9 Things I’ve Gained from Getting Comfortable with the Uncomfortable

I write this from a hammock listening to the waves crashing on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica

If you told Maria, the DocuSign Senior Solutions Consultant (aka very important person) this time last year this is how her 2022 November would be looking like for sure she wouldn’t believe you 😂

I remember seeing a friend from Cork on Instagram this time last year posting stories of his trip in South America, I was in such awe and honestly only dreamed of making that trip! I wrote to him asking for tips of how he did it (not thinking I would really go through with it) 

Id been in my job 3 years and I felt a bit stuck and was ready for the next thing 

When I first was thinking about what to do next I was thinking, I’d 3 options:

1. I could try move abroad with my current company (the most logical, sensible and responsible thing to do - the safe option and the option I ‘should’ do rather than truly deep down wanted to do) 

2. Try and find a fully remote job in Europe (2nd most logical thing to do) 

3. Quit and travel South America - I thought: not realistic, not achievable, not feasible. 

Who was I fooling lol this was a pipeline dream that would never happen (this was the option that when I spoke about it I would light up and feel a little fire inside but felt the furthest away from happening!) 

Giving up a good job in a good company where I got on well to go over into a world of ‘danger, drugs, criminals’ and uncertainty - had I completely lost the plot??? (In the words of my father lol) 

P.S. ever noticed anyone who’s ever told you something or somewhere is x or y has usually never actually done or experienced it themselves? Yes there’s lots of them out there but don’t believe the hype 😉 

The Ego Who? 

If you’re into any self help stuff you may have heard the term ‘the ego’. I never fully understood it when I first came across that term but the definition on Google describes ‘your sense of personal identity’ or ‘feelings of self-importance’. 

It wasn’t until I had left my job that I fully understood with what it meant

A great example of this is me highlighting the fact that I was a Senior Solutions Consultant (emphasis on the Senior) me being a ‘somebody’, people ‘needing me’.

I remember I said it to one of my oldest friends ‘who am I without DocuSign? ’ (I laugh thinking back on this). She also laughed and said ‘Maria I don’t even know what you do in DocuSign!’

My identity had gotten totally entangled with a title, a corporation and a high paying salary 

That transition from being a somebody to a ‘nobody’ was strange! I remember back to the start when I first started travelling I used to be dying to tell people who I used work for and what I did because it made me feel important and like I was still a somebody. 

Poor them having to listen to me ramble on about the definition of a Sales Engineer and our importance 😂

What I didn’t realise was that underneath the Technical Sales Product Demonstrater was someone who would like to scuba dive, speak spanish, try different cultures and had so much to gain from taking that third unrealistic, unachievable, unfeasible option 

And don’t get me wrong for sure I am super proud of my time as an SC, without that I wouldn’t be here today. This trip definitely wouldn’t have been financially possible! I am very grateful for my time there and I also gained skills from that job that I can transfer into so many different future potential jobs! 

I am a verrrrrry strong believer that everything happens for a reason and for sure it’s what lead me to where i am today 

The rest of this is really to highlight all of the things I have gained from taking that one decision to go with the third unrealistic option 3!

I don’t like the term ‘finding myself’ because I think it’s very cliche and doesn’t hold much meaning for me but I guess read to find out what I did discover 😋

What I Thought I Would Gain 

A new language, ticking off bucket list items, making new friends 

On the surface level these are the things I thought I would be leaving my trip with and which I 100% am. I won’t delve into these as they’re pretty obvious. What I didn’t realise was how much more this experience had to offer me! 

What I Actually Gained

1. Learned to Let Go & Deal with Uncertainty  

I think this is by far the biggest impact traveling has had on me. If you spoke to me 7 months ago I would hit the combust button at the slightest inconvenience

I used get stressed over the smallest of things. I needed to know where I would be in 4 months time, not to mind next week!

While travelling generally you don’t know what will be happening in 2 days time, where youll stay, how youll get there  

This is not to say I never or will never stress anymore but it means I’ve become a lot more able to adapt to situations, and the amount I catastrophize (when you’re in a situation and you start to spiral the story in your head towards an exaggerated outcome) has reduced (but don’t be foooled I’m still well capable of still pulling a banger for some things lol) 

2. Inspired People 

I honestly had never thought that this was something that would be a knock on effect of my decision but from the moment I told people my plan of quitting and going travelling I had people tell me that I know and don’t know telling me I was an inspiration (I hope this doesn’t sound cocky🙈)

It is crazy to think I could have an impact on how people think or see the world or their decisions but there is something that fills me up when I hear someone saying that and it is an absolute honour for even one person to see me in that way! 🤭

3. Made Deep Connections  

There are some people I’ve met that within minutes or hours of being with that person you can feel so close to them and just like they get you! 

