Travel Journaling – How To Keep Your Emotions in Check

Journaling

I’m a big believer in the power of journaling.

In 2015 I found myself unable to control my lifelong struggle with severe anxiety which was made much worse by a nasty bout of PTSD. I didn’t want to be medicated, and I was desperate to find peace. When I was at the end of my rope the Universe handed me a gift, a book called The Artist’s Way.

I had no idea what The Artist’s Way was about but I liked the premise behind it . . . the book claimed it provided a path for a writer (or any artist) to clear their jumbled mind so they could create. 

It sounded like a book written just for me! I had a jumbled mind that kept me from creating so, I jumped in with both feet.

I had no idea what a life-changing commitment I’d made.

Research Before You Commit

In hindsight, I should have done the teeniest tiniest bit of research about the book before diving in. As someone who rarely gets mad about anything, I was not prepared for the uncontrolled rage I would feel throughout Week Two. 

Having worked through The Artist’s Way now multiple times I feel qualified to give you a brief synopsis.

For those like me who suffer from anxiety (and PTSD, the book solved both of my problems) our anxious brains are constantly on overdrive, running wild with all of these uncontrolled, unbelievable and unnecessary thoughts. 

Your Brain Lies to You!

Some of our never-ending thoughts are true.

However, most of our thoughts are not true . . . or even based in reality.

I encourage you to listen to your brain full-time for a few days. You’ll be shocked at all the constant LIES it spouts between your ears all day, every day.

If you’re interested in working on your brain, check out The Life Coach School Podcast, it might change your life. 

Our Brains are Plastic-y

As it turns out, our brains are plastic-y. With some work, you can reprogram your brain to stop the out-of-control and unhealthy thought spirals that have built up over time. If you consistently work on retraining your brain, your unhealthy anxiety will lessen until it dissipates.

The Artist’s Way gives you the brain-reworking tools to accomplish this.

You have to put in the work. 

The main homework assignment from The Artist’s Way is to handwrite three stream-of-consciousness pages a day.

Essentially you’re moving your crazy, spiraling thoughts out of your brain and onto a piece of paper. 

In a nutshell: Journaling will fix your anxious brain if you dedicate yourself to the practice.

Journaling Actually Works

I was surprised to learn that slowly and over time, journaling worked.

It wasn’t overnight by any means. I also didn’t get all these unproductive thoughts INTO my head overnight either, but the evolution began to happen.

As I moved the thoughts out of my brain and onto paper I began to see my life more clearly. My daily pages moved from the ramblings of an anxious person to the clear-headed plans of a person who was excited about the future.

Most importantly, I was able to deconstruct how the events of my life led me to where I was. 

It was a true labor of love. Although The Artist’s Way is designed to take twelve weeks, I continued to write three pages a day for TWO YEARS.

If you’re doing the math that well over 2,000 pages of my very boring thoughts on paper. 

Poof! My Anxiety Disappeared!

In time my anxiety slowly began to dissipate until it completely disappeared.

At first, I’d go a few hours without being anxious, then I’d go a few days. Then I could go weeks at a time without feeling the slightest hint of angst.

Now I get “regular” anxiety, like “normal people”. Instead of fighting it, I welcome it, allow it to stay and wish it well when it goes away.  

An Amazing Bonus

I eventually got really, really tired of rewriting my “sad story” in various different versions. So tired of it in fact that I don’t care if my “sad story” ever comes up again.

I have a bright, exciting future. I’d rather focus on that.

Journaling as a Writing Tool

I’ve cast aside my preconceived notions of journaling. It’s not just for Mormon pioneers or angsty teenagers. It’s a very valuable tool for anyone who’s become overwhelmed by their overactive, lying brain.

I’ve found these “three pages a day” to be helpful in other ways.

Most recently I used journaling to develop this website.

There’s no way could I sit down and write down everything I know about travel all at once. That kind of project would be way too overwhelming, jumbled and confusing.

Instead, I created fifty travel-related “subjects” and broke my ideas down into chunks.

Over the course of three months, I wrote down everything I knew about travel in three pages a day. These three pages were very manageable and not the least bit overwhelming.

A tool that fixed my anxiety is also a process that’s helped me to help you learn about travel! What a gift!

Okay Wow. I’m Not Anxious. How Would Journaling Help Me While Traveling?

