How To Make This The Year You Finally Go Places

Cast away your insecurities, fears and prejudices if you are serious about travelling more. I have seen my colleagues and friends talk from narrow viewpoints about a media-projected world of terror and strife holding them back from doing what they always want to do – travel more. If you really want to travel more, then you have you change the way you think about a few things. Read on to know what changes will help you finally go places this year.

Change Your Attitude

Don’t expect travel to be a just a glamorous series of Instagram shots on your iPhone. Don’t think you know everything about a destination before stepping foot there. Don’t be a slave to news and believe everything you read and see. Trust me, I’m a journalist. We are trained to deliver news in the most impactful way possible. Which means, through words and videos, we will ensure that news, good or bad, catches your attention. It is wrong for you to assume that everything related to one piece of news though. If that were the case, I would never have gone to Turkey less than a month after its July 2016 coup and airport bomb blasts.

Change Your Outlook

Stop waiting for a trip to happen. Instead, work actively on making your vacation happen. Plan one big trip as soon as you know all the long weekends of the year. Fix your dates and then start researching. Most of my trips are planned four to six months in advance. Always have something to look forward to once your destinations are decided. Change your Facebook cover photo to increase your anticipation for your upcoming trip. Add a Google alert, flight alerts and follow airlines that service your destination in case any deals come up. Book your flight three months in advance to commit yourself to the trip and then plan the rest of the trip in the coming weeks. Work on your budget in the meantime (more on this below).

Also Read: How To Know If You’re A Tourist Or A Traveller

Change Your Budget

Travel is an expensive hobby. I’ve blown up a small fortune going to all the wonderful places I’ve been to. But here’s the kicker. You get to define your budget and the accompanying level of comfort. If you live luxuriously at home, you will never be accustomed to the hardships of the road. Instead, try to live as frugally as possible and put all your extra money in your travel fund.

Travel, after all, is the only investment that gives the most important returns without even asking for it. Question everything you buy on e-commerce sites and stop spending on things that don’t add value to your life. Spend on experiences, not possessions. As the famous quote goes, ‘The things you own end up owning you.’ Get out of the rut, accumulate a decent bank balance and then dive headlong into your travels.

Change Your Definitions

You don’t need to go somewhere exotic or only select places from your bucket list to travel. Instead, endeavor to travel in your own city. Make it your mission to know at least 50 things you did not know about the city you live in. Take in cultural shows and explore touristy places on weekends. Not only will you enjoy the new experience, you will also be in a better position to comment when someone close asks for your advice. For example, I know that I will always recommend Bhau Daji Lad museum over Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangralaya (formerly The Prince of Wales Museum) when it comes to museum hopping in Mumbai.

Add on a night stay at a famous hotel such as The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai to indulge in the hottest travel trend – staycation. On long weekends, go to nearby hill stations or other popular places around your city that you never got around to seeing. By the end of the year, you will know more about your city while also adding to the list of places you’ve been to.

Also Read: 7 Free Things You Can Do Anywhere In The World

Change Your Expectations

 Many times, we are done in by our own negative thoughts. We worry that taking a vacation will hamper our chances of survival in our professional life. We worry whether spending that much money will help us in the long run. We worry about trivial things and ultimately drive a poor bargain for ourselves by denying ourselves a much-needed vacation. It’s time to stop this charade and take back control of our lives.

Make travel a priority if you want to go places. It’s as simple as that. Unless you decide that travel is important to you, you will never be able to make headway with adding to your list of destinations. Think of travel as an exam and dedicate time and resources to acing it. So shake up your normal routine and learn to put travel at the forefront in everything you do.

Also Read: How To Travel Right, According To Anthony Bourdain

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