on travel, and getting outside of our comfort zones

Welcome to The Introverted Path!

Happy Thursday! I am writing to you from Madeira, Portugal. It is referred to as the “Hawaii of Europe” and is off the coast of Portugal, only a couple hours flight from Africa.

It is the second stop on our Portugal trip, with Porto being the first. Both places have been amazing so far and I already wish we had more time to spend here.

This week, I wanted to talk about traveling as an introvert, and how it helps me step outside of my comfort zone.

In today’s email:

• My experiences traveling as an introvert

• Links to other content I enjoyed this week

Let’s dive in 🤙 

The travel monologue

Growing up, our family vacations consisted of a trip to Florida for spring break each year. Like most Midwestern families, we would pack the car and head south every spring.

I absolutely loved these trips. A horde of people from my hometown would stay in the same area and you got to hang out with your friends all week on a beach.

Up until recently, that was my only frame of reference for traveling.

I didn’t really travel internationally until a few years ago. And in that short period of time, I have been fortunate enough to visit 11 new countries.

My girlfriend works in the travel industry and we have prioritized spending money on travel over other items. We live a simple life back home which has allowed us to take these trips.

As an introvert, traveling to a new country can be scary. You likely won’t speak the native language. The culture and customs are different. In general, interacting with other people is just more challenging.

But the most important thing traveling has done is push me outside of my comfort zone.

I have referenced this many times before, but once we realize other people aren’t nearly as concerned with us as we think, it makes it much easier to try new things.

It’s okay to ask the dumb questions. It’s okay to not know how things work. It’s okay to not know how to get out of the parking garage (this one happened to me about 2 hours ago).

I have grown to love wandering around the streets of a new place with absolutely no idea in the world where I am going. And a couple years ago, this would have absolutely frightened me.

Since I have looked a fool many times over on trips, it has also allowed me to have more grace when dealing with others.

I’ve been “that guy” and others have treated me kindly — so why shouldn’t I return that favor?

My thoughts 💭 

As introverts, it can be easy to sit inside of our comfort bubbles. We have our routines, our safe spaces, and our hobbies that bring us energy.

So it takes even more effort for us to push ourselves outside those boundaries.

I still struggle with this a lot — I talked about travel and how that has helped me, but that is only one specific area.

There are still many things work, social, and relationship related I could improve on.

So to wrap this up, I have one question for you.

What is one thing you can do to get outside of your comfort zone before this year ends?

Links that I enjoyed this week 💥 

• How simplicity reveals life (link)

• Personality traits and intelligence (link)

• 10 ways to slow down and still get things done (link)

That’s it for today - hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter!

Best,

BG