From a young age, I always had something to say. Even at 2 years old, I changed my name and that was that. I was no longer Suzanne, but Suzy. When my words go quiet and I have no comment, no suggestion, no request, I know it is just a block of some kind. This too shall pass and I will be filled with words again.
Lately, not only have my words grown quiet, but also my ideas on travel have silenced. After returning from my first complete solo trip to Ireland, I was left empty. It wasn’t that the trip deflated me or left me uninspired. I just couldn’t see past this roadblock. Much like writer’s block, I now battle traveler’s block. Perhaps you have been here before. You don’t know where you are going next and why. There is just nothing there to give you inspiration or guidance.
Too Many Options
It can be easy to consider a multitude of options. From South America to a Mediterranean focused trip, sometimes I feel the world really is too big. As I try and chant, “It’s a small world after all”, my mind can’t believe it. With so many options and no clear direction, I am left with that traveler’s block.
The Last Trip Isn’t Paid Off
After forking over enough money to make me nervous in Ireland, I know my traveler’s block has to be coinciding with paying off bills. After you spend loads of money on travel, sometimes the last thing you can imagine is spending more. I know it is money well spent, but when you still have large credit card bills to pay, it can be difficult to see past that “travel is rewarding so therefore I spend” fact.
The Choir of Voices
I could hear them singing the minute my plane touched down in Denver from Dublin. Where will you go next? Those voices begin early. They seem to not even give you a chance to get over jet lag. If you like to travel and travel often, there can be this pressure to keep at it constantly, even if you have no idea where the next road will take you. The constant questions of where to and when can weigh the traveler down. Suddenly it isn’t about going where you want and figuring that out, but where can I go as soon as possible to quiet those questions.
To Be Inspired Again
Throughout my travels, there have been those moments, moments of unquestionable inspiration and guidance. I felt it at the Trevi Fountain in Rome at 14 years old. I discovered my love of travel again over long dinners with my host family in Florence. Packing shows I put on to pretend audiences at 10 years old intensified my need to travel. Lately, I haven’t felt inspired by a place. Don’t get me wrong Ireland. I conquered fears and saw some amazing lands while in the country that no doubt inspired. Perhaps I need to go somewhere I have never been to find that inspiration again.
As I look up the definition of writer’s block, I insert the word “travel” instead of “write” and I am left with the condition of being unable to think of where to travel and how to proceed with traveling. The string of famous writers who suffered from writer’s block includes Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemingway. What I can’t find are the lists of travelers who experience traveler’s block. Perhaps we don’t want to admit when we can’t find travel. We are always supposed to love it and be inspired by places. Like the writer, we don’t want to consider we have lost our craft for traveling. We have just misplaced it. At the same time, the empty suitcase is starring back at me.
Have you ever experienced traveler’s block? How did you work through it?
I think sometimes as travellers we maybe get too spoilt by our ability and love of travel. We always make travel work, we save up money and we get to where we want because travel is what we love so sometimes that can burn us out.
As people start to get to know that we love travel, there is always the question they ask of ‘where to next’, which can become exhausting too. Sometimes we just need to not have to think about going anywhere or feeling bad that we don’t wan to travel for a while.
Take some time out and I’m sure your travellers block will soon pass!
Travelers block is not something I’ve encountered yet. I don’t remember a time when sitting at ‘home’/office and I wasn’t dreaming of my next trip(s) or adventure(s). That said, I haven’t had much time at home as I’ve been on the road for nearly 9 of the past 16 years.
Have no fear, the inspiration will come when it’s time.
Suzy, I think many people come to this sooner or later. For a lot of people who can only afford one big vacation, they are forced to mull over what to do next after that trip is over. Maybe they do have desires to go other places but can’t afford to. So while that isn’t travel block, I think the hindrance to be able to travel is still the same.
From my own experiences, I suggest rediscovering someplace close to where you live that doesn’t cost a lot of money and gets in you in touch with your hometown. I wrote a post last week about 5 ways to travel at home giving people suggestions on how to travel when they can’t go anywhere right now (for a variety of reasons). One conclusion I drew from these ideas – travel is a mindset and not about destinations. With traveler’s block or limited resources to travel, you can still get out and explore!
I think I’m experiencing a bit of travel block myself lately. As much as I love to travel, it can be overwhelming and expensive. Sometimes those credit card bills can seem awfully difficult to justify. In the end though, I think travel’s always worth it if you find a way to work it into you life.
Suzy, I love that you were honest. One thing we all share is a love of traveling, but we also know that it’s not all roses even if most travel posts focus on the romantic, exciting side of travel. Traveling is expensive and tiring. I have my own form of traveler’s block because I now have so little control over my travels. I feel frustrated that there always seems to be an obstacle (kids, money, health, time) to traveling the way I used to/want to. However, I feel reassured that I will get to many places that will surprise and inspire me in the rest of my life even if it’s not right now.
I agree on what Jeremy wrote up there – traveling is not only about the destination itself, its a set of your mind, its hoping to find something new and being excited about it.
I can’t travel as much as I liked to because of my full time job.. and because flights leaving Switzerland aren’t known as the cheapest ones in Europe. So I grab my camera and try chasing something new every weekend – whether this is a tulip festival in a city 10 minutes by train away or walking along the lake for a couple of hours.
Don’t focus about “where next” and rather approach something near you for some time (at least it helps to not keep on increasing the bills…)
I can so relate to this. I refer to one of your earlier posts about traveling locally. I always surprise myself with what I find within driving distance over a weekend.
