I’ve gone through many phases in this run-up to our RTW trip. It’s truly been about 8-10 years in the making. Or at least that’s how much time I’ve spent thinking about it in one capacity or another. It’s always seemed out of reach though – even now, we’re almost 18 months off. I’m sure that time will fly by, but in the meantime I’m left wondering what the hell to fill my thoughts with?
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I’ve always seemed to mentally sway back and forth between two extremes. The first is thinking about nothing but our trip. And that gets tiring very quickly. The mounting, daily anxiety of wanting to just hop a plane tomorrow and never look back surely will drive me mad if left unchecked over the course of eighteen months. So that’s not a healthy option.
The other extreme is saying to myself, “Listen, self: money’s the only way to make that trip a reality. So get to work, head down, and work your sixty hours a week so we can get the hell out of here ASAP.” This has proven all but impossible as well. I’ve given up quite a bit – I’m dining out less, saving every last stinkin’ dime I stumble across, and working whatever overtime I can. Alas, there’s truth in a tired cliché: all work and no play makes Jack Mike a dull boy.
But I’ve finally found a happy medium, mainly thanks to this blog. It’s been a great outlet towards expressing my hopes and dreams about the upcoming trip. It’s a way to take my mind off of it via “brain dump”. Every time I have a thought that would otherwise just cloud my head with all of the other tips, ideas, plans, to-do’s, etc. I just jot it down here. Plus, I’m (hopefully) helping other like-minded folks in the meantime.
Bottom line: if you’re driving yourself nuts thinking about your next oh-so-far-away travel, write about it. Blogs are free and you don’t have to be Oscar Wilde to spout out interesting prose. Look at me!