Is Now The Time For a Solo Trip?

[00:00:01] Welcome to Business, Finance and Soul. My name is Shaun Enders and I'm a curious entrepreneur. I love exploring business, personal finance and consciousness. I'll jump around topics, offer my opinions and occasionally interview interesting people. Looking forward to going on this journey. Let's be curious together.

[00:00:21] Welcome back to Business, Finance and Soul. Thank you for joining me. I am here talking about the power of a solo trip. I don't know how many of you take time to be by yourself.

[00:00:44] I know that in my life, it's busy. I have a family, wife and kids. I have a business and I coach sports and it requires a lot of me and I get wrapped up into it. I enjoy all of it, by the way. I enjoy what I've created and I really like the life that I've set up for myself.

[00:01:12] But what's really interesting is I find myself in this matrix, really, really sometimes spinning, looking for moments of inspiration and trying to carve out that creative time.

[00:01:30] Because all of us, no matter whether you work for somebody or run a company, you need to have that creative time. You have to be able to think about being present and enjoying where you are right now.

[00:01:44] But you also want to think creatively about your future self. You want to think not just about investing and setting yourself up financially, but also hobbies and travel and interests and chapters of your life.

[00:02:01] You certainly don't want to think about your future self. You certainly don't want to think about your future self. You certainly don't want to just arrive.

[00:02:04] And if you are one of those individuals that just arrives, sometimes you're not happy because you've arrived to a destination that you didn't plan.

[00:02:14] And so the power of a solo trip is something that I wanted to tackle today because when you are intentional, when you have that time to think, when you free yourself from distractions and the noise of the great life that you live,

[00:02:40] you connect with the present, but you also have an opportunity to connect with the future.

[00:02:48] And so that's what I'm talking about today because we live in a fast-paced world. We're constantly connected.

[00:03:01] And whether or not that's technology or work or your social commitments, something's going to be pulling at your attention.

[00:03:09] So I want to talk about a few things. Number one, why do we need that time alone?

[00:03:17] Because hearing your own thoughts matters. It turns out that you have this intuition, you have this guidance system.

[00:03:28] And it's important to honor that and to be able to hear internally what you're loving right now and also what you might change.

[00:03:40] The importance of silence and solitude, the self-reflection, some of these areas that you can stack upon each other to find personal growth.

[00:03:48] So that's what happens when you get away from it all.

[00:03:52] And being alone, it's not the same as being lonely.

[00:03:55] It's about creating space to connect with yourself.

[00:04:00] I know I mentioned that I was going on a solo trip and a couple people kind of looked at me sideways a bit like,

[00:04:10] like, why wouldn't you bring a friend or, you know, certainly why is your wife not going with you?

[00:04:17] I gotta be honest, the first time I did it, I thought a little bit about that.

[00:04:21] I was like, that is weird, isn't it?

[00:04:23] That I'm going by myself.

[00:04:25] Does that say something about me?

[00:04:27] Like that I couldn't find a friend to come with me?

[00:04:31] And it's quite the opposite.

[00:04:33] I mean, it's just, it's so empowering.

[00:04:35] Now, now I own it.

[00:04:36] But the first time, I think I was a little, I don't know, a little nervous or intimidated to say that I was doing this.

[00:04:46] And the first time I went on my own trip, especially since having a family, was just a couple years ago.

[00:04:53] And my wife and I had both made this agreement that this is something that we thought was important.

[00:05:01] Time to ourselves.

[00:05:04] And truthfully, when I went on my trip and then my wife went on hers, I actually thought it was pretty cool.

[00:05:12] When she was out connecting with herself and really kind of honoring that time,

[00:05:18] I thought it was amazing being at home with the kids and being a solo parent during that time.

[00:05:24] I was very proud of myself.

[00:05:26] She was gone for like four days and I had the kids shuttling them, you know, to sports and school.

[00:05:35] And I had work and I just felt proud of myself.

[00:05:39] And I know that she feels the same when I'm away.

[00:05:42] And so when you step up and you become that spouse for the other, that support system, you know, for your partner,

[00:05:54] there's some rewards on the opposite side too that I didn't see coming.

[00:05:58] And yeah, it was just really cool.

[00:06:02] So my second solo trip really was really cool because I had the mental clarity.

[00:06:12] I knew what I was going to expect.

[00:06:13] The first one I didn't know.

[00:06:15] And I had just kind of hoped that taking some time to myself would create some space for me to be able to address some of the things that I had just kind of pushed to the side.

[00:06:26] That I knew were important, but I just did not have the time or just mental clarity to address some of these pressing issues.

[00:06:40] And some of them were related to business and others were just really my goals of what I wanted in the next couple of years.

[00:06:49] And so the benefits of the solo trip for me the first time and then the second time really were mental clarity and a reset emotionally and then really a lot of self-discovery.

[00:07:05] Because I was able to go inward as much as I was outward.

[00:07:13] Now, the other thing that I do, if you're entertaining a solo trip for yourself, is I like to have time to focus on journaling, meditating.

[00:07:26] For me, those are important areas.

[00:07:28] Breath work.

[00:07:29] Breath work.

[00:07:31] You know, you can plan anything, whether or not it's a massage or sauna or steam rooms or, you know, anything that really helps you center.

[00:07:44] But one of the key things for me is I like to connect with nature.

[00:07:49] So some people love, you know, either hiking, walking a beach, something to get grounded, present, things that maybe you've been yearning to do outdoors, but you just haven't found the time to do it.

[00:08:06] This is your time.

[00:08:09] And this is your opportunity to be able to do the things that you want to do.

[00:08:17] So I encourage you to plan before you go do your solo trip.

[00:08:21] What do you, what, what is calling you right now?

