Photo: hkoppdelaney
To boldly visit foreign lands, the wannabe traveler must conquer a slew of travel fears. Learn how to sweep them aside and embrace the true rewards of travel.
Given the relative safety of aviation, and the existence of many budget airlines such as EasyJet, SkyEurope, and Ryan Air, one might be tempted to conclude that travel is a common pastime, partaken of by most.
Yet, as any good traveller already knows, there’s more to travel than moving from one place to another. Travel is about broadening horizons and knowledge, and can be, as cliché as it may sounds, a way of life.
There will always be those that opt for one- or two-week holiday packages, preferring a slight respite to paradigm-altering travel that usually requires longer blocks of time and willingness to dive deep.
And then there are the wannabe travelers that have never traveled. This may be caused by the slew of valid reasons why one cannot travel—a lack of money, family obligations, legal restrictions, physical handicaps, inability for time off work, and the list goes on and on.
But assuming one is able to clear this checklist, it can be difficult to understand why someone would choose not to travel.
I believe this choice is greatly influenced by fear. The fear is layered à la Dante Aligheri’s depiction of hell; the outer layers comprise some of the more shallow fears, the inner for the more serious.
Layer #1 – Fear Of Leaving Things Behind
The first layer to overcome is the far of leaving things behind. Whether it be for a fortnight or for a year, the obstacle that every traveller or prospective traveller faces is that of what will be left behind when one departs.
Attachment is not the ally of a traveller. Instead, realize that material possessions are just that, things.
There’s the inanimate that needs to be minded at home: the house, the cars, the valuables, and all the material things. Then there’s the sentient being one doesn’t want to feel like one is abandoning. Pets, friends, and the familiar faces of daily life can prove too difficult to relinquish, even for a short period of time.
Attachment is not the ally of a traveller. Instead, realize that material possessions are just that, things. They will be there when you return, or even better, can be sold before you leave.
Pets are more difficult to leave behind, though if you’re lucky, a friend or family member can adopt your animal while you’re gone. Or in the case of extended trips, a loving home can be found.
Layer #2 – Fear Of Not Reaching The Destination
Supposing the first layer has been conquered, the next challenge is achieving the act of reaching the destination. The demons plaguing this layer are the questions of:
How exhausted will I be upon arrival?
Will the plane crash?
How long will I have to sit on the train?
What if the car breaks down en route?
Often overcoming these fears can be conquered by having enough enthusiasm for the destination yet to be visited. Film, book, and word of mouth are often enough to catapult the timid from home, along with an understanding that bad things can happen, no matter if you’re at home or not.
Layer #3 – Fear Of Losing Our Security
Nearly everyone resides within a fortress of familiarity. We have our own homes, our jobs, and our daily routines. It’s this level of security and comfort that must be trounced if one is indeed to travel.
This anxiety can manifest itself in the form of prejudice. The aspiring traveller might assume the worst of the local population, convinced they are a target for violence or theft, and that the foreign cuisine’s only purpose is to spew havoc in their gastrointestinal tract.
These fears are easily counterpoised by a healthy scepticism and trust in regards dealing with the locals, along with trying a few traditional dishes before embarking on a journey.
Layer #4 – Fear Of The Unknown
The fourth band that binds the body to home is the first ardent impediment faced, as opposed to the other fears, which are largely products of conditioning and culture.
Fear of the unknown hails from something deeper, something practical at times. (Had the dodo been for frightened of visitors to its native Mauritius, where it had no natural predators, the dodo might be flourishing today.)
To defeat this obstacle it takes a strong will fortified by desire and validated with sufficient research to bring the purposed destination out of the shadows and into the light, ready for personal observation and experience.
Layer #5 – Fear Of Opening Our Minds
So, a caretaker has been found for the home and garden, friends have bid their ‘farewells’ and ‘bon voyages’, and an unquenchable thirst for the land from a childhood story has been stoked and the vigour to overcome a fear of flying is maintained.
Enough information about local custom and tourist traps has been acquired through friends, the printed word, websites, and documentaries. The expected food has been tried and emergency medications have been stocked. Research has shed enough light into the darkness of an unknown and foreign place to make it seem less than uncharted.
It’s time to brave the final echelon of fear.
The conquest of the first layers will have all been in vain if one is not willing to face the endmost trial, the last challenge. It is debatable whether or not I should even call it a fear, a trial, a challenge. Unquestionably, it is not easy, but it is something that should be embraced rather than confronted, accepted rather than conquered.
This last challenge—no, let us call it, the reward for accosting the worries of travel—is the prospect of having one’s own views changed.
Travel is the act of shattering what we know at home, the act of destroying our preconceived notions of foreign lands, of challenging what we believe based on our own cultures and previous experiences.
This is the great reward of travel.
For those afraid of having their paradigms altered, I have no advice.
What do you think of these travel fears? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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19 Comments... join the discussion!
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Cool article! I was never afraid of traveling before I toured South East Asia last April and took 10 flights in one month. Now that my statistics are technically up, I’ve suddenly become afraid of flying. Maybe it’s that I’m getting older and am now more aware of things that could happen. Sigh!!!
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So true, Liv! The more I fly, the more it scares me…I think that sometimes, instead of becoming more confident as I travel, I get more scared. Perhaps I just get more aware of the possibilities and dangers as I get older. I remember crossing South America and feeling like I could do anything, ride on the top of a bus, hitchhike to wherever…and then I got really sick on a train in China and had to be hospitalized, and it really changed my view on things. It was like it opened that window of possibility that something really scary could happen.
