One of my favorite clients is a psychologist who creates online courses related to dating, sales, and personal development. I regularly write scripts for videos that he records to promote his courses. Each video introduces to different concepts and theories related to the courses, i.e. “The Pomodoro Technique,” “How to Read Body Language,” “Anchoring.” My current project is focused on different aspects of setting goals. This assignment comes at a very interesting time…the one-year anniversary of leaving home.
Exactly one year ago, I was sitting on an Air China flight next to my best friend, cruising over the Atlantic Ocean and contemplating how quickly the coach seats made our bums hurt. I was heading to Southeast Asia for at least three months, with an Australian working holiday visa digitally attached to my passport.
I never wrote down goals for my trip. Southeast Asia was an idea planted by Andrew and nurtured by tales of motorbikes and Full Moon parties. Goals were simply a filler word for experiences. I wanted the experience of teaching yoga, the experience of getting those famous Australian penalty rates ($40/hr for work on Sunday, y’all) and the experience of learning how to surf from a tall blonde Australian man that I may or may not have met on Tinder.
(I’m actually still working on that one. Anyone? Anyone?)
A picture from the archives. Shout out to Andrew, the guy who kickstarted this whole trip.
Goals, Hopes, Dreams, and Travel
But back to “goals.” Today at work, I’ll try and tackle the video script for “goals vs. dreams vs. wishes.” After I looked over the list of topics for this assignment, I thought about the difference between the three according to my definition of each term.
I’ve probably asked over 50 people, “What are your hopes and dreams?” on my travels. It’s a fun icebreaker that, when answered genuinely, really allows you to connect and appreciate the person on the other side of the table.
The answers have ranged dramatically:
“I want to own a construction business.”
“I want to be able to live in a house by the ocean.”
“I just want heaps of kids.”
“I want everyone in the world to be happy.”
“I want to kitesurf.”
“I want to perform on a stage again.”
“Go to more countries.”
“Sunscreen car wash and a hot tub full of mayonnaise.”
“When I was younger, I wanted to be a train conductor. I think that’s still my hope and dream.”
“I want to go to Mars.”
“I want to be a studio executive.”
“Chill.”
“Find a girl by the time I’m 30 so I don’t die alone.”
“I want to open my own wine bar.”
The answers fall under one of three categories: career, family, and miscellaneous. (The miscellaneous answers include ones that are defensive; some people absolutely hate being put on the spot and answering this question.) Some answers are “reasonable,” and some are out in left field. I accept all answers, whether they are “realistic” or not.
I think the difference between hopes, dreams, wishes, and goals is the plan you have in place. Asking people what their hopes and dreams are is less serious; no one is expected to be held accountable in 10 years for hopes and dreams. “Dreams” starts to venture into “put-this-into-action” territory, but still offers up the image of someone lying in bed, thinking of an event 10 years from now.
“Goals,” however, is a more terrifying word.
A picture that I don’t think I’ve used yet of a steep, steep hike I did in New Zealand.
Setting Goals While Traveling
Goals require plans. If you want to hold yourself accountable at the end of your timeline, they should have a measurable and concrete number or position that you would like to earn by a certain time. Goals can be wildly ambitious, but if you expect yourself or another person to achieve them, you need to sit down and map out the next year, 5 years, 10 years…
Which brings me back to my travel anniversary. My goals were limited to one-time experiences, so while I can hold myself accountable for getting a job and not having to sulk back to America with only a dollar to my name, I can’t look back and necessarily say, “I did it.”
I mean, I did a lot.
I didn’t get a job at a proper studio, but I did teach yoga classes in Thailand, Brisbane, and Melbourne. A combination of laziness, visa restrictions, and time prohibited me from doing farm work, but I did manage to get a retail job in Brisbane and a digital marketing job in Melbourne. The hostel job I had in Malaysia was not my favorite experience, but the hostel job I have now is one of the most fulfilling and exciting jobs I’ve ever had. Out of desperation for travel money, I played around with freelancing. Now I’m setting goals to possibly start an Upwork agency or establish an LLC when I have time back home.
This year has been monumental for shaping where my career and lifestyle will go moving forward, even without any set goals in place.
Jumping off an 11-meter cliff in Vietnam.
Travel, My Career, and My “Hopes and Dreams”
When people turn the “hopes and dreams” question around on me, I tend to give career-oriented answers. I want to write for the rest of my life; I want to own a hostel or a yoga studio and be able to provide aid or free classes to people who have experienced trauma.
But these don’t just have to stay in the hopes and dreams category anymore. After a year of traveling abroad and exploring the possibilities of working, traveling, and establishing a career, I can move forward setting up a plan and making these dreams actual goals.
For the next year of traveling, coming home, heading off on a new trip, and coming home again, I’m going to spend some time setting up my business in a way that I can continuously work and continue to grow, even as I’m traveling. This commitment changes the way that I travel (slow travel is the way to go) and how far I have to plan in advance…
For the next year, I’m going to research more yoga teacher trainings and devote more time to my practice, especially when I’m back in the States…
For the next year, I’ll actually budget beyond just the next month or two, so I can regularly fly home and see my family…
But this is all a plan that I’ll sit down and create in the next few weeks, after the madness of leaving Melbourne and volunteering at Splendour has all died down. (12 pm, goal setting in the hostel. 2 pm, surf lesson with a Tinder guy.) Today, however, it’s time to celebrate a year abroad, a year of not having a plan, and a year that is setting the course for the next few years of my life. This is a year that I turn hopes and dreams into goals, and get started on seeing them happen.
One last picture. This hike was awful, but I did it and got to see the tops of a lot of clouds. In velvet shorts.