[00:08:23] What is something that you wish you were doing or that you wish you had put in place on a day-to-day basis?

[00:08:35] And now you have that opportunity.

[00:08:38] So for me, nature, I love mountain biking.

[00:08:41] I'll bring my mountain bike and I throw in the back of my truck and, you know, you find a spot and just be able to go and really connect and be there, be present.

[00:08:54] It's phenomenal.

[00:08:56] For me, journaling comes naturally because I've got so much that I want to take out of my brain and put it somewhere else.

[00:09:05] But what if journaling isn't natural?

[00:09:08] I was just actually with a friend this last week and he was saying, yeah, he doesn't write anything down.

[00:09:14] He was like, in fact, what do you write?

[00:09:19] Journaling doesn't have to be intimidating.

[00:09:21] You know, it's such a powerful tool.

[00:09:24] It's just a way to process your thoughts and reflect on your experiences.

[00:09:29] And, you know, like I had told him, document your journey.

[00:09:33] I mean, when you're 80, one of the coolest things that you have is time to reflect.

[00:09:39] But I mean, don't you want to reflect on things that, that, that happened the way that you remember them in that moment?

[00:09:50] Our memories are, they're interesting.

[00:09:53] They're fickle.

[00:09:55] And sometimes they're not even true.

[00:09:58] I, I think back to last week and I'm not sure if I've got it right.

[00:10:05] Think back to last year, two years, five years ago, I'm way off.

[00:10:11] I have just flashes of what those memories are.

[00:10:18] But going to my journal, I'm reading how I felt.

[00:10:22] What was my interpretation of the day?

[00:10:25] You know, what were some of the things that I did?

[00:10:28] It doesn't have to be super profound, but it's a recording of your experiences, the way that you saw them at that time.

[00:10:38] And so I think sometimes journaling comes with this connotation of like eloquence or, you know, a specific style or an outline.

[00:10:47] But truly, it's just, you know, taking time to write out what you're going through and how you're feeling at that time, whether or not it was your relationship with your spouse or your, your kids.

[00:11:01] How you're feeling at work, something that you turned down or you accepted, whatever it was.

[00:11:08] It's just tracking things.

[00:11:10] And I encourage you, if you're doing it, write it by hand.

[00:11:15] Really don't type it.

[00:11:17] Take the time to write it.

[00:11:18] And that movement, that connection, that neurological synchronicity between your thoughts and the movement of your hand, it's something there.

[00:11:37] It helps you with just your ability to connect in that moment.

[00:11:41] And you really find yourself putting down probably a lot more than you expected when you started.

[00:11:49] So I want to give you some tips here.

[00:11:52] If you have not planned your own solo trip, think about the destination mindfully.

[00:11:57] Okay.

[00:11:58] It's got to be a place where you feel safe, peaceful.

[00:12:03] You know, it should align with the goal of connecting with yourself.

[00:12:09] So it could be a nice cabin, a mountain retreat, a beach.

[00:12:16] I personally love the mountains because I love, I live in Southern California.

[00:12:20] So we lack in that area.

[00:12:26] We lack the trees that I grew up with in the Northwest.

[00:12:30] So I like to go to the mountains.

[00:12:33] It's my happy place.

[00:12:35] I'm close to beaches all the time.

[00:12:37] So for me, that's not, that's not a top place.

[00:12:41] But for you, maybe it is.

[00:12:43] But find a place that makes you feel comfortable and safe.

[00:12:48] Leave your distractions behind.

[00:12:50] Really limit the use of technology.

[00:12:52] Try not to check your emails.

[00:12:56] Definitely don't scroll through social media or get caught up in the outside world.

[00:13:01] The goal is to create space for solitude and self-reflection.

[00:13:08] Bring the essentials.

[00:13:10] Comfortable clothes, a good book, definitely your journal as we were talking about,

[00:13:17] and whatever other things that you enjoy.

[00:13:22] For me, it's the mountain bike.

[00:13:24] Throw it in there too.

[00:13:26] And the right clothes.

[00:13:31] Listen to yourself.

[00:13:33] Be open to changing plans.

[00:13:36] If you want to stay a little bit longer in one place, do it.

[00:13:41] Spend some more time there.

[00:13:43] Set yourself up for success and follow your intuition.

[00:13:48] You know, the world is never going to stop moving.

[00:13:51] And so the greatest gift that you can give yourself is time alone.

[00:13:58] It's just a break from the chaos.

[00:14:00] A chance to reconnect.

[00:14:03] Reflect on your life.

[00:14:05] Find clarity in the silence.

[00:14:08] And know that you deserve it.

[00:14:11] I think my first solo trip, I was mentioning it to someone who said,

[00:14:16] I don't even know what I would do with myself.

[00:14:19] They're so busy being a parent and working.

[00:14:24] And they couldn't even envision this time alone.

[00:14:30] So that right there tells you that it's time to do it.

[00:14:35] Because you've got to jump into what scares you a little bit.

[00:14:38] Something where you're like, I can't even believe that I would do something like that.

[00:14:42] Well, that's for you then.

[00:14:45] Jump into that space.

[00:14:46] Because we're going to continue to have the deluge of information coming at us.

[00:14:55] Requests.

[00:14:57] More needs.

[00:14:58] More wants.

[00:14:59] More desires.

[00:15:00] All of this.

[00:15:01] But it's time to find clarity.

[00:15:04] So if you've been thinking about a solo trip, now's the time.

[00:15:08] If you're doing them, keep doing them.

[00:15:11] I'm proud of you.

[00:15:12] But above all, stay curious.

[00:15:15] Thanks for tuning in, as always.

[00:15:18] And until next time.