So now I don’t deal with these fears so much–if anything, a lot of these things (leaving behind the familiar, leaving the secure) are the opposite of fears for me. They’re instigators of travel. But I do have much more fear now of actual, physical danger.
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“But assuming one is able to clear this checklist, it can be difficult to understand why someone would choose not to travel.”
This was a tough one for me to understand for a long time. Eventually, though, I learned to accept that some of my friends aren’t afraid – they are genuinely disinterested in travel, in the same way that some people aren’t interested in sports or books or music.
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Absolutely – I think there are many people who genuinely don’t feel the need to travel. I took John’s article as speaking to those who have this small flame kindling instead them, but don’t know how to act… because of the fear.
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yep thats my opinion too.
i know many people who are happy with their live and like it to live in their “small” world… they aren’t afraid – they dont want it. (maybe they dont want it because of their fear to open their minds for new things… i dont know. quite difficult cause depending on the personality of each person…)
i hope i will conquer #1 – but i know i have to
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Good list. I think my greatest travel fear is a mix of #3 and #4 – a fear of being ripped off. In an unfamiliar setting, I feel less secure and think people are trying to scam me; sometimes they are, and I hate that! But I love to travel, so I have to conquer that fear. (I’m not good with heights, either!)
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Enjoyed reading this article and it got me thinking. As someone who has been working and travelling pretty much for the last 9 years I started thinking about why I feel I still have the strong desire to continue. It became apparent to me that the reasons for this is the fears you mention above but in complete reverse. The fear of having too many possessions. A fear of finally reaching a destination therefore having nowhere esle to go. Being afraid of having security which then shields me from the wilderness of life outside my bubble. Scared of familiarity in my daily existence and lack of inspiration the unknown can offer us. Finally being closed to a world that delivers boundless adventures and experiences that surpass anything we can gain from a life without travel. I guess fear eventually drives us all, it just depends how your fears manifest themselves.
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“Fears in reverse.” Very interesting twist on this article Paul. I can’t remember where I heard this similar story, basically about a guy who dreaded settling down because he would get a pink bathmat (like the one his friend had). Sorry, obscure reference, but I think speaks to the same idea.
On being governed by fear: I think no one can claim to be free of some type of fear. In your case, you’re using it to drive a life of excitement, far better than someone trapped in life without passion.
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Totally agree.
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I suppose you could say fear is the force that motivates everything we do in life. Or at least you could twist it to make that true. You are good because you are afraid to go to hell. Do you give to charity out of compassion, or for the fear of not doing the right thing?
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Great article. I disagree on #2 though. I think the more you REALLY want to get to your destination, the more wrenches you’ll see thrown in the ride to keep you from getting there or ultimately enjoying it. The expectations you build up can end up tearing down your dream. The journey is part of the destination, and as soon as travelers realize that, everything becomes easy, and exciting, and they start looking for interesting sidetracks that turn out to be more rewarding than they ever expected.
For most people I know who travel little, if at all, the fear of insecurity usually looms largest. They settled down because it’s predictable, comfortable, and secure. They have their job, their house, their bar, their coffee shop, their supermarket. They get so comfortable in their A/C, with their refrigerators and English food labels and the longer they stay the more the world feels hot, dangerous, smelly, unforgiving.
Ironically, like Paul said so well, I think that this has become my biggest fear in reverse, the fear that drives me to keep traveling. I don’t want to get comfortable. I don’t want to wake up one morning and find myself old, attached to everything in my life that I amassed to make it easier. All of that can be taken away – and then what?
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I wrote something similar this week, but I agree, it all comes down to fear. We tend to put that fear in other things (like, I won’t have money or my family will be upset, etc.) but when it comes down to it we hold ourselves back or let ourselves go.
The decision really rests with us. Getting everything else in order is the easy part.
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Society (especially in America) thrives on fear and wants us to be afraid of everything – including our own shadows. Many Americans don’t want to travel overseas because the information fed to us by news networks and the government make even the smallest international issue seem apocalyptic. In addition, many are afraid to “buck the trend” and do something out of the norm.
If people can just get over the fears embedded in us by society, they will see that the world is a much brighter place, and many new doors and experiences will be opened to them.
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Thank you for these insightful comments. I’ve been globe-trotting for years, but every time, before I set off, there is a little frisson of fear. That, I think, is a good thing though. It means I’m slightly apprehensive about the unknown, but also exhilarated about the discoveries lying around the bend.
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I’m fortunate. None of these things frighten me. I love travel. Honestly, there are more things that frighten me living in South Florida than when I travel. haha. Great blog post. Thanks.
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Interesting article. I know many people that will not travel because the have a fear of flying. They watch the news, read the newspaper, and go online and see all of these catastrophic plane crashes and that cements their decision not to fly.
It takes a change of mind set to get over any fears like a fear of flying. You can get behind the wheel of your car and have a terrible car accident and that’s it! I saw through caution to the wind and enjoy life. I’d rather have a great time then depart this Earth with the “would of, could of, should of, if I only had, etc…” mentality.
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A fab read! I think the fear of flying is indeed a biggie, as is the fear of the unknown. I sometimes feel a tinge of fear when I travel to a new place, especially where I don’t speak the language. However, after a while, after seeing the sights and mingling with the locals, this fear subsides quickly and in its place emerges a great curiosity.
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“But assuming one is able to clear this checklist, it can be difficult to understand why someone would choose not to travel.”
I also used to (quietly, in my head) judge those who would rather stay at home and appeared to have no desire to leave their own situation and see life from a different perspective. but I have come to realise everyone is different, and all you can do is be grateful that you have seen and experienced life in a way some people have foolishly chosen to overlook!
http://www.miss-brightside.com↵
