Centering Yourself: A Guide to Digital Nomading as a Means for Self-Exploration | Part 1
Part 1: Finding your why in all this…
Last summer, I decided to prototype a new form of work and travel by becoming a digital nomad. A digital nomad is someone who travels freely as they work remotely. That’s it. The definition is actually pretty simple and straight to the point. However, its reputation and novelty make it seem more complex than it is. To some, it seems like it’s out of reach and designed for a certain kind of person. There’s the idea that digital nomads are all in their twenties, carry around just their laptop and a backpack, and welcome the thrill of an unpredictable work environment sending emails from airports, the beach, and cafes. Yes, like many stereotypes, all these things can be true, but believing them without understanding the big picture is limiting.
So what is the big picture? It’s that anyone can be a digital nomad. One more time: anyone can be a digital nomad. The emphasis here is can, meaning it’s possible for anyone to dream and plan about how to do this if they want it. Digital nomading is not dependent on how long or how short you travel. It doesn’t even matter how far you travel. It’s about welcoming a new way to explore yourself and the world. And using work as a mechanism for doing this.
Why do you need to explore the world? There’s tons of stuff in life we feel like we ‘need’ to do. I personally find that it’s a never-ending list! But exploring the world should be a top priority because it gives us the opportunity to actually get to know ourselves outside of the context in which we’ve been defined. And in return, you feel more connected to yourself and others. I learned the power and impact of exploring the world during my third year in college where I spent ten months studying in Italy, Tanzania, Botswana, and South Africa. When I studied art history in Italy, for example, I was wonderstruck by the fact that the ancient mural painting I was studying in class was housed just a few minutes walk away from my homestay. Located on the ceiling of the Parma Cathedral, I would stop by after class, with my backpack hanging off my shoulder, and look up in awe at the masterpiece that Antonio da Corregio crafted in the mid-1500s. The feeling of just being consumed by the mural’s historical importance added so much meaning to my daily commute–let alone my life, even six years later.
These moments, and a collection of others during my year-long study abroad, forced me to look out from my own vantage point, giving me a sense of purpose and collective understanding. This deeply informed my approach to learning and self-exploration. Learning became experiencing my surroundings to the fullest. It made me find so much importance in the mundane, the things we take for granted. It made me more confident. It gave me more stories and memories. It made me better at developing dynamic relationships with others, seeing how we all fit into something much greater. After years of sitting on the impact that learning in an international context had on me, I decided I wanted to take it a step further and experience the impact of working internationally.
Let’s be clear. Study abroad and working abroad — they’re not the same, it’s just my perspective. As a digital nomad, you’re not (necessarily) integrating your work into the place you’re visiting. And that’s the point. The function of your job as a digital nomad is to sustain your travel lifestyle, allowing you to continue to grow and explore all the many aspects yourself. For example, you can be working as an accountant for a US-based company but travel through Costa Rica. Your job that pays you gets you to Costa Rica, helps you pay for your accommodation while you’re there, and funds your excursions.
When you understand this, you embrace a radically freeing notion: your job no longer is at the center of your personal development.
This reframe is essential to acknowledge and accept because many people don’t know what it’s like to not have their work be the central part of their personal development. This is not to say that we can’t derive meaning or a sense of purpose from the day-to-day tasks we do at work, the people we’re working with, or the impact it's making. Because you can and if you have a meaningful job that is amazing. I know firsthand. I’ve been truly blessed to work for great companies, with great people, and for topics that I care a lot about. I’ve been lucky to forget about time because I’m enjoying what I do so much. But even if I poured everything I have into my job or the work that pays me, it would still be just a part of my life’s story. In a nutshell, your personal development, the way we move through our life, is centered around you. And you are a human who needs rest, food, play, creativity, connection, inspiration, faith, and balance, in addition to and outside of the entity that funds your livelihood. You get those things from a balanced and precise mixture of sources, not just your job (or maybe even not at all your job).
Now let’s get into the excuses that I often hear about not traveling…
- Fear.
For many of us, travel itself is daunting and unfamiliar. I can’t tell you how many times people (me included!) use this excuse to get out of just simply entertaining the idea and letting their minds dream about this reality. They say: “I haven’t traveled before” and/or “I’m nervous about doing this solo.”
To those people, I say, hang on to these concerns but don’t let them stop you. All of these are important in shaping your travel experience, but none of it is relevant. Do not choose to let it stop you from exploring the possibility. Traveling is scary, it is unfamiliar, there’s no getting around that. You will have to accept that. The first time I ever traveled internationally was at 15 years old and I went alone. I did not come from a family that vacations farther than the coastal cities of the East Coast USA. So I felt scared, and overwhelmed, even in just exploring my options. But the curiosity of what travel would bring me superseded everything. So I researched possible options and found a two-week international camp in Spain that was mostly funded by the Spanish government. I presented my family with a plan and my parents came up with the money for the flight. At 15, I had one viable opportunity, a single-in, for travel and I took it. It didn’t come without fear but it came with so much more on the other side. From there it led me to participate in a study abroad exchange to England in high school, a year of study abroad in college traveling farther and wider than I could’ve ever dreamed, a few big international trips on my own when I began working post-college, and then three months of digital nomading in Portugal. I learned quickly that travel is something that everyone deserves to experience no matter where you come from or what your experience level is. And luckily in this era of remote and global working, you can dream about it and it can become your reality.
