The key to long-term world journey is fixed curiosity.
Sure, you may spend a brief period of time on the highway and simply fill your travels by dashing from place to position, consuming native meals, viewing widespread vacationer points of interest, and interacting with the locals. However long-term journey is a wholly totally different factor!
Touring the world for months or years-on-end is an unbelievable expertise, however after a while (and the period of time varies from individual to individual), the variety of new experiences you could have every day begins to slowly diminish and the fun of world journey shortly begins to wane.
The primary waterfall you see is gorgeous and awe-inspiring, however the three hundredth waterfall is nothing greater than water dribbling down a bunch of rocks. That big medieval church you explored at first of your journey is now only a blur of crosses and statues and stained glass home windows – identical to you noticed in a whole lot of different church buildings, abbeys and monasteries all around the globe. And after months of consuming just like the locals do, you’re now eager for something with even a touch of selection (or a style of dwelling).
That’s what occurs once you journey the world for months or years-on-end. It’s completely regular… and you must anticipate it once you begin out on a protracted journey of any form.
However there’s a technique to proceed your world travels with out subjecting your self to the identical meals, points of interest and vacationer traps again and again.
The key to long-term world journey is being curious… and utilizing your distinctive curiosity to hunt out new data, new folks, new locations, new adventures and new concepts.
The true secret, nonetheless, is to not simply be curious concerning the world as a complete, however to be curious concerning the world in a manner that’s distinctive and fulfilling to YOU and YOU ALONE.
For instance, my mom loves historical past. She may learn books for months-on-end concerning the historical past of a specific place on this planet that pursuits her. However I don’t personally get very excited by historical past more often than not. As an alternative, I’m far more eager about economics, cash and self-improvement.
Sadly, most journey books and widespread vacationer locations are inclined to focus extra on historical past than cash, economics and self-improvement, so my mom would in all probability take pleasure in visiting a spot just like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France a complete lot greater than I might – as a result of there’s a lot historical past there for her to soak up. Visiting the Eiffel tower and studying extra about it will be an exquisite use of my mom’s time… and he or she’d take pleasure in it very a lot.
I, on the other-hand, have little curiosity in visiting the Eiffel Tower. To me, it’s only a bunch of metallic stacked as much as create a ineffective, however distinctive landmark within the middle of France.
So, whereas I could not search out the Eiffel Tower alone (like my mom would possibly), I might, if I discovered myself in Paris, France, attempt to discover some concerning the Eiffel Tower that I may admire and be taught extra about.
In different phrases, I’d use my distinctive curiosity to ask questions concerning the Eiffel Tower that will be of curiosity to me. I wouldn’t ask questions concerning the historical past of the Tower, like my mom would. As an alternative, I’d be far more eager about how a lot the Eiffel Tower price to provide, how a lot it prices to keep up every year, and the way a lot earnings it generates for town of Paris.
You see? There’s nothing improper about my mom being within the historical past… and there’s nothing improper with me being eager about cash and economics. We’re totally different people and we’ve totally different pursuits. It solely is smart that after we journey, we might use our distinctive curiosity to hunt out the data, folks and locations which are of most curiosity to us as people.
The truth is, that’s what YOU ought to do as effectively!
In the event you’re planning a long-term journey of any form (whether or not it’s on a bicycle, with a backpack, in a automotive or with an organized tour group), I feel you must cease losing your money and time on the issues you aren’t actually eager about and begin utilizing your distinctive curiosity to search out the folks, locations and concepts on this planet which are going to me of most curiosity to YOU. That’s the way you succeed as a long-term world traveler!
Being curious concerning the world round you is a good place to begin. And utilizing your distinctive pursuits to be taught extra about wherever you occur to be is a good piece of recommendation as effectively. However in case you actually need to develop as a human being and be taught out of your travels, probably the greatest issues you are able to do is to write down down the stuff you be taught every day.
That’s proper! You shouldn’t simply be curious concerning the world round you. You need to be recording the stuff you be taught, as you go alongside, so you may keep in mind these issues and use them to your benefit sooner or later.
