Although 2018 felt packed with travel and conferences, 2019 is already shaping up to blow last year away. Before my trip to Las Vegas for Go Wild a few weeks ago, I hadn’t traveled alone in years. The itch to push myself out of my comfort zone is real these days as I actively work towards challenging my anxiety and depression. It just seems like the next step to tackling apprehensions and looking fear in the face and saying, “Watch me do it anyway.”
My profession has opened up a bunch of opportunities to travel and teach workshops at planner events. It’s definitely an unexpected side effect of my business, but I’ve completely embraced it with thankful and open arms. Who knew this introvert could get so much joy out of teaching workshops, but you don’t know until you give it a go, right? Usually my husband Alex tags along with me, but his promotional business has been really taking off and giving him a lot of travel opportunities as well. So we’re doing what any two-business couple has to, divide and conquer.
The Vegas trip although brief, showed me a lot about myself. I transferred flights, took my first Uber ride alone, and navigated hotel registration all on my own. I’ve always just relied on Alex’s extroverted personality to handle things for me. But I did them. And you know what? I barely even broke a nervous sweat in the process.
So if you’re unsure about travelling alone, try to really figure out what you’re so nervous about. Is it finding your gate at the airport? Is it navigating a ride from the airport to the hotel? Once you figure out what exactly you’re worried about, then you can actively work to put things in place so you won’t be anymore. Ask the front desk which gate you’re supposed to be at. Schedule an Uber ride ahead of time or take a taxi from the taxi line. And don’t let the fear of solo travel keep you from doing it. You’ll be surprised at how smoothly it’ll go.
