A clean slate, January 1st. Onward and upward. Soaring with the eagles.
One can only hope, right?
Every year we make resolutions and hope that our latent optimistic tendencies will be elevated by the goodwill of the so-called January Effect—that somehow our aspirations and dreams become reality.
One can only hope, right?
In that vein, I came up with my 2018 Travel Resolutions that might help make us all (oaky, me) be better travelers; and so, I resolve to be a better traveler by:
● …prioritizing experiences over stuff; memories over expenses; new friends over miles.
●…taking less Oblications (obligatory visits to family) and more real vacations. Selfish I know, but we all need it.
● ...unplug more often and not let technology get in the way of interacting with locals.
● ...take more authentic, challenging and participatory adventures; less like the reality shows, and more like the real-life event The Global Scavenger Hunt.
●…spend less time at global Starbucks researching the Latte Index and more time in neighborhood cafes.
●…spend less time in my hotel lobby and more site-doing.
●…spend more time in places but less money in them…acting more like a local.
●…to miss at least one flight in 2018 because I am obviously spending too much time in airports-cum-malls.
●…to lower my bloated expectations by reducing my meticulous destination planning.
●…to be less critical of crying babies. We were all young once!
●…to not try to one-up other travelers when they are telling their favorite travel stories.
●…to avoid trendy hot popular destinations for the ones I really want to visit.
●…to buy travel products directly and not from third-party companies.
●…to embrace the transportation truism: the cheaper the ride, the friendlier the people.
● ...to walk more wherever I go.
● ...take better pictures—but not so many that I forget to see what is in front of me.
●…to do something new for the first time every day when I travel.
●…to learn how to cook a dish from every country I visit in 2018.
● ...to be more patient dealing with the trials and tribulations of traveling.
● ...to stop whining and kvetching about traveling—it is an amazing privilege.
What are your 2018 travel resolutions?
Happy New Year and happy trails in 2018!
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