The power of gratitude in traveling
One thing I’ve learned in my travels is the money spent does not correlate to happy memories made. We often think of picturesque locations or iconic experiences when we think of our dream vacations, but those things don’t guarantee a good time. Although it’s certainly a lesson I’m still learning, I can say confidently that more than anything else, gratitude is the key to having a beautiful, memorable trip.
Fight the Grumpy Gremlins
Traveling can most certainly be stressful, and I’ve seen it bring out a not-so-attractive side of myself. Typically though, the things that cause the stress aren’t actually THAT big of a deal. Think back to your last big vacation and some of the worst moments on that trip. Were they really that deep? Or could you and your travel partners have laughed off the inconvenience and made the most of it? I’d argue that most scenarios can be made into a fun memory or a good story at the very least.
A flight delay can become a nice dinner in an airport. A scraped knee can become a shopping spree in the local CVS/Walgreens/Boots. A long walk on a super hot day can become a hilarious game of identifying animals and other characters in t-shirt sweat stains.
Another way to look at it is to imagine that every inconvenience is the grumpy gremlins trying to make you grumpy. Don’t let them win! (I don’t know why that’s so motivating to me. lol) Obviously some situations aren’t quite that easy to power through with a good attitude, and toxic positivity can certainly go overboard, but in general the idea is to make the most of things. Laugh it off. It’s all part of the adventure.
Step it up a notch with gratitude
Now that we’ve defied the schemes of the grumpy gremlins, let’s step it up another notch. Imagine everything in the trip is going just fine. No big drama or ordeals to speak of. But maybe some of your trip is just okay? You can be satisfied with the headliner activities being the main happy moments, or you could go the extra mile and make the moments in between those headliner activites memorable too.
The next step is to really embrace gratitude even during the mundane parts of the trip. Phrases like “I can’t believe we get to be here right now.” are the vibe. If you’re in a different country, soak in the different architecture, language, accents, and culture all around you. Taking the London Underground? Soak it all in! Walking from your hotel to a restaurant? Romanticize the walk! Even if you’re in a familiar place, you chose to go back there. So why are you there again? Enjoy those things and appreciate the uniqueness of where you are.
Don’t get hangry
And lastly, gratitude is hard to find when you’re hungry. Again, sounds obvious, but please hear me when I say this… don’t get hangry, get a snack! Bring snacks along if you won’t have easy access to food wherever you’ll be. Make sure everyone is staying properly hydrated and fed, and it’ll be that much easier to keep the trip happy and healty. The grumpy gremlins love to strike we have empty stomachs, so prevent that for goodness sake.
