DAY 7 of 50 – Oh the Places I’ll Go!

In January I sat down and counted all the places I’d been in the previous 12-months. 72 cities in a year, and BOY was I tired. (And, of course, I was doing this counting in another hotel room.)

   Although it had been a tough year – flying out every Sunday and home on Fridays – it had also been a GREAT year. I had been everywhere and done everything!

   I learned an important trick to surviving a crazy travel schedule: that is to ENJOY it. The first month I flew back-and-forth, worked crazy hours, and spent every evening in my hotel room eating takeout for dinner. Then I made a shift and one evening sat down and started making a list of fun places to see and eat in the area – then I made an appointment with myself to start doing them.

   And by doing that I found that I could still get all of my work done. Sometimes it took a little extra effort to get meetings scheduled, but I found that by “scheduling” the time with myself – I could honestly say “I have another appointment at that time” and we’d just work to find a different time that would fit us both. And not only did that work, but I found that I ended up with a much more effective schedule throughout the rest of the day.

   The list of places I went is substantial, but more than that – I learned a lot about myself in the process:

   •   I learned that I do pretty well on my own, even in new and unfamiliar settings.

   •   I learned to live out of a rather small suitcase for up to 2 weeks, and that I don’t really need as much stuff as I used to pack.

   •   I learned to be comfortable being alone, eating out alone, and adventuring alone.

   •   And I learned that there are some fascinating places and amazing people in this world, and that I truly enjoy getting out there and being part of it. I am definitely NOT a sit-on-the-sidelines type.

   I met some really wonderful people, made a few terrific new friends, got MUCH better at my job, and had some marvelous adventures along the way. And I learned that I truly do enjoy getting out and seeing the world and all it has to offer.

   And I got bit by the bug – you know the one, the bug that has you looking forward to your next chance to pull out a suitcase, or even just a small duffle bag for the weekend. Even if it’s just for a day or two, and even if it’s just a few hours’ drive from home, there is something about getting out and seeing new places and doing new things that I now long for much more than ever before.

   Because life is short, too short, And I’ve had plenty of late nights at work and evenings alone watching movies. At the end of my life I’d rather share the stories of the places I’ve gone and the people I’ve known. No one looks back and reminisces about the late nights at work alone. So tonight I planned my first 3 trips – and, yes, they will all happen in the next 50 days.