Do you dread traveling… or dream about it?
Travel can be more rewarding and less stressful if you are intentional about just a few things. I offer you...
4 ways to excel at traveling:
Embrace the unexpected
Don’t simply “expect the unexpected” – embrace it. Travel delay? Use your “found time” to engage someone in meaningful conversation, or catch up on a task that can be worked on, or even finished, while waiting. Be flexible – sometimes “Plan B” or “Plan C” turns out to be better than “Plan A.”
Learn something new
Visit a new place – and learn something interesting about its history. The world is fascinating. Try a new food. Ask your server, “If I was to only eat here once in my life, what should I try?” Make a new friend. Or meet up with an old friend and catch up on what is new in their life. Try out a new activity… learn something new.
Build in margin
Don’t schedule every minute of every day. Give yourself plenty of time to get to places and recoup between activities and events. Take time to be fully present and engaged in each activity, rather than watching the clock for where to be next.
Live like a local
Even if only in a location for a short time, meet someone – make eye contact and engage in conversation. Don’t be a stranger. It might be the front desk clerk, the coffee shop barista, or the Uber driver – but they can be a wealth of information to enhance your trip, and the connection you make can brighten everyone’s day.
We like to find a spot we return to more than once while visiting a location. Our children still talk about the café in Old Montreal where we ate breakfast every morning during a vacation and remember taking our favorite waitress flowers on the last morning of our trip. A quarter of a century later, it is as memorable as climbing Mount Royal.
Who can you meet? What can you learn? How can you recharge on your next trip?
If you’re headed to FNCE, which of these ideas do you want to put into practice?
“Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” ~ Roy M. Goodman
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