Do you suffer from vacation option overload? How can you avoid it? How can you make your travel experiences happier? These are questions I’m going to attempt to answer. An NOPE, I don’t have all the answers, but I do hope you’ll find this post stimulates new thinking.
Avoid Vacation Option Overload
Love it or hate it; the Internet is a way of life. Travel has skyrocketed since “Just Google It” became a thing. We pretty much Google everything, and travel is undoubtedly at the top of the list.
How many of you Googled your way out of a vacation? You set your sights on a fall, weekend getaway, in New England. You start, giddy in the pursuit of vacation planning. Some experts even say vacation planning makes you happier than the vacation itself. UGH!
So we hit up Google using the search phrase ‘Top New England Weekend Getaways.’ Google returns 10.9 million vacation options. Who has the time? Do you get overwhelmed by just looking at the number of choices?
Ok, you’re determined.
You find a cute cottage that could be perfect, but then you think, is there something out there that’s even better? Many of us, I include myself here, have come to rely on superficial perceptions of travel linked to our social identity; will this look good on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter…
What the hell. What is your soul seeking?
Excuse me, why a New England weekend getaway? What’s you WHY? I’ll let you in on a little secret, seeking the PERFECT Airbnb won’t make you happier and furthermore, it doesn’t exist!
OK so, you’ve dug in deeper and you’ve narrowed your search to Maine, Once again, you hit up Google which returns under a million options. Easy right? No, by this time it’s Sunday and you’re weekend is over!
So, I ask the question has this ever happened to you? Have you, or do you suffer from vacation option overload?
How can you avoid vacation option overload?
I’m laying down a new idea about how we travel and sharing my thoughts on how to travel happier. I’m passionate about wanting to revolutionize how we travel. My belief is that you have to move past the shallow status symbols of travel: best Instagram photos, numerous likes on Facebook; retweets on Twitter, and seriously come to grips with self-knowing. My thinking; a strong sense of self will help you define your travel wants and desires while reducing the anxiety of choice that is widespread today.
Do you agree? I’m not sugar-coating here, I believe with all my heart that what I’m saying is true. Just look at the statistics of what’s taken place since social media has become a thing? We’re so connected that we’ve become disconnected from ourselves. Oh, go-ahead Google It but read the rest of this post first. 😏
In the next couple of months, I will be sharing information on travel personality types. Yep, if you’re breathing you have a type. I’m not typecasting here ⏤ that would be ridiculous. We are all very different no matter what the experts say, and nobody knows you better than you!
An Opportunity To See Things Differently
What I am offering is an opportunity to open your mind to your relationship with travel. As a foundation for my work #unpackyourpersonality, I’m using the sanctioned works of Carl Jung, the Goodfather of Psychology and personality typing as it relates to Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®.
Do you agree that technology is developing faster than many of us can actually adapt to it? What I’m advocating is that we come to rely on self-directed travel. Once we have gotten to know our inner travel guide, then we use technology to assist us. If you understand your unique travel personality, do you think it would make travel decisions easier? Would it reduce travel option anxiety?
Let’s Play a Game
Back to the idea of a weekend getaway in Maine. What if you knew you were an introvert. Do you think you could narrow your trip options just knowing that? Keep in mind, according to Myers – Briggs®, there are eight different introvert personality types, each with different functions and perceptions. Now add-in you’re unique life experiences. Your personality is in itself endless, but for the sake of this post, I’m keeping things general.
Let’s start the game.
Google ‘Uncrowded Fall Getaways in Maine’. Well, lookie here about 34,700 results appear. That’s a far cry from where we started going from 10 million to under a million to approximately, 35,000. Are you beginning to see how you can lesson travel option overload for happier vacations? How planning a vacation can become more manageable? Do you believe this could work for you?
Tip: Introverts are typically crowd-adverse and will seek vacations that offer reflective moments, intimate groups, and quietude. If you are an introvert and are looking for fall getaways, I got your back, click here.
Extroverts I wouldn’t forget you, click here for fall destination getaway ideas.
How Could You Make Your Travel Experience Happier?
This Google search example may seem obvious for some, but for many of us, we don’t take the time to think about who we are in relation to how we travel. We spend plenty of time thinking about what we want, but does that help us to enjoy happier vacations? Are you thinking about:
- How do your beliefs affect your vacation choices?
- Are you a traditionalist, meaning do you prefer to observe traditional holidays with family and friends, or do you pick up and go when the mood strikes?
- Do you like to organize, schedule, and plan the details of your trip?
- Are you focused on the here and now enjoying the moments and activities with others?
- Do you believe that if a leisure vacation doesn’t have an objective, you’d be better off at work achieving your big dreams?
- Are you focused on the here and now enjoying the moments and activities with others?
- Does your vacation revolve around doing things or not doing a thing?
These questions are just a few, among 100’s, that I will answer about your unique travel personality. Trust me, knowing the answers to these questions will have a huge impact on where you travel, your accommodation choices, how you travel, who you vacation with, and so much MORE!
I truly believe a new self-directed relation with travel and my decade long immersive study of Myers-Briggs® does have merit. I believe in this so much that I got certified by the Myer-Briggs® Type Foundation. No, I’m not a psychiatrist, guru or psychology expert, I’m a travel professional who saw a need to change the status quo.
Avoid Vacation Option Overload and Travel Happier
Hopefully, I’ve planted a seed here. Yes, I’m talking about how to avoid vacation option overload to travel happier, but it’s deeper than just option overload. I’m trying to help you understand that knowing yourself, your inner travel guide, will help you travel happier. This knowingness reveals unconscious, inherent travel characteristics. No quizzes, no masterclasses, just showing you what you already know.
It’s about letting your unconscious wanderlust have a voice. #TravelHappier
Writing with You In Mind
Please know I write for you. One of my dreams is to inspire a new travel paradigm, one that’s central to self discover, healthy for the planet, and purposeful. I’m on a mission to help you understand your unique travel personality, aka your unique travel guide.
A travel guide is informative guidebook that helps you familiarize yourself with a place. Your inner travel guide is also informative but it’s based on your personality. It’s about exploring aspects of your inner self for joy-filled, happier vacations ⏤ no matter where you travel or who you travel with!
– Nina Zapala
Tapping into your yummy travel guide is an ongoing journey. Every time you travel you can focus a little or a lot on revealing aspects of the undiscovered self. If you’re a seeker and on a spiritual path, travel can become a time of great soul awakening. I’ve posted a Thanksgiving article with examples of how your inner travel guide shows up while your away. If your interested click here to read.
Stay Tuned — There’s More
I am now working on a free quiz and developing 16 tiny ebooks. These e-books will take a deep dive into your exclusive inner travel guide. Do you desire a new vacation paradigm to gently transform, awaken, and spark something new in you? Then stay tuned because 16 ebooks are coming, soon.
My radio interview aired on Speaking of Travel part of the iHeart radio network with Marilyn Ball. Give it a listen here.
Do you want to be one of the first travelers to find out more about your unique inner travel guide? Then click here to sign up for new blog posts, a free quiz, and travel tips specific to your travel personality.
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#TravelHappier: Let Your Inner Guide Be Your Travel Guide!
Photo: Randy Blum Photographer, Barn at Stuart Run Farm, Virginia.
