How To Be Courageous Enough To Travel Alone

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How To Be Courageous Enough To Travel Alone - scared to travel

One of the questions I get asked all the time is, “How do you do it? Aren’t you scared to travel alone?” The answer is no, 90% of the time I am not scared of traveling alone and I think that self-belief and courage plays a big role in traveling the world alone.

What is Courage?

Courage is the ability to do something that frightens one.

What is Fear? 

Fear is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil or pain. Whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.

Scared to travel the world alone? Don’t be! Let me assure you that most of the fears of traveling alone comes from your imagination. Yes, the world is a scary place, but so is the city that you live in, no matter where in the world you live. Most of our fears in life do come from our imagination, except for the obvious life-threatening fears.

What I fear the most except for death of course, is the fear of not making all my dreams come true. I fear leaving this world without fulfilling all the things I want to do, feel and see, a big part of that is seeing this amazing world we were given.

bikini girl in cancun

The Truth is…

Most people have so much courage inside of them that they aren’t even aware of unless they are forced to use it. When you’re traveling alone, you don’t have anyone to baby you or to do things for you and/or to even to wake you up in the morning. You have to find that motivation inside of you to believe enough in yourself that you CAN do this. It’s not easy, that’s for sure, but I do believe that the more people force themselves to get out of their comfort zone, the more rewarding life gets and the happier you’ll be. The more you travel the world solo, the better you become at it, just like anything in life.

wanderlust - travel solo

My first experience traveling solo

My first solo trip started at the age of 11, when I begged my parents to send me to Israel for my 11th birthday to celebrate it with my grandmother. After days of refusing to eat, crying and begging, I got my dream come true and went on a 16 hour flight alone to Israel from Los Angeles. As an 11 year old, I was pretty fearless, most kids are. I wanted to go and went, just like I do now. Wishful, hopeful and confident that it’s gonna change my life.

I can’t remember my real first solo trip after that because I feel like I’ve traveled so much during my teen years and even after high school. But some of my earliest memories of traveling alone would be moving to NYC alone, taking a trip to Hawaii for a week alone and the first country I ever visited alone was Italy. Of course, it was all scary in the beginning, but it was also even more exciting than anything. One of my biggest missions in life is to live a fearless life. Yes, a lot of things in this world are “scary”, but some of the most amazing things are the things we fear the most. So I always say go for it! You never know until you try. 

traveling alone

Attitude

I think that your current state of mind plays a big role on how your trip will turn out. If you’re looking forward to a fun and exciting adventure and have a positive attitude, you will have a wonderful trip and meet amazing people (WHERE: To Make Friends When You Travel Solo) that won’t make you feel alone. If you’re not in the greatest state of mind and you think it’s gonna be a horrible idea and you’re scared, you’re probably not gonna have the trip of your life. It’s very important to keep an open mind through the whole thing, if you’re gonna do it, you gotta do it right! (21 Things You Should do When Traveling Solo)

how to travel alone

Why I travel solo?

There are many reasons why I think traveling alone is the best way to travel, but to name a few I’ll start with the fact that life is too short to wait around for other people to make your dreams come true. Everybody has their own busy schedules, with work, husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriends, friends, school and hobbies and it’s really hard sometimes to make your schedule fit other people’s schedule, so I travel alone! If I waited to find someone to come with me to all the amazing places I’ve seen and want to see, I’ll be waiting a lifetime. Secondly, when you travel alone you can go at your own pace, you don’t need to wait around for anyone, you don’t have to go see the things you don’t want to see and you don’t have anyone to argue with about where you’re going to eat lunch or when dinner is. Third and most importantly, you get to spend some time with YOU! Some one on one time to get to know yourself better. Traveling solo will most definitely boost your confidence level and will make you more independent than you ever thought possible! So these are some of the reasons why I find the courage to travel alone.

wanderlust traveling alone in india

 So how do you find enough courage to travel alone? 

  1. Force yourself- You only live once!
  2. Pushing yourself to the limits- what are your limits? Forget them and put them aside. There is no time to put boundaries on yourself or your life.
  3. Don’t be shy- Most people who know me, think I’m the last person to be shy. But to be honest with you, I do have a big shy side to myself that most people don’t even know about. Often times I feel too shy to ask for certain things, but sometimes you got no choice, but to put yourself out there. You will regret these moments later on.
  4. Do your research before you travel so you have a better understanding of what your surroundings are which will take away from the pressure of feeling vulnerable or scared.
  5. Focus on the good and what could come out of it.
  6. Smile! Sometimes all it takes is a simple smile to remember, you can do this and anything else you want in this world!
  7. Don’t be afraid to hear NO’s, who cares! Most of the times it’s nothing personal, so don’t make it personal. There are so many opportunities out there.
  8. Fake it til you make it- You can trick your mind into confidence by pretending to yourself that you are confident. traveling alone in india - wanderlust
  9. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want.
  10. Find out what are some cool activities to do in the place you want to visit and book them! You will make friends on some of these tours. I make so many friends on tours it’s almost unbelievable! I have sooo many friends that I’m still in touch with that I met on random tour buses and attractions.
  11. Find out the crime rate in the city that you’re planning on visiting. Find out what you need to be aware of and what you shouldn’t worry about.
  12. Always have a plan B and C.
  13. Don’t wander the streets past dark, after a long day of exploring you need your beauty sleep anyways. 😉
  14. Keep your money safe.
  15. Always let your family know where your at and be in touch with them when you get a moment of wifi. This will also help you not feel lonely.
  16. Start small, you don’t have to book a month long trip, try something local and see how you do or maybe go to a safer country to start and find out your limits.
  17. Always remember to have faith in yourself. A true sign of courage is trusting yourself and believing that you CAN do this.
  18. Remember: You only get ONE life to live! So live it to the fullest.

travel alone in israel

Traveling the world alone isn’t for everyone, but what do you really have to lose. At best you tried and making an effort is better than no effort at all. If you didn’t like it, that’s ok, you at least got to see a place you never did before. But in most cases, the moment you get home after traveling alone, you will feel very fulfilled and confident, I promise you that.

So GO and explore this amazing world! There are so many amazing places to discover! 😉

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How to have courage to travel solo? One of the questions I get asked all the time is, "How do you do it? Aren't you scared to travel alone?"

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4 Responses to How To Be Courageous Enough To Travel Alone

  1. I love the “don’t be afraid of NOs” and “fake it till you make it” tips. These are great suggestions for tackling solo travel. Thanks for the post! – Emme @ Green Global Travel

  2. I love the fake it till ya make it comment. I’ve personally never traveled alone, but as females, we need to put safety over everything and not acting like your lost is key! Spot on, thanks!

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