My Travel Goals (Other Than Laying on a Beach Daily)

So I leave in two days & I am officially done my position with the studio. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?! It feels like it was just yesterday when I was thinking whether or not I want to jump in the deep end with this whole travel thing and now I am less than a couple days out from the first flight. Holy smokes.

I think the key with long term travel and not to get up in your own head while you are alone and on the road for more than just a few weeks at a time is to set some goals. This might even mean creating a mini bucket list to follow and check off as you go, just to ensure you don't just turn into this blob in the sand who sleeps, eats and walks around. (Nothing is wrong with that, but I am a creature who enjoys being busy and although that is incredibly relaxing for a couple of weeks, after a couple months you need a little more substance.) So! Without further ado, here are my little goals for travelling:

1: Get Active. Currently, I go to the gym every day for a minimum of an hour - this can be cardio or weight lifting but it happens for sure everyday, or at least 5-6 days per week. I am bringing along an exercise band to do assorted exercises with and plan to get a minimum of 30 minutes in each day while I am on the road. Of course, I will be walking around much more than I do at home, but I want to commit to at least thirty minutes of dedicated exercises whether that is squats and crunches or running on the beach.

2: Learn Spanish. I am looking into Spanish schools in Colombia and really want to make a solid effort to turn my Spanglish into some solid Español.

3: Meditate & Commit to Yoga. If my budget allows, I am hoping to attend one or two yoga/meditation retreats along the way. I used to practice yoga a lot back in the day but haven’t made it a priority over the past five years so I am so excited to jump back in.

4: Read. I am packing a lot of books and plan to read lots along the way. Everything from autobiographies to leadership guides, I have an interesting variety of books coming with me. I don't have a kindle so unfortunately have to lug along a bunch of books with me but plan to just leave them at the "take one, leave one" bookshelves along the way.

5. Personal Development. I keep joking that this is my quarter life crisis and so I really hope to dive into learning more about myself and what the potential future plans of when I am ready to put backpacking on the backburner. So I’m looking forward to being on my own and working on that!

So I suppose those are some of my little goals and plans to keep myself doing more than just lounging around and exploring. If you've travelled long term and have some great suggestions on what keeps you motivated, let me know!

- T