Does traveling solo to find yourself really work? I’ll do my best to answer this question from my perspective as a woman who’s done plenty of solo travel in the past fourteen years.
Hi, and welcome to my blog! My name is Nat, and I’m an American girl who’s been living in Asia for almost 6 years!
Before moving abroad and becoming an expat, I actually spent a lot of time traveling. Some of my traveling was indeed solo!
In this post, I’ll go over:
- Why we dream of traveling solo to find ourselves;
- Will traveling solo to find yourself really work?
- If I don’t find myself while traveling solo, then what?
- How can I set myself up for success in my journey to find myself while traveling solo?
Why Do You Dream of Traveling Solo to Find Yourself?
Don’t just glaze over this question! Really ask yourself: what’s your why?
Some common reasons include:
- Wanting to escape from your current situation;
- Feeling dissatisfied with the world/relationships around you;
- Feeling unfulfilled, and thinking that travel will help you to find or fulfill yourself;
- Wanting to see the world;
- Wanting to prove something to others;
- Wanting to prove something to YOURSELF!
And there may be other reasons…but those are the main ones I’ve encountered as I’ve met other solo travelers over the years.
Will Traveling Solo to Find Myself Really Work?
Will traveling solo to find yourself actually work? Here’s an honest answer:
Traveling solo will change you in MAJOR ways.
Traveling solo will make you stronger, smarter, more clever, more open-minded, and so many other things. But traveling solo won’t necessarily make your problems go away.
@beabroadable
Maybe you won’t necessarily FIND yourself while traveling, but you will CHANGE and maybe even RE-INVENT yourself. Meaning that you will come home a VERY different person, who will approach life differently.
Maybe what I just described is actually pretty similar to what you mean when you say “finding yourself”.
Personally, I did feel that travel improved my character and strength. It made me more resourceful and more outgoing.
I would say that travel did help me to find myself, in many ways.
If I don’t Find Myself While Traveling, then What?
Sometimes we can put REALLY big expectations onto the experience of traveling.
Maybe we read other people’s stories, or watch movies, and expect that traveling solo will turn us into some kind of superhuman.
It’s really important to have realistic expectations about traveling solo. Much of it is what we make it.
@beabroadable
For example: are you going to spend your traveling days sitting in a nice hotel with a view watching TikTok?
Or are you going to really push yourself to explore and meet new people, even if it’s out of your comfort zone?
No offense, but if you are just going to go be a couch potato in another country, it’s a bit ridiculous to expect a lot of character development to happen.
If you don’t find yourself while traveling, then you may need to re-assess: what were your expectations? Did you set yourself up to meet them, or to just let them slide by?
To be totally honest: you don’t HAVE to travel solo to find yourself. Plenty of people find themselves through being intentional about it, regardless of how far they go from home.
The biggest aspect to finding yourself is to dedicate time and intention towards it.
You can travel without being intentional about your self-discovery.
On the flip side, you can STAY AT HOME and be VERY intentional about finding yourself, and make plenty of progress without splashing out money on a trip.
How Can I Set Myself Up For Success In My Journey to Find Myself?
My biggest advice: get OFF your phone, and OFF social media!! Sure, you may want to stay in contact with family. Consider doing that over old-fashioned text messages or voice/video calls.
You are going abroad to make your OWN experiences! If you spend your travel time just scrolling through OTHER people’s experiences, you’re essentially wasting your time and money.
Finding yourself requires focusing on YOUR OWN life. Trade your scrolling time for journaling time.
It’s been said that “reading is like breathing in, writing is like breathing out”. Journaling will help you to process the things that are taking place around you and within you.
You’ll probably meet inspiring people and moments on your journey. Write them down so you don’t forget them!
Sometimes, our discoveries happen LONG after the moments do. We fully realize the value of a moment long after the moment has passed. Journaling helps us hold onto that moment so that we can revisit it, again and again.
@beabroadable
In addition to journaling, take time to just be the OBSERVER.
Go out and people watch. Or nature watch. Pay attention to what’s happening around you, from the ants crawling on the sidewalk to how slowly or quickly the clouds move overhead.
I strongly believe that one of the MAJOR blocks to self-discovery is how BUSY our minds are on a daily basis. We use dozens of apps, talk with dozens of people…we don’t often take time to just focus on our own existence.
If you’re traveling solo to find yourself, I strongly recommend devoting time to journaling and to observing. Find quiet spaces and time to just reflect and observe.
Take away the distractions and focus on YOURSELF, on YOUR EXPERIENCE of moving through this world.
It takes time…but once you settle into these habits while traveling, you’re bound to notice new things.
Summary
Finding yourself isn’t just something that happens through traveling solo; it’s something that happens through your intentions and through dedicating time.
However, traveling solo may definitely help you accomplish this! It will allow you time and distance from familiar things, so that you can simply focus on being and on becoming who you want to be.
I hope that this post helped to tackle some of the illusions about traveling solo to find yourself. I also hope that you feel more prepared to succeed in your endeavors having read this post! Best of luck!!
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10 BEST Solo Travel Quotes to Get You Excited & Inspired!
BEST Female Solo Travel Destinations: Advice from a Girl Abroad
Expat Woman Survival Guide: My Top 10 Tips for Living Abroad