I would recommend you keep a journal during your travels for two reasons:

Your Travel Pals Will Eventually Get on Your Nerves

Good and bad emotions are going to happen while you’re traveling. Instead of lashing out at your travel companions (and regretting it later) use your journal as a safe space to help keep your negative thoughts and feelings grounded and organized.

You Will Forget Parts of Your Adventure

You think you’ll remember the amazing places you visited and every moment of your magical and life-changing adventure. The honest truth is, you aren’t going to remember the details. In fact, you’ll forget huge chunks of your trip.

For whatever reason, our memories are designed to fade. Most of the time when I’m posting pictures of past vacation photos to my Instagram I have to double and triple check the location of the picture I’m posting, even if I’m in the picture.

Why?

Because after so many experiences my trips have turned into a very happy and exciting blur.

Take the time to journal about your activities at the end of every day. This will help to keep your memories vivid and alive. 

My Memories of Being Tired

In 2012 I took a Mediterranean Seas Cruise of a Lifetime. This Super Cruise had five big stops in a row including Athens, Izmir, Rome, Pompeii and Florence. Each of these cruise port stops were scheduled for 12-hours, chock full of new places to explore.

At the end of each day we’d drop into bed, sore and dead exhausted (those cobblestone roads do a number on your feet).

All these years later I remember running from city to city and site to site, excited to wake up and get going every morning.

I also remember being very, very tired.

The pictures I took are a good reminder of this Cruise of a Lifetime, but what I wouldn’t give to have written a record of what we’d seen and done, and descriptions of how I felt.

At the time this trip felt life-changing. There’s no doubt that this trip WAS magical, but now it’s a blur, a fun hazy memory.

One trip of many. 

You Truly Won’t Remember Later

All over the world (and sometimes in the United States) hotels I swore I’d remember I can’t find now . . . sometimes I’m not even sure I’m thinking of the right city!

Subway systems I’ve mastered on previous trips become confusing, fuzzy mazes.

Restaurants I can’t wait to visit again are impossible to find on a second or third trip, leaving me wondering if I imagined the amazing food in the first place.

It’s shocking how easily and quickly we forget the things we fall in love with. I encourage you to keep a written record of your travel experiences and continue to revisit the memories. This will help you keep your travels close to your heart.  

We’re All Badly Behaved Sometimes – Journaling Helps

If everyone would take a few minutes to journal while traveling, fewer arguments and hurt feelings would happen.

It doesn’t matter how much you love or like your traveling companions, at some point someone from your group will start to irritate you, or (gasp!) you might unknowingly do something to irritate your travel companions.  

Use Journaling to Create a Safe Space

Instead of lashing out at your travel companions, use your journal as a safe space to release your feelings of frustration, anger and fear. Put your irritation on paper, keep it out of the air.

For the same reason it’s tacky to break up or to serve divorce papers during the holiday season, it’s also tacky to lash out at someone at, let’s say, the Louvre.

Would you care to know why?

If you lash out at someone at the Louvre, FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE your memories of the Louvre are going to be tinged with red for the anger, and then blue because you feel bad about “telling off” your travel companion while admiring the Mona Lisa.

In fact, for the rest of your life, the Mona Lisa will have a negative emotion attached to her instead of the simple thought of, “Wow, she’s awfully small”. 

Your Emotions = Your Responsibility

It’s your responsibility to keep your emotions under control. Don’t spoil your precious vacation memories for yourself or your travel companions.

How do I know this?

I’ve had travel companions lash out at me at inopportune times and places all over the world. Perhaps if my travel companions had a creative outlet to unleash their angry feelings (or maybe if I were easier to travel with) the following places wouldn’t hold negative memories and emotions for me:

• Mazatlan and Venice will both always be places where a friend suffered frightening mental episodes. Both times I felt helpless, not sure what to do.

• The London airport will always be where a close friend snapped at me over a hotel price.

• Athens will always be the airport where we got trapped because Alitalia cancelled all their flights and we were stuck for several days, causing my travel companions to express angry feelings towards me.

• Florence will always be where I lost a friendship with someone close to me.

• San Antonio, one of my favorite places in the world, has become a “sad place” for me because of an ill-timed and completely unnecessary conversation.

Keep the Memories Happy!

Have I been back to these places? Of course I have. Many times.

I love all of these cities, but they all carry a layer of sadness, hurt and sorrow.