I remember meeting one girl on the couch of a hostel in Patagonia and within 30 minutes we totally opened up about our journeys so far and the challenges we had along the way with family, friends and just life in general

I didn’t realise that this was something I craved nor did I think you could get that from someone you’ve just met! 

4. Gotten and Given Advice 

From these conversations I have also probably unbeknownst to the other person taken something away from it and vice versa! 

You are coming across so many types of people from different backgrounds with different stories that you are exposed to so much more variety of thoughts and opinions than you are when you’re in your own bubble at home! 

I met one guy who lived half his year in Japan as A ski instructor and the other half bringing people swimming with whales. 

Not that I’m going to go AWOL and become a whale instructor in Fiji (well never say never) but it just highlighted to me that any job is possible! Who knew the cliche ‘travelling opens your mind’ is actually true 👀😂

5. Become More Sociable

Since travelling I’ve become better at striking up a conversation with most people regardless of where I am, who they are etc. (Edit: I had previously written I’d strike up a convo with everyone but realised this wasn’t true! There are people that may not be similar vibe or who I find intimidating and I usually skip out on talking with them I’ve noticed during one of my recent experiences in Costa Rica ☺️)

But for the rest of them before I would never have done this before overthinking that ‘they might think I’m weird if I say something’ 

I met a guy in his 50s who told me it was first time doing a solo trip (it was an accidental solo trip as he’d recently seperated from his wife and ended up doing this trip with a friend who half way through backed out) 

He was telling me how he was finding it hard to chat with people because he was thinking ‘people probably don’t want to talk to an old guy like me’ and would shy away from conversations because of it 

It’s crazy to think that fundamentally we can all be so similar in this example that he was conscious over his age and there have certainly been things that have made me self conscious and shy away from conversations. But besides this tangent you definitely become more sociable piece by piece

6. Gained Confidence

I remember being mega self conscious at the start of this trip. I even used to be self conscious about drying my hair in the dorms (because I thought all backpackers were meant to be natural and not use hair dryers lol), conscious of having my hiking boots hanging off my bag and so many other things 

One thing that’s helped me with this is saying to myself ‘I’ll probably never see these people again’ and If I do, who cares lol

As well as that there were a few people who also said I couldn’t really travel around South America on my own because it’s too dangerous etc but now that I’ve done it exactly that I think what else can I do? 👀 

7. Become More In Tune with My Intuition 

I know this one might sound like a bit of gobledeegook but I’m a strong believer in the gut brain and that we all have one

I remember one of the final nights out in Cork before I came travelling I met a lady in her 50s in who had done a similar journey to me at 23, she left Cork and headed for Mexico on her own (telling her parents she was with a friend lol). She said I reminded her of herself 30 years earlier. 

We had such a great chat that night and I’ll always remember her saying ‘trust your gut, doesn’t matter if your in a place or with someone or doing something, but if it doesn’t feel right move on, there’s a reason you are getting this warning signal!’

I’ve definitely felt this instinct and was grateful afterwards for it. It also just means you learn to listen to what you and your body want a lot more rather than having that noise drowned out! 

The other day I was in a place where I was not enjoying at all, before I feel I would just have stayed there for the allotted time but because I noticed this I took the simple move to change places which actually had such a big effect on how I felt!

8. Made my own Decisions without External Influences 

This was a big thing for me before leaving, when I was deciding what step to take next I would ask every joe soap what they think I should do, and when I had a new idea I would once again confer with all the joes as to what they thought of that plan. 

This meant that I would have 74 different opinions and would just overload my decision making process so I wasn’t really figuring out what it was I wanted but rather what everyone else wanted for me 

At the end of the day I’m so grateful to have friends and family that love me, but sometimes they have a different story they think you should be writing for yourself! 

9. Made Me Less Materialistic 

Before I started the trip I was absolutely up the walllls about what I was going to bring how many shoes how many shorts, I honestly lost sleep over the whole thing for weeks 😂 

Now don’t get me wrong of course when I walk past a shop I always think what else could I possibly squeeze into my backpack that’s absolutely bursting but at the same time I’ve learned to live with 20kg of clothes, toiletries, shoes etc 

I think this one will be interesting for whenever I do go back to a non travel lifestyle to see if it lasts but for now it’s kinda nice :) 

To Wrap It Up

Now don’t be fooled, I’d love to say I’ve become the most confident person ever who will never care what anyone thinks about me and will never crave a new outfit again! I don’t think you would be a human if that described you! questionable.. Maybe a monk :) 

But it’s to show just some of the things that I have progressed on over the last few months. I am and always will be a work in progress! 😁

And don’t forget; the only person stopping you from doing whatever it is you want to do is you! You can make all the excuses in the world and the time will never be right but “One day you will wake up and there won’t be anymore time to do the things you’ve always wanted to do” so get going! 😊