My New Year's Resolutions For 2020 (And Yes, They Are Travel Related)

Well, everyone, it’s that time of year again. Everyone is looking at their past year in review, and thinking: “Wow. I’m going to do so much differently next year.” It could be something small, like trying to save a bit of money, or spending more time with friends, instead of focusing on work; or maybe it's the opposite case, and you want to spend more time at work and less time messing around. Maybe your resolutions are much larger in scale, and you want to turn your life around completely. Regardless of what your resolution is is for 2020, everyone has a similar resolution that they have made, and they all lead to the same place: that individual's happiness. No matter what, everyone just wants to be happy. And, during this time of year, it's important to remember what truly makes you happy may be different for someone else. No two people have the same exact idea of their perfect world, so we all set our own standards and goals to achieve that destination. Today, I would like to share with you my personal goals for this year, and tell you how I would like to reach my goals. But, before any further, please remember: this is a travel blog. So, while you are reading my list of resolutions, and my plans to be successful, please keep in mind that travel can help me in all of my endeavors, and I will explain how.

---

Resolution #1- Experience More Of The World

Sometimes, when we fall prey to the monotony of everyday life, we tend to become complacent. We tend to just fall into a daily routine, and stick to it, even when we don’t necessarily have to follow said schedule. Sometimes, we become so comfortable with the mundane and mediocre that it becomes a heavy part of our lives. As I have gotten older, worries, doubts, and fears have prevented me from living a full life; however, they aren’t traditional fears, as you may expect. The primary concern that has prevented me from living my life is that I will not do well enough for my family. I had a fear that by taking trips, instead of focusing on my career, that I was doing wrong by those who depend on me. Several months ago, however, I came to a disturbing realization: I am going to die in this situation, at an old age, without having experienced as much as I could have… And still never supporting my family the way I think they deserve. You see, we tend to place ourselves in our own little bubble in the universe. We tend to stay in our own little area, doing the same things, and living a mediocre life. We tend to forget that just because a situation is hard or difficult in one place, that same problem may not exist elsewhere. Maybe, to be able to find a way to better ourselves, we need an opportunity to see what is really better, and what is just a construct of our minds. This year, my wife and I plan on traveling quite a bit more, like we used to when we were younger. We plan on seeing more of the world around us, and thus, hopefully, learning that there is more to life than… Well… This. Over the next two years, we have plans to visit all 58 of Missouri’s state parks and historic sites. Of those 58 parks, more than half offer camping amenities, which we fully plan on utilizing. Past that? Who knows what we will do. However, we do plan on living life more for us, instead of the ungrateful world that is keeping us tethered.

---

Resolution #2- Try To Break Out Of My Shell And Create New, Meaningful Relationships

For the past seven years, I have worked in law enforcement and security, and needless to say, I have met some individuals that caused me to have trust issues… With EVERYONE. I dislike people very much. I tend to stay in my own little bubble just because I don’t know who I am dealing with. My doctor says it’s a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but I used to just tell the doctor: “No. People are just crap.” Back before my law enforcement days, I used to be a lot more open to speaking to complete strangers on the street. I used to be very outgoing, and overall, I used to be a much better person. I used to go out, hang out with random people, and make friends very easily. My home used to be packed with people every Thursday night playing cards, video games, and drinking any one of a dozen different flavors of coffee until past midnight. However, I have greatly decreased the size of my social circle: my wife, my three dogs, my three cats, my guinea pig, and three people that I consider very close friends. This year, as I travel, I am going to make an honest attempt to make more friends, and more contacts, across the country. I am going to try to include my pre-existing friends into my travels, and, hopefully, strengthen our relationships. I am going to try to “put myself out there” a bit more, and build some more meaningful relationships. Sure. I could probably do this resolution right in my backyard. I could go to random events and parties, build connections, and make more friends locally; however, by only connecting with people in your own locality, are you not truly restricting yourself to what your life could be? On our travels throughout the next few years, I am going to attempt to make more long distance strangers into friends and contacts.

---

Resolution #3- Get Into Better Physical Health

Sure. I could just start going to the gym, diet, eat healthier, and add yet another step to the monotony of my daily routine. I could get up every morning, jog around the same neighborhood, go to the same gym, make the same cruddy health smoothies, and continue the process the next day. Or, alternatively, I could use my adventures to reach my goal. It is easy to lose site of a goal, and give up, when you get bored. Most people don’t give up on a fitness goal because it is difficult; they give up because they get tired of the monotony. They get tired of the same thing every day, and while some of us can’t change careers, can’t move to a new location, and can’t change other key aspects of our lives (easily), we can remove the side stuff from our lives. And unfortunately, fitness goals are one thing that can easily be set aside or dismissed. So, what does this have to do with getting into better physical shape? Remember earlier when I stated that over the next two years, my wife and I plan to visit every state park and historic site in Missouri? Well, I have recently learned that there are approximately 1,000 miles of hiking trails (combined) in these state parks. Do you see where this is going? I plan on hiking each and every trail in all 58 of Missouri’s state parks and historic sites throughout our travels. But, the possibilities don’t stop there; some parks have rock climbing, spelunking (cave exploration), bicycle trails… And I plan on experiencing it all. That should be a good method to shed a FEW pounds.

---

I know. This isn’t an article about “The Top 50 Places to Use The Restroom in Arizona” (although, that is an interesting article idea for the future 😂), but I had to jump on the New Year’s Resolution bandwagon. And even though these are just MY resolutions, they may be ideas that others can build upon to enrich their own lives through travel and adventuring. There is a large, beautiful world out there, yet we tend to keep ourselves restricted in our own little bubble in the universe. However, seeing the same sites, the same people, the same things on a daily basis… Are you really living your life to the fullest? Are you really doing justice to yourself? Or are you keeping yourself locked in a cage of monotony? It is this time of year that everyone is more motivated to make changes in their lives (even though, any day works well to make a change). Of all the changes you can make, why not include a new life of adventure? And, why not decide to live life to the fullest?