Be Fearless {Travel Now}

Be Fearless. Travel Now.

Food blogger gone rogue again. We’re going a little more real-life today (although, I’m really not sure how much more real we can get than eating…) but anyway, we’re getting real with fear.

Why? Because over the past several years the reality of fear has been present for me – sometimes more than not – but it has been in the background nonetheless. Fear is a part of all of our lives, and learning to look it head on is something I’ve come to treasure. Remember this story of how FITK started? All because I said a big ol’ F.U. to fear.

Or when – almost a year to date – I took a huge road trip across the country, not knowing where life was taking me.

There was fear then, for sure. Or when I had to navigate my way through all that change… change can definitely bring anxiety and fear. I was changing my life completely, in a way that at the time I had no idea what would become – or how good it actually could get.

Even good change can come with a side of fear, can’t it?

And just because life is really darn good right now, doesn’t mean there still isn’t fear, or that I don’t have to push myself anymore.

I do.

Because I’m human.

And that’s ok. 

And you know what? It’s ok if you’ve gotta push through conquering fear too, cause we’re here to do it together (hopefully with a glass of wine and some Strawberry Pie, too).

So what is “Be Fearless. Travel Now.” all about?

It’s about planning a five-week trip half-way around the world – hiiiiii, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, I’m looking at you.

I mean, come on, we’re talking uncharted territory for me. There’s going to be new languages, new customs, a variety of cultures, SO MUCH food… living out of a backpack for five weeks.

When I say “be fearless, travel now”, I’m talking really experiencing how others live, getting your hands dirty, and really find out what you’re capable of when you’re in completely unfamiliar surroundings. It’s about being afraid, but using the fear to get out there, explore, learn from it, and overcome it. One of those ways is through travel.

It’s about going to Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.

It’s about doing it in spite of fear, timelines, or other people’s opinions. It’s about jumping in feet first because it feels like it’s exactly what is meant to be.

It’s about overcoming fear through travel. It’s about booking the plane ticket because I know I have to, regardless of challenges and all of the unknown scary bugs that are sure to be coming my way. It’s part of my need-to-do journey… part of living for me.

What fearless travel has looked like before:

There was a trip to Ireland. My first ever travel abroad experience, where anxiety got the best of me and I came home early to figure out what I really needed. But before I came back home, there was the Blarney Stone, and the Ring of Kerry, and all the green lusciousness that is Ireland. This was the start of learning to live fearlessly.

A few years later, to really prove to myself I could overcome challenges, I signed up for a study abroad trip to Ghana. Talk about overcoming fear!

Wham, bam, I really decided to follow the “be fearless” motto. Ghana was full of life-changing experiences… a home-stay in a mountain village, canopy walks that challenged my fear of heights, and experiences that created lifetime-friendships in the only way travel can.

So what now?

While I’m uber excited for my upcoming trip, that doesn’t mean there aren’t bouts of fear and “what ifs” that run through this anxious mind of mine. It happens to all of us. So what then? What do we do so we don’t stay in a place of anxiety or fear?

We push through anyway. We don’t let fear get in the way – and we say a big F.U. to it.

Do you know what else you can do?

• Take really deep breaths.
• Be grateful – focus on the good.
• Listen to your intuition. 
• Jot down what you know to be true. Put that pesky fear into the backseat for a minute (or for good) by focusing on the facts, not the fear.
• Believe in yourself. You can do it.
• Know what you want and go after it – even if it can be scary. Nothing worthwhile comes without a little bit of fear, does it?

These all sound so simple, I know. When we’re in the moment of fear though, it can be hard to remember to take a deep breath and look at things from a different perspective. It helps me – and I’d love to hear what helps you, too.

What’s next?

Being fearless isn’t just about travel. Over the past few years, I’ve really focused on living life fearlessly in so many ways; through travel, through cross-country moves, in making choices to live without regrets (so if you’ve been following along, you definitely know this already!).

2017 has been about living fearlessly in new ways. It hasn’t just been about putting myself out there, following dreams, yadda yadda… it’s looking like taking a hot air balloon ride (!!!!)… or rather, finding out about it, being paralyzed with fear, and still saying “ok, let’s do it.” 

2017 fearlessness is about saying “ok, let’s do it”, when it yes, it may be so very scary, but you know in the long run it’s going to be worth it. It looks like saying F.U. to fear and saying “yes” to dating again. YES, y’all, at some point you have to stomp out fear and said: “ok, let’s do it”.

Friends, there’s a lot of good things that come when you decide to overcome fear. Even though it’s scary – maybe even terrifying – you have to remember that in your heart you know what’s right. I’m so happy I’ve come to a place where I’m able to listen to my heart and overcome fear – through travel or otherwise – and I hope nothing more for you than to be able to do the same.

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Share with me!

So – all this conquering your fears aside, I also want to know if you’ve been to Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Cambodia, or Thailand?! What’d you do? Where’d you stay? Most importantly, what did you EAT?! And how do you conquer your fears when it might start to seem like just too much? Because I really think those Huntsman Spiders are going to give me a run for my money…

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Thanks to Afar Magazine for inspiring this post!