Don’t Let the Fear of Striking Out..
keep you from booking that flight?
I wish I had a dollar for every person that told me “I wish I could do what you did”. I could buy myself another plane ticket with that! This always baffles me because it just seems silly. Chances are, they are capable of doing so, but can’t follow through for whatever reason. Alot of the times their fear holds them back. For some, it’s the fear of flying, but for most, it’s just fear of being out of their comfort zone.
Fear of traveling is scientifically known as hodophobia. This phobia can be brought on by anxious feelings about traveling in a plane or on a cruise ship; being confined in a small space; the thoughts of an accident transpiring.. Events like 9/11 and the Titanic sinking still deter people from taking the “risk” to travel. A memory I distinctly remember as a little girl in first grade - my parents surprised me by telling me we were going to Disney World for my February school vacation. I immediately started to cry, not wanting to go on the plane.. 9/11 was just a few months prior and even though I was 8 years old I still remembered that day in history. I associated flying on a plane with a terrorist attack! And I think many people still carry that trauma with them, years later. You’re putting someone else in charge of getting you to your destination safely. And then what if something happens to the aircraft that’s out of the pilots hands.. I’ve been on many airplanes - some more popular commercial airlines everyone knows and then some more “basic” and cheaper airlines that some would think are sketchy. Aside from that one dramatic episode as a little girl going to Disney, I’ve never really been scared to fly. Buttt, I’d be lying if I said when we hit turbulence for longer than a few seconds, my mind didn’t go elsewhere and I have to start breathing through the negative thoughts. When the pilot comes over the speaker to inform all passengers AND crew members to buckle up, it’s a little unsettling.
But what’s the difference driving in a car? According to a study from 2019, your odds of being in a fatal car crash are 1 in 114, while your odds of dying in a plane crash are 1 in 9,821. For another perspective, that’s 1 fatal accident per 16 million flights. Yet people that are scared to fly routinely drive in their car each day.
Unfortunately, other terrorists attacks have seemed to become popular headlines in the news within the last few years. It’s not just Middle Eastern countries that are listed on a travel warning advisory. People also will say “You shouldn’t go there. It’s not safe”. Shit, it’s not even safe in our own country! Boston bombings, mass shootings in schools, malls and movie theaters.. I’m not saying we should all book a flight to Syria tomorrow, let’s not walk in to a war zone, but should we isolate ourselves inside our homes for the rest of our lives due to fear? People are so scared to go to a country they haven’t been to before but, the reality of it is, whatever could possibly happen in that country is very likely to happen in the US - especially nowadays!
If people aren’t scared of the actual “how you get there” piece of traveling, then they’re just scared to break out from their own comfort zone; what they consider to be safe. I’ve done it all too many times now that I almost forget the feeling of uneasiness prior to travel. I do remember though the first time I was leaving the country alone, for an extended period of time to start my semester in Italy. Lots of emotions, mainly because my parents were emotional about it. Going to a place where no one knows me, I don’t speak their language, I had some other personal issues going on.. Travel doesn’t have to spark “fear”. It’s uncomfortable, yes. Could be challenging, yes. But doesn’t have to ignite fear. I mean, in today’s age, we are so connected through technology it takes some time to miss the people you left behind at home because they are just a FaceTime away.. if the WiFi will allow it! Writing in a journal always helps express my feelings of anxiety while overseas, too.
For the most part though, I feel that when people say “I wish I could do what you did”, I think they mean they wish they had the luxury of taking time from work to frolic through foreign lands.. But they can. They just don’t. See, I have bills too. I don’t know where people get off thinking I have these trips paid for.. like Daddy’s footing the bill for all my bucket list experiences... The only difference between me and these people that “wished they could do what I do” is the choices we made. I chose to work a job that grants me the flexibility to take some time off.. I chose to sacrifice working weekends and missing out on nights with friends so I could stack up some cash. I chose to not spend my nights throwing money around on bar tabs. We all have choices in life .. I chose different ones that opened up doors for me to see the world. I chose to pick a different route in terms of getting on a career path right away.. and it some ways, THAT sparked fear in me; Fear of being behind on this “big girl” timeline.. fear of my resume looking pretty weak years after I graduated college. But the thing I’m most fearful of is not traveling enough!
I’m nervous I won’t see as much of the world as I want to. With many places to be discovered and experiences to partake in, how does one do it all in one lifetime? There is no such thing as “too much travel” for me. I’m never “scared” to leave or suffer from homesickness because I know that when I get back to my little small town, it will be exactly how I left it. I fear missing out on what ELSE is out there .. I have a fear of feeling stuck or trapped. These feelings start to arise when I get too comfortable in my day to day and then my travel bug kicks in. I feel a pull from the Universe telling me I need to book another trip to feel alive again. It’s kind of like a drug I withdraw from. I get my fix by booking my next flight.
Whatever your fears are in terms of travel, silence them and do what you need to do to go where you’re being called to go. You’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t. Like Babe Ruth said “Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game”. Same, same. Don’t let your irrational fears stop you from booking that flight!
