Grace Simmons: In most of these episodes, I encourage you to extend
beyond the familiar, getting out of your comfort zone, especially
when it comes to traveling.
And I still firmly believe that, but today we're going to talk
about something a little different.
I want to speak to my lovely introverts who need to recharge, tap into
something familiar to gain that energy back without the emotional stress.
Today we'll chat about having a creative outlet and those who have
had their fill of shot glasses and magnets from those trips.
I have a suggestion for you at the end of the episode.
So stay tuned.
Welcome back to the random and wonderful podcast.
I'm your host, Grace Simmons, your favorite solo travel mindset coach.
Each episode, we explore ways to uplift you on your journey
to add joy, confidence, and independence into your life.
So what is a creative outlet?
I have two definitions.
The first one is a creative outlet is a means of changing up your normal
routine, stepping outside of your comfort zone and paying attention to
the present moment, which I think is the most important part of that definition.
So think about cooking a meal, writing, journaling, playing a new instrument.
Another definition, and I like this one a little bit better, that a creative
outlet is an avenue of release.
It's outside of your normal routine, and it allows you to express your
creative energy or your emotions.
And it opens you up to innovation.
So the important question now is, What is your creative outlet?
So now we're going to get into the benefits of a creative outlet.
So again, a creative outlet is that release and you can see the benefits when
it comes to your emotional, mental, and physical health as an emotional release.
You can focus that constricted into a space as positive and appropriate.
Perhaps you find clarity.
Perhaps you don't physically attack your coworker.
For mental health, your creative outlet can be a stress reliever.
When you're overwhelmed or you need a break, it can be a way to learn something
new, exercising those mental muscles when it all becomes so boring or your routine
isn't difficult, but it is tedious.
And lastly, before that mental exhaustion turns into burnout, you
can tap into your creative outlet so that you maintain that balance.
And lastly, physical release.
Our bodies manifest the tension and trauma that we suffer from.
So even when we think it's all handled and it's under control, our shoulders
are tight and are up to our ears.
We've got one eye twitching and we cannot get a grip on a healthy sleep pattern.
So some activities that you could do is maybe dancing, learning a
new dance, trying aerial yoga.
I need to try that.
Or even screaming something to break yourself free physically.
Now of course we have to sprinkle in a little travel advice.
So how do you add energy?
That bit of familiarity when you're challenging yourself to travel alone.
So quick story, I have always been fascinated with horses.
Um, I think there's like a little picture of me in preschool
standing next to a pony.
Always wanted to ride 1.
I saw my friend get kicked once.
And I changed my mind, however, I realized that I don't think I've ever
ridden a horse in the United States.
I've ridden a horse in Iceland.
I've ridden a horse in Mexico, Costa Rica.
Yeah, everywhere else but the country that I live in.
And it's because it was that little piece of there's something that I wanted
to try, but I felt comfortable enough.
With riding a horse after doing it one time to be able
to try it in another country.
And I know there's some activities that they seem like they're tourist traps, or,
you know, they're, they're always in every single city that you go to, no matter
where you're going, like zip lining, horseback riding, ATVs, but you know what?
I actually enjoy those.
Because I know that I try to incorporate something else or something different.
I don't mind hopping on ATV or riding a horse because those are something
those are the activities that I find comfortable and I'm familiar with them.
Another example, maybe you're not an outdoorsy type of person, is
that I've always loved to paint.
I'm not a great painter, but I do enjoy the process of
creating something with color.
And so when I was in Portugal, I.
Got a group activity where you would paint these little tiles and you're
using like the traditional paint that they use and you learn a little bit of
history about the city of Porto, but you're also create something really
nice and neat, which takes me to that suggestion that I mentioned about having.
A souvenir that actually means something to you.
So participating in an activity like this, where you get to create something,
you get to take your own souvenir.
Another suggestion of that, enjoying that is when a couple of friends and I went to
New Orleans, we met up with the lady who was Doing poetry and she would ask you a
few questions about yourself and she would write out a beautiful poem about you now
Again, I like to write but I wasn't the one writing however, I was engaging in a
space that I liked that I felt comfortable in and Bonus, I actually liked really
like the poem that she wrote about me and my experience And so that was just me
tapping into a little bit of familiarity You in a place that I was unfamiliar with.
So all these different things that you can do to, to challenge
yourself or just to expand the knowledge that you currently have.
It's always helpful to start with something familiar and
then take one step out of that.
One quick announcement.
I want to get eight women who are ready to begin their solo travel journey.
Um, if you're just curious about it, or maybe you travel before,
but never solo, I'm inviting you to join my program, Empowered Solo.
It's going to be eight weeks of confidence building conversations, challenges,
plenty of growth opportunities, and we end with an in person retreat.
Looking forward to seeing you.
There are only eight slots, so sign up as soon as you can.
Hey, I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
If you did, please rate the show so that other people can find it and subscribe
so you don't miss a new episode.
As always, be bold, be curious, be ready to tell your story.
You never know who needs it.
Take care, have a wonderful week, and I'll talk to you soon.