Un- Planned Trip......

If you really want to know a person or self, you need to travel. It reveals so much more about one’s true character and behavior.

Why do people travel?

There are many reasons for people to travel. Some of the common reasons are: business trips, vacation, travel to see a friend, relative or family. Most of them travel for work, to explore different cultures and for many other reasons (Endless? Perhaps.)

People usually prefer planning their travel well in advance, so they have all their arrangements ready. But it is often, an unplanned trip that have the best stories. Have you been on any un planned trips? I have! And it’s was a wonderful journey of exploring and understanding many aspects associated with it. Many of them want to be in their comfort zone and change is hard for them . There have been many instances where I had to step out of my comfort zone. Those were the experiences that helped me grow both personally and professionally. One of the stories that I would like to narrate is my un-planned trip to GOA.

It was our 3rd wedding anniversary and we were celebrating at our house and had no guests coming over. Just my wife, our little son and me. I looked at my wife and said shall we just go to someplace and celebrate this occasion. My wife was expecting that we will go out for dinner but did not expect that I was suggesting a sudden, unplanned trip to GOA. She was shocked! Looked at me and said, “Are you kidding me?”. I said I wasn’t. She asked when are we were leaving?? I said now.

The trip taught me two of the most important things Adaptability and Flexibility: 

Adaptability is how easily one can adjust or adapt to change. In my case, we planned all of sudden and adapted that change and went on with our journey.  The biggest challenge for us was, how do we travel with our little one. As we were in a hurry. we did not carry many things which were needed for our Son and had not booked any hotel rooms either. We accepted this change and adapted to it.

Adapting successfully to changing situations is being flexible. I saw a couple who also had a 1-year-old kid like ours. We became friends with them and shared the information about their stay. This helped me in booking a room in the same hotel.  We also shared the ride both the way and saved the cost. 

We were planning for sightseeing and what we found out was travelling in a car costs a lot and it takes more time to travel any place. We adapted to that condition and were flexible in trying out different modes of transport. We hired a bike. What we gain from this journey was that we enjoyed the ride which was different from any other trip. Spending time with the loved ones and saw one of the best sunset in Goa. Not only did we travel to many beaches and experienced different kinds of food which were not accessible by car or took long time to reach. We covered a lot of places and it cost very less in term of transport.

I want to summaries what you could take away from my journey through an un planned trip. If you want to change yourself understand this: Change is inevitable, we need to accept it and go with it. The more you deny, the harder you will get hit. Unplanned trips help us prepare for the future and help us improve as an individual and make it easier to face most situations in life. The most important learning is, it will teach us being Adaptable and Flexibility.

 “One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”  -Henry Miller