Ben’s Travel Jitters.
Ben and I were supposed to fly out the next morning to meet a new client. By the end of the day, I noticed something was different about him. He was drinking more coffee than usual. He looked distracted. Every now and then, he seemed to drift off. I finally asked him if everything was okay. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll be fine once I land.” Then he added something I hadn't heard before: “I get travel jitters.” I smiled and left for the evening. But on my way home, I kept thinking about it. The flight was only a few hours away. The hotel was booked. The meetings were arranged. Everything was all set. So what exactly was Ben worried about? Was it the airport? Must be the queues, the security checks, or the unfamiliar surroundings. Maybe it was leaving his routine behind. Missing a meal. Sleeping somewhere unfamiliar. Having to find his way around a new city. Or it was something even simpler: The strange feeling of not being completely in control. I realized that travel does something interesting to us. It takes the ordinary scaffolding of our lives away for a little while. At home, we know where the coffee is. We know which road to take. We know where we'll sleep tonight. However, on vacations we're somewhere we've never been before. And for some of us, that feels exhilarating. For others, it feels unsettling. I happen to love that unsettled feeling. For me, travelling has always been a little like opening a window in a room I've been sitting in for too long. A new place changes the questions in my head. A different street can lead to a different thought. Conversation with someone I've never met, can make me look at something I've known for years in an entirely new way. And even the boring parts of travel don't bother me much. A long flight can become a good playlist, a movie, a book or simply a few hours to let my mind wander. But I also understand Ben better now. Maybe the answer isn't to become someone who never gets travel jitters. Maybe it's to discover your own way of making peace with them. Some people plan everything, arrive early. Some arrive early. Some listen to music, or find comfort in knowing exactly what happens next. Rest, simply learn, over time, that the uncomfortable feeling usually passes. Because here's the funny thing about anxiety before an adventure: It often makes the unknown feel much bigger than it actually is. Airport becomes merely a gate. The unfamiliar street becomes a place you know. The strange hotel becomes a room you slept in. And the meeting you worried about becomes a story you tell later. Sometimes, the very thing that makes us nervous is also the thing that gives us a chance to grow. Travel can do that. It can interrupt our routines, stretch our thinking, introduce us to people we would never otherwise meet and occasionally open a professional door we didn't even know existed. Travel jitters, maybe, aren't necessarily something to defeat, they’re simply a little signal saying: You’re about to step outside what you know. There is nothing wrong with finding your own way to make that step easier. Because on the other side of that nervousness might be a wonderful meal, an unexpected friendship, a new idea, a beautiful memory or an opportunity that changes the direction of your life. Ben and I were travelling to meet a new client. I, now wonder, whether the most important thing about that trip was what happens after we landed, or maybe it happened inside us before we ever left. So, are you the kind that let’s nervousness talk you out of an adventure? And have you devised your way of overcoming it. Until tomorrow, Bob
Join the conversation