I’ve been doing this for years… and I like to recommend you give it a strive.
Get your self a small journal or use a note-taking app in your smartphone to report the stuff you be taught every day. If attainable, write down no less than one new piece of knowledge each day. If inspiration strikes, don’t be afraid to write down down two or three issues on any given day.
Your job, must you select to simply accept it, is to each single day…
Take a look at the world round you.
Ask questions which are fascinating to you.
Search out the solutions to these questions.
After which write down what it’s that you’ve got realized.
I not too long ago took a visit to Alaska, and whereas I used to be there I made positive to write down down no less than one new factor I had realized every day. Wanting again at my notes now, a few of the issues I realized had been associated to my travels in Alaska, however lots of the issues I wrote down on the time had been associated to my different varied pursuits.
Right here, for instance, are simply a few of the notes I made concerning the issues I realized whereas I used to be in Alaska:
Lake trout can reside to be 20-50 years previous or older, whereas most trout varieties (assume: rainbow trout) solely reside for 7-12 years on common. The biggest lake trout ever caught (in Alaska) weighed 102 lbs.
Most issues make no distinction. Emergencies are seldom that. You don’t must ship that electronic mail. Nobody cares once you name. Most of life’s stressors are largely self-imposed, so cease stressing and begin residing life the way in which you need to. To take pleasure in life, you don’t want fancy nonsense, however you do want to manage your time and understand that almost all issues simply aren’t as critical as you make them out to be.
There are roughly 133,500 bears in Alaska (100,00 black bears, 30,000 brown bears and three,500 polar bears). In Sweden there are about 3,500 brown bears. However Alaska measures 663,300 sq. miles whereas Sweden is barely 173,860 sq. miles. Due to this fact, there may be 1 bear each 5 sq. miles (on common) in Alaska, whereas Sweden has 1 bear each 50 sq. miles. Which means, it’s 10 instances extra doubtless you unwell see a bear in Alaska than in Sweden.
What you don’t do determines what you are able to do. Domesticate a selective ignorance, develop a low data weight-reduction plan, and ignore the unimportant so you may give attention to the few 20% of issues that can make the most important and most constructive 80% distinction in your life. Deal with being productive, not on being busy.
Wooden Bison (present in Alaska) are the biggest land mammals in North America. They’ll weigh as much as 1,800+ lbs, whereas Plain Bison (like these present in Yellowstone Nationwide Park) weigh just one,600 lbs.
Gorillas have the identical variety of hairs per sq. inch as human beings. Gorillas simply have longer and thicker hair than people.
Melophobia is the concern of music. The first reason for melophobia is a private hyperlink to music that triggers feelings, inflicting concern.
Alaska was bought from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million {dollars} (or 2 cents per sq. mile). At their closest factors, Alaska and Russia are solely 3 miles aside.
Studying by way of these notes, you may see what I used to be doing. As I traveled, I turned eager about issues in my surroundings. I visited a lake the place I realized concerning the fish that swam in its freezing chilly waters; Whereas I used to be sleeping in my tent at evening I started questioning what number of bears there actually had been in Alaska; And once I noticed a bison off within the distance, I realized that there are several types of bison and that this one was a wooden bison – to not be confused with the smaller plain bison I’m extra accustomed to.
Blended in with my notes about Alaska had been a complete mixture of random issues I realized. A few of these issues needed to do with my pursuits in self-improvement, however lots of the issues I wrote down seem random and misplaced. That’s okay! These items of knowledge are fascinating and necessary to ME and me alone, which is strictly the kind of data try to be recording as you journey.
So, now it’s your flip! Get a journal or use an app in your smartphone to begin recording the stuff you be taught every day.
Bear in mind: The key to long-term world journey is fixed curiosity. Take a look at the world round you, ask questions which are fascinating to you, search out the solutions to these questions after which write down what it’s that you’ve got realized. Do that for years on finish, and also you’ll look again and be amazed at how a lot you’ve realized throughout your travels, and the way a lot of that data you’ve truly retained.