“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” ― Jordan Belfort
The more this blog and my own character have developed, the more I have witnessed the importance of goals. In business, in travel, in studies, in families, and in general every day life.
The first person to tell me explicitly that writing down goals, or affirmations, for each day was crucial to focus and motivation was my dad. My first exposure to seeing goals effectively used was watching my mum cross off items on her to-do list as she worked (and still works!) tirelessly on her own business.
So I have been meaning to write down a list of travel goals for a while now, although I’ve been wary of calling my goals a ‘bucket list’, as I don’t intend to wait to accomplish any of them until I’m a step too close to kicking the bucket.
In essence, this list of goals is a survival schedule. They are the places that aren’t meant to be saved for later or destinations I’ll get around to one day. They are the destinations I want to visit now because, honestly, why wait?
Read more: A girl can dream
Ps – if you want to know how I keep track of my goals make sure to check out this Bullet Journal tutorial.
Photo of me by the fabulous Travelholic Nomad // my edit
The bucket list
Bucket lists are incredibly personal to-do lists. Answer this question now:
If you could drop everything and leave tomorrow – where would you go and why?
Chances are that your reasons for visiting a destination differ dramatically from the reasons of another, even if you still intend to visit the same place. Each person on this earth is wired for survival, but our needs in life and our wants straddle a very fine line that is too often blurred and is inherently unique to each individual.
The following is a list of paces I will never have the need to visit, but that I desperately want to. Why? Read on and find out…
Patagonia
“I met a lot of young people who asked me what books to read or films to watch. I think that is a good way to start, but there’s no substitute for just going there” – Yvon Chouinard
I can’t express how many nights I’ve dreamt of Patagonia, all ignited by the movie 180 Degrees South. The combination of incredible filmography and a soundtrack to soothe any troubles brings to live the story of one man’s quest to climb the summit of his dreams.
Breathtaking scenery is just the cover of a region slowly being rebuilt, from attempts at industrial destruction to a conservation area developed with the best interests of the local eco-system kept close to the hearts of those who manage it.
But whilst the movie focuses on the landscape, including the challenges and beauty that nature offers, Bruce Chatwin’s depiction of the people he met during his journey In Patagonia illustrates the extent to which history, struggle, and kindness shape us all.
St Thomas’ Mount, Chennai
“Our ancestors are totally essential to our every waking moment, although most of us don’t even have the faintest idea about their lives, their trials, their hardships or challenges” – Annie Lenox
There is a little white church atop a mount in Chennai, India, that saw my grandparents married long before the possibility of my existence. Residents of the British colonial society that dominated India until it’s independence in 1947, they raised four children in the lands surrounding St Thomas’ mount before emigrating to London to raise my dad and his younger brother.
The Anglo-Indian side of the family tree has always intrigued myself and my cousins. Raised in West London surrounded by influences from the Anglo-Indian community that settled in the vicinity of Heathrow Airport after Independence, it has always been a burning desire of mine to see where my grandparents began our family.
Altena, Germany
“The more I travelled, the more I realised that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends” – Shirley MacLaine
Whilst the concept of travellers sharing rooms in which to sleep and rest has no doubt been alive for centuries, it was the castle in the image above that gave birth to the modern concept of hostelling as we know it. In 1912, schoolteacher Richard Shirrmann opened the first youth hostel within the medieval walls, seven years before he established the nationwide youth hostel association.
I have a passion for hostels. If I didn’t, TheHostelGirl.com wouldn’t exist. I honestly believe that the mixing of cultures, religions, nationalities and opinions is facilitated by the existence of shared dormitories and common areas for travellers that exists within each and every hostel. If Richard Shirrmann hadn’t paved the way for this style of accommodation to grow through his hostelling association then the backpacking community would have less of a platform to learn from and teach one another.
Rumour is that Altena castle still serves as a hostel, as well as host to the World Youth Hostel Museum, and I think it’s about damn time I visited.
Read more: Why “The Hostel Girl”
“If you want it all, then stop worrying about money, and take what the earth gives for free”
Share your bucket list and win with Transun
Are you a blogger with a burning desire to see the Northern Lights?
Tour operator Transun are inviting bloggers to share their top three bucket list destinations with a chance to win a week-long trip for two to experience the unique Aurora Borealis within the Arctic Circle. Just make sure to tweet your list to @Transun along with the hashtag #TransunLights. For full details of the competition click here (and don’t forget the terms and conditions)!
Also, tweet me @the_hostelgirl or leave a comment below so I can be inspired by your bucket list destinations!
Lots of love,