Nothing wrong with a bit of Traveler’s Block. Best to think of the present…if you’re happy where you are, so be it! I only have the next month of my travels planned out; after that, I really have no clue if I’ll continue, if I even want to go home (wherever that is), or where else I might go. At the moment, not knowing doesn’t scare me, it kind of excites me. I could do anything. And if I don’t want to do anything, I always have home.
I’ve definitely felt traveller’s block in the past – it’s somewhat inevitable after travelling on and off for over a decade I guess, but I felt it particularly strongly a couple of years ago. I decided then – and I’ve decided again since – that pushing myself as far out of my comfort zone as possible was the only option I had.
Last year it was 6 months of solo travel, next year it’ll be a crazy car rally and god knows what else. It seems to have worked pretty well to get rid of the block so far. I wrote about it in some detail here if you’re interested – http://whatsdavedoing.com/keeping-the-travel-buzz-alive/
We haven’t left on our big adventure yet but I do envisage experiencing traveler’s block at some point, even before our travels are over. Too many options is a huge blessing, but it can also be a curse – there really are reasons to visit just about everywhere in this world and making decisions on where to go next can be quite stressful!
I agree that traveling is more of mindset than a destination. Consider it more like being an explorer — and we can all find adventures in each new day. Sometimes, when I’m home in Florida, I try to notice the roadside as I drive to work as though I was seeing it for the first time. To appreciate the foliage, smell the orange blossoms, watch the cows, etc. Give yourself the freedom to experience your everyday life and have the patience to wait until some destination tugs at you.
I completely understand where you’re coming from Suzy, I spend far too much time combing through maps searching for my next adventure. I suggest you look into travel/working for your next trip. Doing something like teaching English abroad will give you a better understanding of the culture and keep you debt free upon return! One piece of advice I’d like to share with you is to “Never think to much about where you want to be and forget where you are.” The more I’ve traveled the more I find myself discontent with my home because I know how much awesomeness is out there. Ridiculous really because Colorado is full of so much to do haha… I think too much planning often goes into trips, just pick a place and go if your mindset is right you will enjoy!! “The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.” ~G.K. Chesterton
Although I have not been traveling enough lately to experience this phenomenon, I can somewhat relate. There are days I just do not feel like even thinking about traveling let alone writing about it. After a day or two of rest the passion returns.
I think this is perfectly normal. We have our travel planned for this year and then will be moving somewhere completely new next year. I can already feel that being on the road for a year is going to be plenty for us and I don’t think we’ll be doing a trip like this again (unless we win a massive sum of money or something). We much prefer slower travel for shorter periods of time. At the moment I feel a little uninspired, probably because of too many long-distance bus rides and being on the go too much. Luckily we have lots of time in one or two places for the next couple of weeks. I’d say the best thing for you to do is to put it aside for the time being. Just relax and spend some time with your thoughts and see what comes to you. I agree, there are so many places in the world and it’s quite overwhelming. Don’t let other people’s expectations rush you into anything. You’re a traveller at heart and your next destination will find you one way or another. =)
Maybe it is time to dig roots for a little while until you feel the urge to be inspired and leave again?
I personally have not experienced it but you never know, it may help?
I’m with you Suzy and I like this post. My block stems more from what you touched on above-the pressure to go somewhere. I do like to travel and travel often, and if I don’t have something scheduled when someone says..”where to next?”, I somehow feel inadequate. Combine that with the voice in my head constantly whispering the names of sweet destinations, and well, it can be downright depressing sometimes! I have learned to deal with it by learning to experience the adventure in the near, not just the far. Do something new, try something new, you get the idea.
Sometimes it is good to stay stationary for a while. We had been travelling for 14 months and we felt that we needed a place to call home and just “be” for a while. So we stopped for 3 months. When you are constantly travelling you start to take things for grated and don’t see places or people for what they are. You start to skim through attractions and miss the feeling of actually being there. Maybe it is time to be grounded for while and rediscover your love for travel. We have been in Tulum Mexico for 3 months now and it has recharged our batteries and now we are ready to get going again and start discovering. Hope you get over your travellers block soon 😉
Have you thought of doing a writer’s residency abroad? There’s some cool stuff out there. http://www.vagabondish.com/international-artist-residencies-travel-writers/. I set up a working residency in Cochabamba Bolivia for three months, starting in July. Can’t wait! P.S. We’re both in town right now. Drinks?
Hmm, I’d suggest not traveling anywhere else until you really, really want to go. If you force yourself to go someplace, even someplace really incredible, you’re not going to appreciate it if your heart’s not in it.
It’s funny how these things play out. Last year after I visited Japan for sakura season, I had travel writer’s block (different but similar to your problem), and even though I enjoyed my trip immensely, I simply could not think of anything to write about it. Then this year, I began to contrast cherry blossom season in Japan with cherry blossom season in Korea and I simply could not stop writing about all the things that happened to me in Japan — a year later! See, it all sorts itself out in the end. 🙂
We solved the block by not giving ourselves any choice. Sold the house and hit the road. Obviously everyone can’t do that, but it’s working for us.
Love your stuff.
-Veronica
Oh yes, I’ve definitely experienced this. So many places to choose from, it’s hard to find one that inspires you the most. And it is hard to think about spending more money on a future trip when you’re still paying off the last one. I’ve actually gone 5 months without traveling since my last trip, partly for those reasons and partly because of time constraints due to my job. I think it’s okay to stay in one place for awhile, though. Sometimes, ideas need time to percolate, sometimes travel needs time to percolate, and that time can always be used for other things, like cultivating the relationships in your life. Eventually, inspiration will strike you, and you’ll be off and running on your next adventure.
I have some issues with my traveling job too. At some point I forget that I am travelling and it is my job. I do it not for fun but for a living. And after so many years of working in a ship which takes me to a diffient place every morning I am pretty bored. 🙁