Flightster

Are World Travelers Running From Something?

Editor’s Note: This a Guest Post from Lauren Rains

Why do we world travelers pack up everything and say goodbye to our friends and family and comfort zones of home in order to explore the great unknown that is planet earth?Are we running away from the things that scare us? Are we chasing an indefinable dream in search of hidden answers and deeper meanings? Are we intrigued by how insanely beautiful the population of Italy is?

I think it’s a little bit of all of these. Of course, the hot Italians are the most important on that list, right? ;-)

When I made the decision to move to China last year I had a lot of people tell me that I was running from something, and that whatever it was I was running from wouldn’t magically disappear on the other side of the world.

Well, I was definitely running from something. Life, commitment, growing up, making big decisions. On the other hand, I was simultaneously running towards those things. In fact, I was chasing after them more than ever.

I just didn’t want to find them everyone else’s way. I wanted to chase and discover them my own way.

And that’s what a lot of people don’t get about us world traveling nomads. A lot of us are running from things back home, but we’re also chasing after new experiences and adventures to conquer whatever it is we’re running from.

THE LIFE OF A GLOBAL WANDERER

The globe-trotting lifestyle isn’t for everyone, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. (Despite the fact that all travel junkies can’t help but try to get others to join us on this addiction.) Some people find their answers and grow the most by feeling safe, happy, and stable in a set location, while others accomplish the very same thing by being anywhere but a set location.

For us wanderers, it’s how we best learn, grow, find answers, surprise ourselves, and hook up with beautiful foreigners.

That’s the beauty of being a wanderer and being able to let the location, the people, and the adventure guide you. You don’t have to run anymore when you let yourself wander. The experience naturally brings the hidden answers, moments of self-reflection, and opportunities for world and self discovery.

NEW RECRUITS TO THE TRAVEL LIFESTYLE

So next time someone asks you if you’re running from something by leaving the comforts of home to explore the world, don’t shy away and get nervous or frustrated that they don’t understand. Tell them its actually the other way around. Maybe you’ll inspire them to step out of their comfort zone and join you in the chase.

Or just show them a picture of a few Italian models in Milan. They’ll get it. ;-)

Image Credit

Lauren Rains is cool, world traveling chick who is on a quest to live a kickass life. You can catch her on Twitter @LaurRains or on her blog, The Mad to Live, where she writes about how to live the wild, crazy and meaningful life we’re all meant to live.

PG

Srinivas Rao

Srinivas is an avid surfer and personal development blogger at The Skool of Life. He's also the host and co-founder of BlogcastFM, a podcast for bloggers.

11 Comments

  1. 1 year ago
    Matt

    Very cool Lauren! My first trip overseas was in 2001 to Indonesia. Before that I had never been outside the US or really had any inclination to do so. But my one experience overseas that year infected me with the travel bug and now I can’t keep myself from wanting to travel the world in search of more incredible experiences. One definitely has to experience life and the world on their own terms and it sounds like you are.

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Lauren

      Hey Matt!
      I know EXACTLY how you feel! Travel is like Crack, just healthy and the highs it gives you are natural! All it takes is one little try and you’ll be chasing the incredible experience the rest of your life. When it comes to this kind of stuff, my policy is Just Say Yes ;-)

      I’m glad to see you’re experiencing life and the world on your own terms as well! It is the only way to live :)

  2. 1 year ago
    Ryan

    “Tell them its actually the other way around.” Wow, Lauren, that is a massive thought, if you think about it… What if the next time people asked that question (What are you running from), you ask right back, “What are you running from by not exploring the planet you were born on?” …HUGE! :)

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Lauren

      Hell yea Ryan!
      The answers and experiences you find traveling this planet of ours can be a scary chase at times, but I definitely think we’re running towards them when we’re off exploring uncharted territories.
      It’s the periods I stay at home not exploring that I feel like I’m shying away and running from things!