I hope my actions have never given anyone a bad memory of a place or time that they carry with them, and I have it was accidental and I’m very sorry. 

Never, Ever, Ever Break Up on Vacation

While we’re on the subject of unpleasant memories, please don’t ever break up with your significant other while on vacation.

Regardless of your reasons and how much you’ve grown to hate them, the break up really can wait until you get home.

If your significant other is making the trip unbearable, you’ve been given the perfect opportunity to write down all the reasons you want to break up with them in your travel journal.

Go home if the trip is unbearable.

If you choose to continue to stay on the trip with them it’s your job to put a smile on your face, and find reasons to have a good time. 

You Can Always Go Home

If having a good time with your travel companion is proving to be impossible, there’s no reason for you to be a victim.

You always have choices.

It might be in your best interest to:

• Cut your trip short and go home
• Take a day away from your travel companions and do your own thing
• Find a way to continue your vacation alone

Unless you’re in danger (I hope you haven’t willingly gone on a trip with someone dangerous!) there’s no reason to tarnish your trip with bad memories.

Dutifully keep a log of your thoughts and feelings on paper. When you get home, if you still decide you want to break up, you have all your reasons already written down.

You’re welcome.

Don’t Be a Doormat

I’m absolutely not saying you should be a doormat for bad behavior.

I am saying that there are always two ways to handle any difficult situation: 

• Screaming and yelling back at someone who is mistreating you is one option. It’s also a bad option and one you’ll later regret. 

• Politely saying, “Please don’t speak to me that way,” is another.

Be the bigger person. Be the grown-up. Always take the high road, you’ll rarely have regrets if you do. 

Avoid the Come to Jesus Chat

Unless you’re a licensed therapist or arbitrator, I don’t recommend having a well-intentioned heart-to-heart chat with your pain-in-the-butt traveling pal.

Heart-to-heart chats usually cause pouting, bad feelings and weird dynamics for the rest of the trip.

If something must be said, a simple:

• “I noticed you punched the ticket machine when it wouldn’t give instructions in English, how about I buy the tickets from now on . . .”

. . . is easier for a quick-to-anger person to swallow than . . .

• “Dude, you’re cray and we can’t be friends anymore if you keep causing scenes. In fact I’m starting to hope you end up in jail so I can be rid of you and your bad voodoo.” 

Here are some suggestions:

• Don’t play into the pity party of pouters
• Sincerely apologize if you are in the wrong
• Quickly accept an apology that comes your way and move on 

You Can Deal With Anything For a Week

If mid-trip you realize you’ve picked an unpleasant travel companion, remind yourself that you can get through anything for a week . . .  and at the end of this trip you never have to travel with them again.

Chalk it up as a lesson learned, and an entertaining story you can tell later. 

Your goal while traveling is to keep as many of your memories as happy and bright as possible. To do that I suggest you keep your negative emotions on paper and your positive emotion out in the open. 

Don’t Travel With Difficult People Again

If you travel with someone who brings more negative emotion than positive YOU SHOULD STOP TRAVELING WITH THEM. 

Check Your Own Behavior

If YOU are someone who . . .

• Lashes out
• Causes conflict
• Thrives on drama
• Is a crazy maker
• Causes division
• Creates general unhappiness

. . . you are a huge pain to travel with.

It’s time to take a close look at your own behavior before forcing your big personality onto other people, especially in situations where everyone is supposed to be having fun.

It’s not all about you.

#truth #narcissist

I believe wholeheartedly that when we travel with others we have a moral obligation to be on our best behavior. I don’t think it’s that much to ask to be a kind, caring, considerate team-player while on vacation. 

If the trip has to be all about you, you should explore solo travel.

Make This Your Goal

Here’s a good travel goal:

Don’t be the person that causes your travel companions to need to journal to get through a trip with you. 

Also, bring your journal. You never know when, or why it’ll come in handy.

Thanks So Much for Popping By!

If you enjoy what you’re reading, the kindest thing you could do is Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe. I appreciate your support.

In fact, while you’re here take your time and poke around the site, see if there are any other topics you’re interested in. If you have any questions or see any typos, please let me know!

If you’re wondering what prompted me to share my travel knowledge, check out the About Me section.

I’d love to hear about your travel experiences, good and bad. We’ll all be better travelers if we learn from one another. 

The Art of Travel (TAOT) ~ Written by Kylie, these awesome photos came from Unsplash.