# S3E09 – HOW SOLO TRAVELING HELPED ME REDISCOVER CONFIDENCE – 9 takeaways from my first solo trip + thoughts on independence

Published August 9, 2022

Hi, pod fam! 

Have you ever been somewhere that makes you feel like you’re wrapped up in sunshine? That’s what London is for me. I studied there for a semester in college and felt so expanded. London just lights me up in a totally different way. Everything just seems to flow for me there. I feel happy, confident, at home. Okay, but combine all of that, plus traveling on my own for the very first time, and HOLY MOLY. When I tell you this trip was the greatest thing that I ever did for my soul and spirit… 

If you follow me on IG, you knew this trip was coming (thank you, OO fam, for all of your advice before I went!!). But in case you need a refresher—this was something I had been wanting to do before entering a new chapter of life. As you know, Nick & I are getting married next year, and I’ve been spending the time leading up to our wedding getting right with the relationship I have with myself. And spending some time on my own—reflecting, reconnecting, and learning—was exactly what I needed. 

Anyway—I HIGHLY recommend traveling on your own if you get the chance. Even if it’s just a night away in a cabin a couple hours away. It’s SO important for us to challenge ourselves, go out into the world, and face the things that scare us. And it’s really, really good for our brains to experience new environments and expand our worldviews.   

With that being said, I have been PROMISING to share everything I learned on this trip about myself and life and I hope you find some juicy bits of wisdom that you can apply to your life, too. These are the 9 most powerful takeaways from my solo London trip.

1. Solo travel is a cure to codependency 

I, personally, have a propensity toward codependency. It’s something I’ve known for years and have been working on in therapy. Turns out, I really needed to be able to fully detach myself from every energy/person/routine in my normal life in order to really apply everything I’ve learned in therapy. Now that I’ve been home for a couple weeks, I can tell that this trip gave me the skills to embody my independent, confident, assured self. And it’s so freeing and liberating! 

Okay, yes, we’re social creatures, but we’re also totally capable of enjoying experiences on our own. Some of us just need a little push to get comfortable doing so. BUT guess what! I LOVE being alone and doing activities alone. So here’s a reminder for you: experiences are worthy even if no one is there to witness them. Don’t worry—you don’t have to travel to another country to feel that. Start small by taking yourself out on a coffee date or going for a walk by yourself.

2. I LOVE getting older

I’m about to turn 29, which means 30 is right around the corner, and it doesn’t scare me AT ALL. I feel more myself than I’ve ever felt because I’m realizing that this is the only body and personality that I’ve got. I feel like I know my desires and who I am and what’s for me and what’s not so much more at this age.

This solo trip was such a good reflection time to really see how much I have grown into myself and how much I have gotten to know myself. And I feel so blessed that I get another year to keep growing and to embody my true purpose in this world. 

3. Your life is not over

We place a lot of weight on our identities—like careers and parenthood, for example. And once we reach those goals and settle into those identities, it can almost feel like life is metaphorically over. Not that we’re necessarily unhappy, but that it feels like, “okay, this is my life, and this is what it’s always going to be.”

But guess what! One part of your identity doesn’t have to be your ONLY identity. My friend told me recently, “This is not the last thing that you’ll create.” And this trip totally reinforced that sentiment. I realized that you don’t have to be fully locked into any one thing forever. It’s totally healthy to give yourself space to become the next version of yourself.

4. You can have a new travel identity 

PSA: You don’t have to be your “home identity” while you’re traveling. All the belief systems and judgments and thoughts you have are tied to your life at home, and you can totally have a new  identity in this “temporary world” of travel.

Traveling lets you create who you are in every moment. This is just ME—not what I do, not what I’ve done or who I’ve been or what my goals are. You know how people pull out different sides of you when you’re with them? The world pulls out even more. And it’s a reminder of how multifaceted you really are.

5. My true passion is people

I’m SO blessed to have this community and to be able to use this podcast as a way to share what I’ve learned with all of you. This trip was a reminder that my life has always been about helping and connecting with people. I love different ideas, love being curious, and love learning from people. This trip also reminded me that there are a lot of really incredible humans out there and they don’t all have to be my best friends. You can still make connections and learn from people!

6. Life isn’t always about productivity 

For almost a decade, my life has been about Organic Olivia: social media, running a business, hosting a podcast, etc. Almost all of my creative energy has been channeled into this passion, but I realized that I have a lot of other passions that got pushed to the wayside. I realized I need to dedicate more time for living and not always for productivity. Time to nurture some of my other talents and passions! 

7. Your intuition works way better when you’re alone

When you’re totally alone, your intuition can tell you the highest path for you in that moment. You might even be attracted to totally different things, people, places, experiences, and conversations. So cool to be able to tune in with yourself that way. Solo trip = SOUL trip.

8. Alone time can help with acceptance of yourself

The gift of being alone is all about recognizing and accepting your flaws and every part of you. Because if you’re gonna be spending time with yourself, you’re gonna want to enjoy your own company.

9. You can’t wait for people to come to you

How do you talk to strangers? How do you get over the anxiety of talking to people when you’re traveling alone? A lot of you had similar questions, and I totally get it. But if you want to connect with people in your travels—and I HIGHLY recommend doing so—know that you’ll have to actively seek people out.

You could start by asking the barista at the coffee shop for dinner recommendations. Or asking someone about something they’re doing at that moment. I also really love conversation cards (two linked below) because they take away the stress of searching for an opening line. BUT you might even find that you don’t have the same anxiety with people that you have in your “real life” while in a totally different place. It’s a blank slate, and you can totally reinvent yourself. 

Psst: More tips about meeting people & making conversation on my Instagram here!

As always, tune into the episode for allll the juicy goodness in this ep—including a Q&A session from our hotline! And be sure to share your thoughts with me on IG: @shoporganicolivia.

xoxo,

Olivia

What’s the Juice Voicemail Hotline:

929-591-6432

Astrocartography:

View your astrocartography chart

Convo Cards:

We’re Not Really Strangers

Liz Moody’s Healthier Together Deck