From the time we are little, others and ourselves fill life up with things we should be doing. From school to chores, to sports practice, to work, to housekeeping, hobbies, and vacations we consistently have plans to follow through with and problems to dominate our attention.
What is very rare is a period without anything to do. Sure we have weekends, or maybe even a couple weeks, but there is transformative magic to intentionally doing nothing. This is one of the things that makes long-term travel so transformative. It’s not that you are going to all sorts of amazing places, but simply that you wake up day after day with nothing but the question, “what will I enjoy doing today?”
You have long enough to burn out on vices and distractions and eventually you even reach a point where you realize that to truly enjoy the short term, you have to be building towards something in the long-term. You realize that doing nothing lacks purpose and you intentionally step back into a role of responsibility.
Travel is almost the only form of socially acceptable nothing-doing, and as a result, there is a large incentive to maintain the illusion that it is the traveling that makes travel valuable. Seeing new sights and getting new experiences is valuable, but the most important part is having a long stretch of time will the sole goal of enjoying yourself.
If you’re feeling stuck or bored with where you’re at, but you don’t know what the next move you want to make is, there is a ton of pressure to stay on the same course. Saying that you’re going to quit your job and hang around for three months will make you a social pariah, but that may be exactly what you need to do to get insight on what you want to do with your life.
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