Lessons Learned Traveling 16 Hours In One Day To One Of The Most Beautiful Places In America

It was my final weekend in Colorado. I would be heading back home to Chicago on Tuesday to start my new job, and this would be my last chance to explore the beautiful wild, wild west before returning to corn fields, flatlands, and skyscrapers. My entire summer was spent hiking, backpacking, exploring, and enjoying the beautiful state of Colorado, and now I had the opportunity to go visit the one place I had wanted to see all summer…

“Do you want to go?”

My friend and I were contemplating driving 8 hours to Telluride, Colorado,

“Let’s do it. I’ll be tired all day tomorrow, but I know that if I don’t do it I’ll reget it when I go back to Chicago.”

And we were off.

We awoke at 4:30am the next morning and left the house around 5:15am. We drove 16 hours in one day (round trip), but time seemed to disappear during our trip. Each new turn in the road would unveil new captivating beauty of creation. Mountains, animals, trees, flowers, hills, land, rivers, and more. Everywhere we drove my friend and I were captivated by God’s beautiful creation. I had never seen anything like this, and I was loving every single moment of our trip.

And as we approached Telluride – our final destination before heading home – I began reflecting on a few of the lessons this road trip had taught me…

(1) Sometimes you need to just go for it instead of over-thinking all possible outcomes

So often, we don’t take risks, try new things, or pursue our God-given dreams because we over-think all the possible scenarios: What if I fail? What if I mess up?

A better question to ask, is, what happens if you don’t try? What could be if you DO go for it and succeed?

Yes, we need to be wise, plan, and think through possible, “what could happen if…” situations. But avoid the temptation to over-think. There will be many times where you won’t know .Plus, even if you fail, you will learn. Failures are stepping stones to success – as long as you don’t give up and quit.

(2) Travel makes us better people

We all need to travel. I repeat: WE ALL NEED TO TRAVEL.

Travelling changes us, grows us, and pushes us to face our fears. I think this is one reason so many of us like to travel; because we come out transformed, different people after our trip, whether we realize it or not.

(3) You will regret the things you don’t do more than the things you do

Mark Twain’s words rang loudly in my ear after our trip, and have continued to ever since,

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover

– Mark Twain

Have you started planning where you want to go in 2013? Leave a comment and share with us where you plan to go in the upcoming year.