GB: Be Realistic With Yourself

​My friend and I traveled for 33 days through Eastern Europe during the winter of 2016. We called our trip, “The Month of Chunk,” and it was more than a trip -- it was a reunion, an adventure, an escape, and quite literally a quarter-life-celebration (because we had recently turned 25). Given the combination of the epic nature of our endeavor and our quirky must-make-everything-a-bigger-deal-than-necessary personalities, we created goals for ourselves. Goals? Yeah, goals. 

We envisioned ourselves galavanting across Europe with post-workout glow lattes in-hand and a complete control of everything that came our way. Obviously, this was unbelievably unrealistic, but we continued to brainstorm: wake up each day healthy and fully energized, complete early morning workouts, and party only 1-2 times per city. It’s safe to say that we treated these as loose guidelines. 

We typically slept-in and woke up groggy due to exploration (and party) exhaustion. We completed zero early morning workouts, yet there were plenty of calories burned on the dance floor and during the marathon’s worth of walking throughout the streets of countless city centers. And of course, we partied far more than we probably should’ve and our immune systems made us pay the price. 

Our goals were a flop. While well-intentioned, they failed to acknowledge the fact that we were embarking into new territory that should’ve been treated with patience, flexibility and spontaneity. We treated our trip like a New Year's Resolution and that was stupid. Instead of policing our actions, and sulking in the the associated guilt, it would’ve been more effective to formulate goals that challenged us to focus on the personal growth aspects of our travels. 

Take a second. Are your goals realistic? When’s the last time you’ve checked to see if they still align with your current dreams and aspirations?

Written By: Jordan L Bryant

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Editing By: DJ Williams
Photos By: Martha Pimentel Photography
Ad Photo By: Blue Eagle Society Photography

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