Travel Goal for 2025: Letting Go of the Outcome
I wrote this post back in January…I struggled to envision and write my travel goals for 2025. And then life happened. If you live in the DC metro area or have seen the news, the last 30 days have been nonstop with breaking news, life flipping upside down, people losing jobs, and so on.
I didn’t feel right to post the original blog post, knowing how silly it sounds to my “problem” of not figuring out my travel goals and why I have issues with my vision board. For those who don’t know, I make a vision board of intentions and goals, from career to relationship and money, and I travel each year on New Year's Eve.
For once, I felt good not having any places on my board, but simultaneously, I felt compelled to put some destinations. Maybe it was the universe giving me a pause to let me know that maybe I should not plan anything for the next year….or 4….
But I looked at my old vision boards when I returned from Arizona and California and thought, "Maybe I can pull some ideas." I put Banff, Waco, Texas (only because of Chip and Joanne Gaines), and some camping pictures on it and called it a day. These are the places I have wanted to go, and I still do! I also have a big camping goal down below that I want to accomplish.
But I couldn't help but think that, aside from the camping, I was not fully invested. Struggling with this feeling, I sought guidance from a friend, and she said, "Let go of the outcome."
It dawned on me that I was already doing that.
After the crazy year of traveling and the experiences and people I have met, I'm "allowing" the universe to take over more. If you've followed my journey over the past year, you'll know that I began 2024 in Telluride, followed by trips to:
Hawaii
Florida
North Carolina
four European countries
Then, I went back to Colorado and again to Florida. It ended with my recent trips to Arizona and California. Half of those trips were planned, while the other half were spontaneous or part of broader travel plans.
I wasn't expecting to meet the people I did, especially a new friend at work who took Wandering Bel on a course that still blows my mind (beating out Trip Advisor as the number one website for Switzerland!).
As 2024 drew to a close, I found myself reluctant to let go of what had been my favorite year of travel. But as I pondered my plans for 2025, I realized that I didn't need to 'top' the previous year. Instead, I could embrace the freedom of not comparing and focus on the two things I've been putting off for years.
Solo Backpacking
Last year was the year of planes; this year will be the year of nature. I really do think more than ever that this is the one goal that may save my mental health and soul besides an airplane. Since I won't be on an airplane every month, I want to be in nature every month.
Backpacking is a big goal for me this year. I have only done it twice (once on an overnight trip in Colorado with an ex and once at Assateague Island). I want to do a solo backpacking trip since I have only done car camping, in which you have all your stuff in the car right next to you.
I have so many badass women friends who have done the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail that have inspired me to solo backpack. I want to know how it feels to hike 10 miles, set up the tent, and be one with nature. In the last two years, I have gotten away from the outdoors, and this is my year to return to the familiar love and find a new one. I am so thankful to have these badass women to help me return to the outdoors. I'm not saying I want another global pandemic, but that was when I spent the most outdoors and how I healed my heart and soul.
More weekend/ Day trips
Whenever I visit a new place, I love exploring coffee shops, bookstores, parks, cute stores/ markets, etc. I explore a new place in every nook and cranny. But I stopped doing that in my city of Washington, D.C.
This is partly because I have lived here for 12 years and have done a lot. However, I stopped exploring my city mainly because of the traffic and the wear and tear this city causes people. And I am sure that in the next four years, there will be even more wear and tear. But I want to start exploring again—checking out neighborhoods I haven't visited or that I haven't visited in a long time. I want to be a tourist again in my city and support local businesses and causes that will be impacted for the next few years.
I always head west to explore, but there is so much I haven't explored on my side of the country. What stops me is the traffic—again—and the long hours in the car. It's funny that I can drive an 8.5-hour round trip in one day to Yosemite National Park for a few hours and then drive back to San Fran; I want to do that here. I have put off so many weekend trips because I am lazy and tired (again, I blame the traffic). But I want to be done with being lazy.
You’re thinking, “I know what you are thinking, Bel; you said you were letting go of the outcomes, but you listed two goals. Aren't you still trying to tell the universe what you want?”
In some ways, yes, I am, but when I mean letting go of the outcome, I mean not trying to force how these goals will play out. I will not try chess to figure out what I need to do ( trust me I have been doing that) to make this happen because 2024 taught me one thing: travel magic is accurate, and so is the universe and her surprises.
I hope this post has inspired you! Please share your travel goals or goals in general for the year, if even your goal is to still breathe. I would love to hear from you.
Take care of yourself, my friend.