Hello from Africa!
With all the traveling I've been doing, I feel a little like a ping-pong ball, but seriously, I have been having a blast. I LOVE traveling.
Well, okay, actually there are aspects of international travel that get me a bit frazzled.
Even though I have an amazing support team that helps me prepare, I get nervous. Yes, even me. Now, I am super organized and really have my act together weeks before a trip, but I really have to pay attention to what I am creating in my mind or else anxiety sets in.
The crazy thing is, some of the things I worry about make sense, but will dwelling on them do any good? No. They are outside of my control.
Like, I'm afraid my phone wont work. And what if I can't log onto the Internet? OMG, I would be lost without the ability to communicate.
This is how I talk to my little Miss Madeline and stay in touch with her daily so she doesn't feel my absence as much.
I'm not alone. Many peeps deal with nervousness right before leaving the country. But me? I stress WAY in advance. The what ifs drive me crayballs.
What if I miss my flight?
What if the airline loses my luggage? - Actually I assume the WILL lose it so I try never to check it.
What about my driver? Can I trust him? Will I end up where I requested to be taken?
None of these things actually exist outside of my headspace. My thoughts are what drive me friggin' batty.
Well, I've been working on it. I've decided to be in control of my thoughts before they push me somewhere I don't want to go.
My thoughts (and yours) create the experiences and emotions we're going to have.
So I change my thoughts to reflect the experiences I WANT to have. Guess what? It works. And the more I practice, the better it gets. My essential oils really help too.
I stuff as many as I can fit into my bag whenever I travel. The three categories I need to focus on most are balance & stress, sleep, digestion & detox. (YUCK - I get so puffy when I travel, do you?)
And guess what else? I've stopped coming down so hard on myself for being concerned. I am allowed to get nervous, just like anybody else.
It's okay to be a little nervous when traveling. It just means I am paying attention. That's a good habit to have.
Before I travel I take care of all the details of my trip and set up safety nets in case of emergency. (Like, having my assistant email all the information to me in case I can't download it when I get where I am going.)
I know where I am supposed to go and how I'm going to get there when I land. I am safe and secure and ready to have fun.
I plan for comfortable travel time between destinations so if a situation comes up that delays me, I'll have plenty of time to get where I am going. Being organized helps calm my anxiety so I can think clearly.
What experiences are you creating with your thoughts? Pay attention to the thoughts you're having and if they aren't leading where you want to go, just have new thoughts.
In my video for Whole You Wednesday I talk about The Value of Being Organized. That's a super good place to start.
XO,
Hayley