Brooklyn, I’m trying… to inspire the adventurous soul, to mobilize wandering feet, to stimulate the curious mind, to ignite the restless heart. to move you, quite simply. and to help you maintain your mindset as an explorer right where you are, which is often during those times between arrivals and departures.
when you travel, all of your aspirations feel like they are right at your fingertips. your sense of self is so tangible that you reach a certain clarity about what direction your feet and your life are moving, of chances to take and turns to make, of what your talents are and how to use them.
you are confident, you are worldly, you are curious, you are inspired.
it’s a feeling that overcomes us when we travel but often can be painfully fleeting as soon as the plane touches down, dropping us back into the mundaneness of familiarity. to find that inspiration no matter where you are, and harness that energy to carry it with you everyday can be an active decision as intentional as packing a suitcase. below you will find your very loose and subjective packing list- get to it.
start moving.
literally, just move. the difference between an explorer and a non-explorer is one simple step. one is accepting the world exactly as it’s presented to them, day in and day out. the other is constantly seeking. recognize that we are not meant for mundanity. you, in particular- you are not meant for repetition, for mundaneness, for mediocrity. recognize the power of movement, whether it’s an overseas flight or simply a walk down the street. stagnation is the enemy here, and fighting off that beast is as simply as getting up and going.
free up some mental space.
tap into the energy you are to tuned into when traveling- which is, of course, not waiting for you to land at the airport, but is always there floating around in your mind. you just need to find a way to harness it. however, this is impossible to do with a mind crowded with nonsense. when you travel you seem to have so much more mental space and time- you aren’t filling every moment with noise and influence that is being fed to you, you’re seeking. you’re expecting, you’re allowing yourself to be surprised and inspired. free up that mental space by taking a quick inventory of what you are voluntarily filling your head with during the day, and gauging the effect it has on your spirit. now visualize yourself even taking half of that time and putting it towards things that do give you energy and inspiration. try intentionally devoting time to those things and i guarantee you won’t look back.
find some mantras.
hang them on your mirror, behind your desk, tattoo them onto your arm. repeat them to yourself. talk about them with passion. but above all, find a few that work for you and believe in them.
here are some that swim around in my head most days.
there is not enough time for hating yourself. too many things to make. go.
from the limitlessly wise and creative mind of miss tavi gevinson. who seems to have an endless supply of creative energy. tap into it here, and repeat that mantra to yourself if you ever dare to be tempted to settle into a comfortably numb state of self-doubt.
partido a partido.
words repeated so often by one of the greatest soccer coaches in history, diego “el cholo” simeone. this is often his answer during press conferences, when asked either if the momentum of winning is getting to his players’ heads, if pressure is mounting after a series of losses, is the noise in the very competitive landscape of spanish soccer inhibiting their capacity to play- partido a partido, game by game. force yourself to take a deep breath and be patient. concentrate on one challenge at a time. visualizing a goal as one large untouchable vision in the distance renders you, the achiever, immobile. partido a partido. is how you win fucking championships and become one of the greatest football clubs in the history of mankind. and how you become the self you are in the stands of the calderon along the manzanares in madrid.
chance favors those who are prepared.
do not fool yourself into thinking success is just going to drop in on you. there is no replacement for hard work- however, tapping into your own self-confidence and working to create, seeking inspiration, intentionally moving, and being open to the beautiful energy around you- often creates fortuitous happenings that can only be explained because you believed they would, because you were searching for them, and yes- because you were working to begin with. take simply the first step. recognize that inspiring creativity is a muscle- and as soon as you start using it, it will get stronger. and it won’t be so hard the next time. so just simply start. right now.
change your perspective.
both literally and figuratively. simply take a different path to work. walk into a new coffee shop. get off the subway one stop sooner than normal. skip your gym class and bike to a new area of town. when your brain is exposed to the same stimuli over and over again, it becomes completely numb to its surroundings- you won’t see that the person standing in front of you is the one you’re supposed to spend the rest of your life with, you won’t strike up a conversation with the person beside you who would love to offer you your dream job, or have the opportunity to offer a meager smile that could completely alter someone’s day, simply because you have been overexposed to the same things everyday, and nothing is noticeable. change that, by simply taking a new path.
