The idea of solo travel crossed my mind in the past however up until last week I never had the opportunity to do it. Besides, I was slightly scared of it. I had a ticket booked to Berlin with a friend of mine, unfortunately (or fortunately) she had to bail out due to other plans. My initial thought was not to go. I mean, why would I travel by myself, right? Well I changed my mind pretty much immediately.
One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to get out of my comfort zone a bit more this year and this was a perfect opportunity to do so. To make sure I do not change my mind I immediately found a hotel and paid for it upfront. Now I had to go – or would not only loose the ticket but also the money I invested in the hotel. 3 days later, I was boarding a plane to Berlin alone, with a book, a laptop and a diary which I never wrote in. Initially I was a bit terrified, I was not sure how I would handle my own self for four days but I wanted to give it a go.
Before the trip I was quite distracted, couldn’t focus and prioritise business related stuff. I truly hoped that getting out of my comfort zone would allow me to learn a bit more about myself and help me focus on the goals that I have set for myself. I was right. The moment I landed I felt sort of free. I knew that from there and then, I had 4 days to be totally myself. I dropped my luggage at the hotel and went out to explore a bit of the city. Walking through Tiergarten by myself, breathing in the smell of spring rain, hearing the birds sing, water flow in the background… It was quite something. It truly reminded me about everything that I had forgotten about over the last few weeks because of my super hectic schedule. It brought me back to the now.
As I was walking around the park I caught a glimpse of a Victory Column, the gold statue shone in the sun and looked beautiful. ‘Let’s go and climb it’, I said to myself. It is about 60 meters high. It may not seem like much to you but for a claustrophobic person afraid of heights that’s something. The spiral narrow staircase really wasn’t pleasant however do you have any idea how triumphant I felt at the top? Yes, mega triumphant.
On the way up all I kept on saying to myself while my legs were trembling 60 stairs in (I was counting) “You can do it Mags, you can do it, no one ever grew inside of their comfort zone”. It helped and pushed me so much farther. It was worth it, the 360 view of Berlin was beautiful. I was recovering for about 10 minutes when I finally walked back down but still, I did it.
Being away on my own not only opened my eyes to the beauty of now, it also helped me learn about myself a little bit more. I realised that there is a lot of things that I didn’t know and it helped me identify them. My worries, fears and blockages. To make sure I know what they are, I started writing a diary and noting my thoughts as they came. Who knows anyone who started a diary at the age of 30? Well, now you know me! I wrote whenever I felt like it, sometimes few times a day. One of my favourite entries read “We are only confided by the walls we put up ourselves, our limited beliefs are the only things that keep us away from excellence.
You have to acknowledge them, break through them, let them go, only then you will be able to reach your ultimate potential”
I thought this was quite a revelation. I realised that I was sabotaging my own happiness, my goals and desires by doing things according to my comfort zone and my limiting beliefs that I carried around for some time. It was difficult for me to push myself. Having acknowledged them through spending some time on my own, meditating, reading and just doing the things I wanted to do made me realise that I can just let them go if I choose to. That it is up to me how I want my story to go, blaming others for things that happen to me or being fully responsible for it myself. I choose to be in control, it is up to me how my days will turn out and it is up to me what I believe it. I could sit here and call myself a failure, or call myself a winner. I choose the latter because I am what I choose to become.
If you have the opportunity to travel alone but are slightly afraid to, take a leap, do it. After all nobody ever grew inside of their comfort zone. If 4 days made me feel so rejuvenated, I can only imagine what couple of weeks further away could do.
With good vibes and gratitude,
Mags x