Like most of the world, the 2019 pandemic shook us. We had no idea we would be living this 2 years later. It made us pause, it made us grieve, and it made us reevaluate what the hell we were doing with our lives. There were a million little things that were so hard about this moment in time, but what we learned through this was that we never actually wanted to go back to the way we were living before.
We wanted to change things in our lives and live more purposefully. We made the decision to travel and we have never looked back. Travel brings me growth, it is a spiritual experience for me, and most importantly it brings me joy. These were things that I wanted to give my kids so we actively pursue this passion.
Whenever we tell someone that we travel most of the year they immediately reply with reasons why they aren’t able to do that. I think it is interesting. Most people who do this are not millionaires without jobs, they are you and me. I think the real question you need to ask yourself is, “Do you want to do this?” Because “can’t” and “want” are very different things.
I don’t think this is for everyone and I don’t think everyone wants to do this, but don’t confuse “you can’t” with maybe “you don’t want to”. It is totally fine if you don’t want to do this, this is not for everyone and this is why not everyone is doing this. But if you really do want to do it, you can, so assess what you are putting in the way and determine if this is actually a “can’t” or an “I don’t want to”.
I believe there are genuine “I can’t” situations even though you have the “want”. Life throws that curveball and it truly is a situation that you “can’t” right at the moment. Health, family, loss, can all be very legit reasons that you can’t necessarily do something today, but you might also find a version of travel that fits where you are in the moment, so do what you can with what you have, reinvent how this can look for your life.
Stop the Excuses
If you really want to do this and there are no real reasons to not, then go for it. I think most of the time people's reasons why they “can’t” are actually getting in the way of seeing it any differently.
People give all kinds of reasons they can’t; money, kids, jobs, you name it. I just ask that you question whether those are real reasons or have you put an obstacle up and haven’t figured out how to move it yet. Figure out how to move it, change it, or work with it. When we started looking at all of this our kids were in school, I was teaching, Jodi worked in an office building, we had a mortgage and other responsibilities that were all around us. We took each of these things pulled them apart and pieced it back together to fit our goal. It took time, will, and for us to stop saying “can’t”
So ask yourself, with anything that is worthy of your energy, is it a “can’t” or is it a “I don’t want to”
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