Travel habits have always been another topic I am hugely interested in. In the age of social media, it appears that people are always traveling all the time, having their best awesome life but actually, in reality and based on data, even something called a frequent flier is only considered 3-4 times/year. In a recent study, it is also mentioned that in Indonesia, the average person would travel 2.6 times/year although in much more detailed data, it is shown that Indonesian travels domestically 4 times/year and 1 time abroad. That number seems to be even more accurate than the first data. Personally, I can’t even count how many times I travel in a year. At some point last year and the year before it seemed like once a week there’s always something new to see, something new to visit and basically always on the move. This year, I was not sure to follow that same path especially when I have some international trips in mind. Consequently, I learned the term, dromomania, which is non-clinically also referred to as wanderlust. While being a wanderlust and traveling is associated with positive connotations but it's important to recognize that there can be negative aspects to it as well.

For many, including myself, traveling is a way to get a break from our mundane routine. It gives me a sense of freedom, getting out of my comfort zone and venturing to the unknown. There are many things and most importantly, it is always the excitement that keeps me hooked on wanting to discover new places. Traveling encompasses ranges of activity, evoking many memories and emotions, even awakening our sense of survivalism that might have died down due to modern living. This is why I think when we are traveling and after that, we become a new person. Not only perhaps we learn something from a certain culture but also when we learn something about ourselves and our capability when dealing with problems. There are certainly many things that allure us to travel and discover something new but what if it’s becoming too much and an unhealthy habit? In the next part, that is something I wanted to discuss based on my personal experience.

When do you know that you might have an unhealthy travel habit?

I personally felt this when I was stressed and was unable to stay inside my room even just for five days. I begin to question how some people can live their life cooped up inside, going to work, doing mundane routine without even thinking about seeing something new or breathing air in another new place. I have been looking into flights in my spare time, in fact, I can say looking for flight deals is my past-time hobby. I noticed that there is a sense of anxiety and dread especially when I am attempting to lead a more stable life where I am required to be present all the time. There was a haunting sense that I have to be inside all the time and never see another light. It was just beyond my imagination. But the thing is, for the last 5 years, I have traveled a lot even though 80% of it is domestic travel and some took me a few months in the place. Perhaps when you start feeling like travel has become a means of escapism, it is time to recognize that travel has become more than just a means to rejuvenate. It is just like what I recently discovered. Simultaneously, I think that for people my age, especially in my society, many are looking into more stability in life yet I spent it seeing new places.While I know, I can do whatever I want, I certainly want a better and more stable living. That is why, this year I am trying to sit through it and not travel as often as I did in the last few years.

The down side of frequent travels

Traveling is great but when it’s too much, it’s not good. I personally experience how difficult it is to have a sense of stability.I also feel disconnected from reality at times, as I see others traveling frequently and feel like I am not keeping up. While at the same time, I just talked to these people when they might have their first trip in that year. There is also no fixed schedule and it can be challenging to constantly adjust time. Getting things done while constantly on the move is another challenge that is rarely discussed because the positive aspects of travel tend to be more emphasized. At some point, travel becomes a personality. I also read from time to time that when a woman is traveling a lot, she might have a sugar daddy. But what if they don’t?There is some negative stigma attached especially as a woman if you travel a lot and backpacking too.

So what gives?

This year, I mainly want to see how far I can be even more productive when I am not traveling a lot and have to constantly adjust my schedule. From my experience, that even spending a few days inside, I was able to be even more productive churning out 2-3 content a day, increased my engagement, while getting so many things that I would not normally do while I was on the move. I might have a case of Dromomania but it’s probably a mild one and I am pretty sure I can fix that.

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	𝘔𝘢𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢 & 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘳 . 𝘈 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨, 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯! 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘈 𝘳𝘦-𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰.