Things I Learned from my Solo Road Trip to Moab
I catch myself in mental ruts all the time. It frustrates me when I'm stuck in those vortexes and I have a hard time getting out of them by myself. The time where I usually get the most clarity is when I'm outside riding my bike, hiking the mountains, strolling around town or taking myself out for coffee. When I'm alone I can begin to sort and discern my thoughts or problems without any noise or opinions from other people.
IF YOU'RE SCARED OF BEING ALONE, DON'T BE>>>
It's not as bad as you may think it is. It's quite freeing actually. I enjoyed hiking and listening to my podcasts or music, occasionally offering to take pictures for families or glancing over to send a quick smile to a group. Of course, listen to your gut if you're in a situation with legitimate safety issues. There's a difference between avoiding something for safety reasons and avoiding something out of fear. I like to do things that make me scared. I know some people don't necessarily like or agree with that phrase; but, if you're like me and you've chosen to find reasons not to do things out of fear for what other may people think, fear of making a fool out of myself, fear of taking up space or the fear of actually accomplishing something great then you may need to push yourself a little harder.
FINISHING SOMETHING IS THE BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD>>>
I had made up my mind that I was going to finish 10 hikes over the span of 24 hours within 2 days. It seemed like a goal that may or may not be attainable, but I at least wanted to give it a shot. After all, I live only a few hours away from Moab. The worst thing that would happen is that I'd come back and hike more, which in truth isn't a bad thing at all. It wasn't until my very last hike is when my panic started to set in. I began listing off as many excuses as I could think of... I don't have to do this, I should probably start driving home it's getting late, I'm sure my friends would want to do this hike with me so I should wait for them... but why? I was already there on the trail with plenty of water thinking of reasons I shouldn't be doing it. The answer is I was afraid. That's it. I was afraid of anything and everything about finishing that last hike. I worked past my tears and my own personal threat to myself that if I died right then and there that I was going to haunt the rest of the hikers that walked this trail. I kept moving forward putting one foot in front of the other and breathed deeply. At one point, I actually started singing out loud to myself; but guess what? I didn't die. In fact, I finished that trail and in that moment I had accomplished one of the biggest goals I had ever set fo myself.
I CAN DO ANYTHING I SET MY MIND TO>>> I can do really hard things that put me far outside my comfort zone. After accomplishing my goal, I felt like I could take on the world. I could do anything with confidence spewing from my body and smash whatever goals I had out of the park. I pushed myself farther than I normally like to and I DID it. There's no better feeling. The kind of excitement that I want to feel on a daily basis. I'm so happy and proud of myself for going on this trip by myself. I wonder where the next one will take me!
Thanks for Reading!
Love, Nick
2 years ago was when I took my first trip ever by myself. It was also the first time I had ever been to the gorgeous Yellowstone National Park. I had only one pair of pants with me that I wore for 3 days, but I loved every second of it!
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