“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey.” -Babs Hoffman
Road trips are a way to find out who you really are. Confidence and courage come when you push yourself out of your comfort zone. As you head out into the unknown, be open to spontaneous adventure and activities.
Over the years, I have found that going on a road trip tends to be one of the most bonding and rewarding experiences as a mother to connect with her son. It began as a way for my friend and I to explore the US with middle schoolers. We wanted to open their eyes to the US territory and history they were learning about in school, but it turned out to teach me way more than I ever could have imagined.
During our annual excursions on dusty, curvy, monotonous, and unfamiliar roads, I grew and tested myself. Us adventure seekers did little planning, except for having an end destination in mind. Letting go and following the “road unknown” is not without adversity! There was a hospital trip, a minor electrocution in a yurt, wildfires, an experience with a wild dog, a close call nearly plummeting off a cliff in New Mexico, and even a time when one of us left the other alone to finish the trip 1500 miles away from home with the kids, while the other flew home to say goodbye to their beloved dog.
The memories of the adventures, cities, desserts, lakes, monuments, beaches, and national parks are what my son remembers most, and that which I will cherish forever. Although, my “self-reimagined” experience was the surprising takeaway from these trips. FUN is still the best cure for stress, and in this picture: driving a UTV in the Saguaro National Park, was one of the most fun moments of my life.
At that particular time in my life, I did not know how much I needed to push myself. In doing some research about stress and self-esteem, I realized those trips had helped with my own personal self-esteem – getting me out of a funk more than any therapy I needed at that time could have – due to a few tragic events that had recently occurred. In the book, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem: The Definitive Work of Self-Esteem, Nathaniel Branden examines the characteristics and “internal resources that guide us on our human journey.”
- The practice of living consciously: Living in the present moment.
- The practice of self-acceptance: Taking responsibility for your own thoughts and feelings.
- The practice of self-responsibility: “I am responsible for my own happiness”
- The practice of self-assertiveness: Honoring one’s wants and needs.
- The practice of living purposefully: No more hoping and wishing, but instead doing.
- The practice of personal integrity: Living with values and action.
Road trips can conjure the capacity to allow you to examine these Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, as well as discover a higher level of living you did not know you were capable of! So, where will your travels take you to? What will YOU learn? How will YOU grow? Only through doing can we experience the great blessing and growth that an adventure brings.