give yourself permission
to be your traveling self, and that is someone who is inspired, who is invigorated, who is trying. ask- what inspires you? what is it that you tap into and create that energizes you? is it words? music? food? whatever it is, decide that it’s yours. just because you have a full-time desk job doesn’t mean that you aren’t a writer. just because you only took guitar lessons for a few months in high school doesn’t mean you aren’t a musician. just because someone else cooks much better than you doesn’t mean you aren’t an aspiring chef. you are creating something where just seconds before there was nothing, and you’re doing it simply with your own mind power and passion. give yourself permission to do so instead of any excuses not to. ever again. and if you waiver on this at any point, contact me. i will give you permission.
seek inspiration.
anywhere and everywhere. don’t let this create an undue amount of pressure- there’s nothing worse than telling yourself you’re going to sit and wait for inspiration to come, and then getting angry that it doesn’t and inhibiting any sort of energy that is just waiting for you. if you’re having trouble tapping into that inspirational energy, use your resources– people are creating and sharing all around you. look for a meet-up near you to learn a new skill. attend an open mic night. visit a gallery opening. tell yourself you’re going to take three pictures on your way to work today, no matter what they are of. force yourself to squeak out a haiku- just a few poignant words- and see what you come up with. search for a podcast that is on the subject of what moves you. or simply watch this video, a few times. every day.
write things down.
sometimes “journaling” can become a rather daunting task, so choose a method that is approachable to you. maybe sending postcards is your thing- sometimes having an audience that is familiar helps you get your own thoughts out. (just always keep a copy of your words for yourself). or, try simply writing a list of your feelings. it’s common to get overwhelmed and caught up with how you’re feeling and allow that to inhibit your creativity. so put them onto paper and deplete them of their inherent power by limiting the ones you no longer want them to a small area with a barbed wire fence around it. write the others in big hot air balloons in the sky. and, let your intuitiveness of your own emotions manifest itself into a sense of confidence. or, you know, write me a nice comment. here. on this blog you’re reading.
intentionally surround yourself.
with those significant items you’ve collected from your travels that will help constantly remind you of that experience- consider these vehicles for your explorative mindset. they can be equally energizing as they are nostalgic, but they carry within them the spirit of your traveling self. the talisman you haggled for at the grand bazaar in istanbul, the weathered wine bot a from that tapas bar you’ll never find again in barcelona, the overly expressive miniature gondola man from the christmas market in venice that can’t help but bring a smile to your face, the undies you bought because you completely ran out of undies sooner than expected in prague, the roll of black and white film that showed somehow perfectly the palpable contrast between antiquity and progress of every corner of berlin. believe in the gravity of them, hone into their innate power, and let them give you the energy of new places to discover.
and if my words fell short, please read those that have given me so much momentum, inspiration, and energy to keep tirelessly exploring.
you are a badass.
jen sincero’s approachable and unbelievably empowering masterpiece on finding and living the life you want to live- starting and ending with loving yourself. (and all the things in between.)
the war on art.
stephen pressfield’s absolutely unmatched, poignant description of recognizing and defeating resistance to your own creativity. a must read.
goodbye to all that.
a series of short non-fiction pieces written by writers, on their experience loving and leaving new york. a description of what attracts you to a place, how your expectations are constantly fluctuating between being exceeded and swallowing you beneath them, and the pain or liberation of leaving.
tiny beautiful things.
an absolutely heart-shattering collection of cheryl strayed’s former advice column- where she truly bleeds her heart out and offer’s a non-psychologist’s honest advice through nothing short of pure, unadulterated empathetic compassion. this book reminds you of the beauty, pain, and necessity of human interaction. read it immediately, twice.
invisible cities.
a series of letters from marco polo written to kublai khan, at a time when khan sensed the end of his empire was coming. marco polo wrote to him of his adventures traveling and seeing so any cities all over the world in hopes that it would ignite in him hope and inspiration to keep fighting, and to believe in himself and his creation.
do not see boundaries, see opportunities. and go forth, dear friends.
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