Facing Fear and Finding Joy
Published: Sun, 01/26/20
A couple of days before Christmas, my sister-in-law organized a skating party. I was a bit nervous at the prospect of skating after so many years but figured I would be okay once there.
I wasn't. Every turn of the rink was on the arm of one of my sons. I couldn't believe how anxious I was.
The next day I fell ill with the horrible flu going around and spent many days in bed. Days in which, when awake, I thought about skating. The next week, I bought skates. And a helmet too, as people die every year from falling and hitting their heads on the ice. On my first skate, I committed myself to only five minutes. The next time out I went for 10.
I watched Youtube videos on how to skate. I read articles about skating. Friends sent me videos of women in their 80s skating . And one woman in her 90s!
Every skate, I gained confidence and skill. This past week I went skating four times and, on one occasion, when a chatty neighbor was with me, I skated 4 km according to my watch. Despite the fact that I still have to be careful, I find it truly joyful.
So, what's the connection to solo travel?
We all have fears. Facing them, gaining confidence, overcoming them, is absolutely thrilling. From the comments on the blog and Facebook, I know that we have many readers who want to travel solo but are fearful. To them I say, baby steps. Research. Learn everything you can, and you, too, will have the thrill of overcoming fear and finding joy. I wrote a course on the how of solo travel specifically for people with little experience. Perhaps it will help.
Whether your fear is solo travel or something else, I wish you success in overcoming it.
Upcoming Travels
Here's an update on our travel plans.
- Tracey is heading to Montreal in the next month or so. She went to university there and is excited to return.
- In March I'm going to Morocco with Just You.
- The train trip I've been working on has been postponed to the spring. You can read why and the plan this week on the blog.
We are! Please follow us and use there. And, of course, there's the Solo Travel Society on Facebook.
That's it for now! Happy travels.
Janice
P.S. If you're traveling soon, don't forget...
- 45+ Solo Travel Destinations for Christmas and New Year’s. Check out this post if you're still looking for inspiration for Christmas and New Years
- Going Alone? Travel Insurance is a Must - why I never travel without insurance, how I've used it to recover losses, and how to buy it.
- VPN for Travel: What, Why and an Easy Setup Guide - it will protect your identity on public WiFi and let's you browse the net in English even if you're in a foreign country.
- Solo Travel Deals Page. Updated monthly, to our knowledge this is the only list of tours with no or low single supplements on the Internet.
- Bare Minimum Packing: Here’s Your Packing List - our ultimate packing check list which I continue to use for every trip.
- The Wits & Wonder Travel Course Solo travelers have given the course 4.4 stars out of 5 and 79% say they are likely to recommend it to a friend. Many already have!