step out of your comfort zone is still a big one to take.

This thinking can be applied to various situations in life but I think it is especially pertinent regarding travel. Work out where you want to go and what you want to do, and remember, only you have the power to make the choices that will result in you living your travel dream.

Have you made choices that impacted on your travel dreams? Please share your experiences in the comments below.

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