Thoughts on Travel and New Years Resolutions

I know: why am I talking about resolutions in August? Now is the perfect time to talk about these goals – because let’s be honest, most of us have forgotten them. I certainly have.

My resolutions tend to be more all-encompassing than specific. I wished for happiness, my loved one’s happiness and the drive to constantly keep learning. Of course I had some destinations in mind too I wanted to see, like Ireland, Greece and Thailand. It wasn’t always like that though.

Eye on the Prize

A long time ago I wrote a list of 100 goals to accomplish in two and a half years. It felt silly at times and some of those goals became obsolete/unreachable as time went on, but I was shocked at how my mentality changed. The list was in the back of my mind always, so I’d say ‘YES” to more opportunities than usual, push my limits and work towards something.

There were a few travel goals on that list, like studying/living abroad and learning a new language. These days, I tend to shy away from numbering countries though, because life can be unpredictable. Sometimes I end up in the same pace for work trips, or family/friends want to return to a destination I’ve been to. Ideally I’d love to see somewhere new all the time, but it’s more important for my career and my relationships to be flexible.

Staying Healthy on the Road

What I will strive towards though is including more active holidays into my resolutions! I’ve always been the eat-sleep-party-sightsee-repeat kind of traveler. Traveling is for relaxing and break routine. But now that I’m up to roughly a dozen trips a year, I can’t treat all these trips as a non-stop indulgence. Sometimes they’re work and they also come too often to go completely off-kilter without exercise and tons of unhealthy food. When planning your road trip, consider checking here a list of Summer Road Trips you should take.

For instance, while in the Canary Islands with friends last spring, I spent a little too much time drinking bubbles and not keeping up with my activity. There were some days with walking and swimming, but I certainly could’ve offset the alcohol and cured ham with some more movement.

I mean really Eileen, lock it up, you’re a grown-ass woman. Put the bottle down and step away from the duck-face slowly.

Anyways, I had an absolutely wonderful time, but I could have avoided a few days of recovery back home I think if I had taken better care of myself! I did this in a couple other drinking-friendly spots, like Ireland and Florida, to a bit of an excess. A few morning hungover or simply bloated could have been better spent savoring the place and enjoying our slow travel time on the island. Next year, I’d love to return to the islands, maybe a walking holiday in Lazarote this time, and have a better balance. Walking holidays are super popular among the Brits and something I’d dig trying in the near future – it makes you feel better about the cocktail at the end of the day!

Step-by-Step Improvement

To prepare, now that the crazy parade of summer trips are over, I’ll be hunkering down in London for a 30-day yoga challenge at Union Station. About 24 days of asana practice and 4 days of meditation. I’m really looking forward to it, as I can tell my strength gets so much better with regular trips to the mat. I also have a road bicycle from Decathlon to get some cardio in too!

Did you make any New Years resolutions? Did you stick to them? Why or why not? This post was in collaboration with Inntravel.