- Vacation v. Nomading
The other excuse I often hear people say (particularly those who already have or are oriented to remote, digital-nomad-friendly jobs) “I’ll just take a vacation using my paid time off (PTO) and visit then.” As someone who has traveled while working vacation-style and nomad-style, I can see benefits to both. But you should know they’re not the same experiences. I took nine days PTO time around the holidays to travel through Peru, seven days during the 4th of July week to visit Iceland, and ten days in September to see Egypt. On trips like those, you can rack up a lot of experiences because you’re not working and actually on vacation. This can have its benefits depending on the place and your travel preferences. In Egypt, for example, I found that I desired to be a tourist and not a nomad because it’s not a location that is well-suited for digital nomading. I also felt like I needed ten full days to soak up the history and sights like the Pyramids of Giza and the Valley of the Kings. So I got what I needed out of the trip, downtime from work and a grand tour of the country’s major historical sites. What I didn’t get is what digital nomading afforded me: a higher level of immersion and integration into that country. Digital nomading (on my schedule and cadence — more to come on this) meant that I could do all the sightseeing, and get to know the community I was in. It also meant I could rest and reflect more because I was there for longer. I could make local friends, attend community events, or even go to the gym in between group tours. Others who move accommodations, cities, or countries frequently, can see more than they may in a single vacation trip. While digital nomading looks different for everyone, vacationing and digital nomading serve different purposes. They are both great options for decentering work from your life and exploring the world, and you may find yourself working up to digital nomading by vacation traveling more. But once you find yourself in a place where you’re ready for more or ready for different in how you travel while working, digital nomading is the option to explore.
So how do you begin to plan such a life-changing, unfamiliar, and all-important experience such as digital nomading? The key to planning a positive digital nomad experience is marrying the needs of your current self and the desires of your future self, and finding a way for your work to determine this. After all, this is a very transformational experience. In my case, having a history of traveling–without a doubt–helped me plan and execute my vision. But what stumped me was ironing out the logistics that were tied to work. After all, work is the way you get to have and sustain this experience. Creating a plan that factors in your needs, preferences, and desires as a professional traveling without a home base was emotionally taxing for me. It ended up being more than fine because I did two months of constant researching and conversing so I could optimize the experience and continue to do my best work. Although, had I known what I know now, I wouldn’t have been as worried or stressed in the moments leading up.
So… four months before summer hits, the most popular time for free travel, I’m here to share my experiences of how to prepare for and execute a life-changing digital nomad experience.
Centering Yourself: A Guide to Digital Nomading as a Means for Self-Exploration Series will be posted in four parts.
Part 1: Finding your why. The desire. Done. This part was my attempt to break down the benefits of travel and digital nomading to get you curious and ready to start dreaming. Hopefully, now, you’re sold and can’t stop thinking about your nomad vision.
Part 2: Designing your first draft. On paper. You’ll need to come up with a solid plan to jump off of. This includes how to make decisions about where and when to go, finding your accommodation, and arguably the most important: setting your travel cadence.
Part 3: Preparing to go. You’ve bought the tickets and booked the accommodation, now you need to get things in order for your departure. This section will explore everything from packing up and away your life to dealing with the emotions of it all.
Part 4: Nomading and designing your second draft, while in motion. You’ve arrived! Maybe you’ve spent a few hours, days, or weeks abroad. You’re learning so much about yourself and seeing how your preparation has stacked up. This part will help you navigate any edits you need to make on your trip — to your physical location and/or your mindset.
Part 5: Returning, now what (!). You’ve done it, and it likely feels incredible. This experience is yours to learn from, grow from, and assign value from. Whether it prompts you to go out again or it brings you something that you want to understand or work on at home, you’ve gotta put in the time to unravel the experience for yourself.
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– P.S.
This series stems from my own, lived experiences and perspectives. This includes being in my mid-twenties, three years into working, with a history and current desire to travel. It’s from me as a solo traveler, as a Black girl traveler, and as a highly self-sufficient and also community-oriented person. It’s from 83 continuous days of digital nomading, not 830 or 8,300. Everyone’s experience is different because we’re all different. Take my advice with a grain of salt and leave the things that don’t work for you. Remember, you are the leader of your life and your dreams and aspirations. My only hope is that this series helps you on your path!
