World travel is not an easy task; doing it solo, even less so. Of course, other travel methods ease the process, such as traveling with a Sidekick* or SIG*. Still, those methods come with multiple drawbacks; primarily, they eliminate the opportunity to develop self-reliance on levels not found in the daily grind of our lives. Between work, relationships, and numerous errands we "have" to get done, we become more and more detached from what we are capable of as individuals. And, more importantly, developing our individuality in a way that provides momentum towards achieving challenging goals.
Understand: to accomplish YOUR goals, you must go at it alone. Yes, there are moments where the presence of others will intersect and benefit you (and vice-versa). Still, without having a thorough understanding of self to start from, it becomes far to easy to lose your path. Through solo travel, however, you are presented with opportunities to test yourself; to motivate yourself; to learn about yourself in environments where your self-awareness is vital. To benefit all you can from solo travel, however, it takes practice. To do so, half-heartedly or recklessly can result in unfavorable outcomes, so the best solution is to engage with it strategically. Strategy, after all, is how wars are won, and there is no bigger war raging than that of defaulting to a mediocre life or living a great one.
The process that follows will help you start your journey and position you in the best possible way to grow your confidence in traveling solo. When you become well-versed with the solo traveling lifestyle, you will begin to discover the answers to other essential travel-related questions. Such as: how do I pick a destination to visit? Or how can I afford to travel more? Simple on the surface, but such questions have a compounding effect that will culminate in you visiting some of the most beautiful places on this earth. And more important, learning what you are capable of on an individual level.
STEP ONE: START LOCAL
Step one is to start local. As tempting as traveling to another country may sound, venturing too far is not recommended when first starting. There are many unknowns in the early stages, primarily, how you will respond to situations you have not dealt with before. As your journey carries on, this lack of experience will take an emotional and physical toll, which will result in crippled decision-making capabilities. Often stemming from brashness and not from a logical place.
You must begin by testing yourself by picking a city that you have always wanted to visit. This way, you can analyze how you react to certain situations that you will cross when traveling abroad. While in the same country, you can rely on the language, banking institutions, and cellular connectivity you are accustomed to using if things were to go astray. At the same time, however, you will be out of your comfort zone just enough to experience a plethora of new emotions.
Additionally, this provides a prime opportunity to experience something that the majority of Americans have not: staying in a hostel. Contrary to popular belief, American cities have adopted the concept of providing you lodging for $10-$15per night. The low price is because you will be sharing a room, shower, and bathroom with other travelers. Understand: If you want to travel the world at its cheapest price point, you must expose yourself and get comfortable with the hostel life.
How to optimize your stay in a hostel? Click HERE.
STEP TWO: SAME LANGUAGE COUNTRY
After three separate domestic solo adventures, you will have enough data in which to analyze. Go over what worked, what didn't, and what you can improve on. A suggested practice is to journal your experiences and emotions during trips. Such a habit will pay high dividends not only in growing your confidence, but a great way to share your adventures(s) with your children or grandchildren–perhaps inspire them to go after their goals in life.
Once you have an understanding of what the solo traveling and hostel life are like, this is where things begin to get interesting: foreign travel. It is crucial to continue the process of slowly amping up each travel experience. After domestic travel, the next step is to pick countries to visit that speak the same language as you do. If you are fluent in two or more languages, you have more options to choose from. At first, said options might not include locations on your "must-visit" list. However, by simply being in another country, it presents you with a flood of new emotions not found in domestic travel. It is having the ability to communicate with locals that will ease the anxiety of being far from home. And that is what this process is all about, progressively making yourself stronger in other environments.
STEP THREE: FOREIGN LANGUAGE COUNTRY
It is often the language barrier that presents the most significant difficulty when going solo. Such an element often limits how far one is willing to travel because of how different the culture is. It then becomes an "I'll wait to go there when my girlfriend/boyfriend/friend/family can come with me because going by myself to such a place is a bit too extreme." Suffice it to say, that mentality is unacceptable and has no place in the world of solo travel. When you think like that, your travel opportunities will become hindered because you allow yourself to become dependent on another person's schedule to fulfill your goals. Which is something you never want to get into the habit of doing. Never.
Complete the steps in this process a few times, and before long, you'll have the confidence to pick a destination anywhere in the world and have a successful outcome. Such a result is characterized by experiencing a city safely while having the time of your life. It is a delicate balance to achieve, but with practice, you will see the world and your place in it, much more clearly.
If you decide that your first solo outing will be to some foreign country with a language you know nothing of, it may become a successful adventure. But if you take the time to learn how to crawl before you walk, you will have become accustomed to every aspect of traveling solo. You can then focus solely on finding your equilibrium when visiting such a place and increase your odds of having an epic journey when time is limited.
If this is your first article of mine you are reading, what I do is visit various cities across Europe and stay there for 30 days. I then share my thoughts and experiences to help better you plan a future itinerary. If you found this article helpful or entertaining in any way, please consider heading over to our YouTube channel and hitting that subscribe button and thumbs up button. Any show of support is much appreciated! And as always, remember to work hard, save money, and travel the world.
*Sidekick: friend or family member. SIG: Significant other.