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Grace Simmons: In most of these
episodes, I encourage you to extend

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beyond the familiar, getting out
of your comfort zone, especially

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when it comes to traveling.

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And I still firmly believe that,
but today we're going to talk

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about something a little different.

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I want to speak to my lovely introverts
who need to recharge, tap into

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something familiar to gain that energy
back without the emotional stress.

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Today we'll chat about having a
creative outlet and those who have

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had their fill of shot glasses
and magnets from those trips.

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I have a suggestion for you
at the end of the episode.

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So stay tuned.

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Welcome back to the random
and wonderful podcast.

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I'm your host, Grace Simmons, your
favorite solo travel mindset coach.

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Each episode, we explore ways
to uplift you on your journey

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to add joy, confidence, and
independence into your life.

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So what is a creative outlet?

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I have two definitions.

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The first one is a creative outlet
is a means of changing up your normal

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routine, stepping outside of your
comfort zone and paying attention to

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the present moment, which I think is the
most important part of that definition.

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So think about cooking a meal, writing,
journaling, playing a new instrument.

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Another definition, and I like this one
a little bit better, that a creative

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outlet is an avenue of release.

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It's outside of your normal routine,
and it allows you to express your

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creative energy or your emotions.

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And it opens you up to innovation.

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So the important question now
is, What is your creative outlet?

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So now we're going to get into
the benefits of a creative outlet.

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So again, a creative outlet is that
release and you can see the benefits when

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it comes to your emotional, mental, and
physical health as an emotional release.

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You can focus that constricted into
a space as positive and appropriate.

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Perhaps you find clarity.

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Perhaps you don't physically
attack your coworker.

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For mental health, your creative
outlet can be a stress reliever.

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When you're overwhelmed or you need a
break, it can be a way to learn something

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new, exercising those mental muscles when
it all becomes so boring or your routine

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isn't difficult, but it is tedious.

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And lastly, before that mental
exhaustion turns into burnout, you

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can tap into your creative outlet
so that you maintain that balance.

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And lastly, physical release.

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Our bodies manifest the tension
and trauma that we suffer from.

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So even when we think it's all handled
and it's under control, our shoulders

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are tight and are up to our ears.

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We've got one eye twitching and we cannot
get a grip on a healthy sleep pattern.

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So some activities that you could
do is maybe dancing, learning a

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new dance, trying aerial yoga.

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I need to try that.

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Or even screaming something to
break yourself free physically.

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Now of course we have to sprinkle
in a little travel advice.

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So how do you add energy?

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That bit of familiarity when you're
challenging yourself to travel alone.

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So quick story, I have always
been fascinated with horses.

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Um, I think there's like a
little picture of me in preschool

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standing next to a pony.

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Always wanted to ride 1.

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I saw my friend get kicked once.

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And I changed my mind, however, I
realized that I don't think I've ever

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ridden a horse in the United States.

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I've ridden a horse in Iceland.

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I've ridden a horse in Mexico, Costa Rica.

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Yeah, everywhere else but
the country that I live in.

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And it's because it was that little
piece of there's something that I wanted

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to try, but I felt comfortable enough.

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With riding a horse after
doing it one time to be able

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to try it in another country.

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And I know there's some activities that
they seem like they're tourist traps, or,

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you know, they're, they're always in every
single city that you go to, no matter

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where you're going, like zip lining,
horseback riding, ATVs, but you know what?

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I actually enjoy those.

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Because I know that I try to incorporate
something else or something different.

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I don't mind hopping on ATV or riding
a horse because those are something

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those are the activities that I find
comfortable and I'm familiar with them.

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Another example, maybe you're not
an outdoorsy type of person, is

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that I've always loved to paint.

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I'm not a great painter, but
I do enjoy the process of

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creating something with color.

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And so when I was in Portugal, I.

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Got a group activity where you would
paint these little tiles and you're

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using like the traditional paint that
they use and you learn a little bit of

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history about the city of Porto, but
you're also create something really

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nice and neat, which takes me to that
suggestion that I mentioned about having.

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A souvenir that actually
means something to you.

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So participating in an activity like
this, where you get to create something,

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you get to take your own souvenir.

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Another suggestion of that, enjoying that
is when a couple of friends and I went to

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New Orleans, we met up with the lady who
was Doing poetry and she would ask you a

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few questions about yourself and she would
write out a beautiful poem about you now

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Again, I like to write but I wasn't the
one writing however, I was engaging in a

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space that I liked that I felt comfortable
in and Bonus, I actually liked really

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like the poem that she wrote about me
and my experience And so that was just me

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tapping into a little bit of familiarity
You in a place that I was unfamiliar with.

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So all these different things
that you can do to, to challenge

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yourself or just to expand the
knowledge that you currently have.

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It's always helpful to start
with something familiar and

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then take one step out of that.

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One quick announcement.

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I want to get eight women who are ready
to begin their solo travel journey.

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Um, if you're just curious about
it, or maybe you travel before,

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but never solo, I'm inviting you
to join my program, Empowered Solo.

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It's going to be eight weeks of confidence
building conversations, challenges,

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plenty of growth opportunities, and
we end with an in person retreat.

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Looking forward to seeing you.

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There are only eight slots,
so sign up as soon as you can.

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Hey, I hope you enjoyed today's episode.

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If you did, please rate the show so that
other people can find it and subscribe

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so you don't miss a new episode.

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As always, be bold, be curious,
be ready to tell your story.

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You never know who needs it.

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Take care, have a wonderful
week, and I'll talk to you soon.