  3. 1 year ago
    Mark Bonsignore

    Well Lauren as a member of the “HOTT ITALIAN POPULATION” I can sympathize with you regarding the excitement of meeting new people and experiencing adventures with numerous cultures. I have actually traveled throughout the world like you (Asia, South America, North America, Europe, SE Asia) and I am now back in the states after being abroad for a year and a half. I’ve been living in the New York metropolitan area for about 2 months and I already have the travel itch back. But for me its hard to decide not if I want to head abroad again but where I wanna go from here.

    I want to explore more of my home country (US) by hiking the Appalachian Trail, while I have the opportunity to explore with one of my very close friends in Peru. What I have decided is to just live life, not to worry about where I am going but to just follow the path I know I can succeed in. I plan to work hard for the next 6 months, save up and head out again, the Trail, SA, or both and hopefully I can bring some friends with me to show them what its like to believe in your own life path. But the most important thing is to not let external opinions and ordinariness effect your path.

    What I take from a lot of your writing and my personal experiences is that you should never not take advantage of life, there is nothing more important. You can only find your correct path in life for a short while, so don’t get caught waiting…

    Keep Trekking!

    Mark

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Lauren

      Hey Mark!
      Sounds like a good plan! 6 months of work followed by some world exploration?! Not bad, not bad at all. I want to hike the Appalachian trail so bad!

      It’s good to have a general plan like that so you have that travel period in sight. Or else more often than not we go on thinking, “Well, I want to go abroad again soon or I want to do that cross country trip at some point. Not sure when, but I’ll find the time.” It’s too general, and before we know it a lot more time has passed than we would have wished. Yea some people like to go with the flow and just do what they feel, but it doesn’t hurt to have a plan like that!

      Awesome that you’re running towards what you want and dream of, and ignoring the naysayers telling you to turn around!

      See you on the trail! :P

  4. 1 year ago
    Jonathan

    I Like that Lauren.

    Whether it be accompanying a woman to the mall looking for shoes or travelling the globe; I would suppose ‘The circle of life’ is ever apparent. Naturally, running around in circles, you can always return to your ever constant eventually, it’s just a matter of how long you delay getting there. I’d much rather be running in Pluto’s shoes as opposed to mercury’s though…….wouldn’t you?

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Lauren

      Hey Jonathan!
      A very metaphorical comment. I like that :)
      Yes, you can always return to your ever constant eventually. But in order to return we have to leave it, don’t we? :)

  5. 1 year ago
    Srinivas Rao

    Lauren,

    It’s definitely a really interesting thing to consider. When I spent a semester in Brazil in the Fall 2008, I was running from school to find other answers about my life. To say it transformed my life would be an understatement. I’m not sure I would have ever taken up surfing it hadn’t been for my time there. What’s interesting is one adventure opens up another and it becomes and endless cycle of discovering is just how rich our lives can be and just how much our view of what’s possible is far too limiting.

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Lauren

      Hey Srini!

      Yea it really is amazing what opening that first door can do! I guess it doesn’t really matter if initially we are running from something, so long as we’re also doing some running to find the answers, ya know? There are some people who run in order to hide, and there are some people who run in order to seek? (ooo I like that haha)
      Once we do open that door and we sell all that’s possible, well, it’s a pretty freaking awesome feeling! It’s a great endless cycle to get stuck on that’s for sure :)

  6. 4 months ago
    Edmond

    How can I explain it? I’m just not meant to stay in one place, simple as that, I get bored and need to feel alive. I feel like it’s wasting time, my life is slipping away when I overstay, there is just so much more I want to do and see so I move on. I can’t for the life of me understand how everyone else does it. Stays in one place, enjoys what they have day in and day out, same routine, same faces, same places, same food, same weather, same bedtime, same job. I mean I can do those things too, for a certain amount of time, 2 or 3 years, sometimes longer if I’m sufficiently engaged. But sooner or later, usually sooner, I get the itch and have to move on! I’m 57, raised in Napa Valley and have been on the move since High School. I stuck it out multiple times long enough to train or educate but then it was time to go! Have had 3 solid careers along the way that enabled me to travel anywhere. Just finished the longest “travel set” of ten years in Europe, next heading back to the US to travel the States and discover what may come.

    Reply

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