If only you could bottle it up, that feeling when you arrive into a new destination. This is why I travel, to feel this feeling. And so do so many others – collectively known as the travel community. The unknown or uncertainty of a new destination is about to become known – all the hidden gems waiting to be uncovered.

Your eyes and mind frantically trying to catch up – in competition with each other. Taking it in, like a movie where each scene is presented to you. All your senses activated, tuning into the new sights, sounds and smells, while navigating to the first dot on your map.

For most it can feel overwhelming, they need a minute to allow everything to catch up. “Ok, I am in Beirut Lebanon!”. Or “Wow, this is Sri Lanka”. Once they have that minute of bringing themselves back to the present, they smile. A place they researched, pondered on, stalked on social media is now in front of them. Their new playground and home of adventure. It is still very unknown and uncertain but you are standing right where you once could only imagine. How wild.

Each step we take in our travel life, leads us into a world of possibility. We need to remember, the unknown is a place of possibility. Not challenging, fearful or frustrating – no one likes that movie headline – but a land full of hope, joy and experiences. Now that sounds more like it.

This is a constant challenge for most of us. We are fully aware we are all on a journey, flowing with life and experiencing what we need to experience for growth. But we also like to have a goal, destination, result, or some vague idea of where we are going in life. It provides comfort.

Travel life can be a rollercoaster, where you strap yourself in and, literally, flow. And at times, it can feel uncomfortable.

You are manoeuvring through the obstacles.

Random strangers suddenly become the hero in your story, your new travel pal, or even your travel relationship. We have all been there, the intensity of travelling brings deep connection. Initial small talk on a minibus turns into sharing your life story and providing mutual life advice. A connection that goes deeper than words can explain.

You don’t meet people by accident, and nothing in life happens by coincidence. Knowing this, you start paying attention. And smile as your story unfolds.

Let’s take a look – the local Cypriot man who happened to be sitting sipping a coffee, having a lovers tiff with the owner of the garage, who ended up changing the flat tyre on your hire car. The local man who showed you how to weigh your banana in Baku, Azerbaijan, fending off your travel hunger. The Tuk Tuk driver who sped through the lush tea plantations in Sri Lanka so you made the incoming train, phoning his contacts to discover the train was running late!

In a world full of expectations, we try to control every aspect of life and end up controlling the fun out of experiences. We want to visit ‘that café’, or see the sunset at ‘that sunset spot’ and we miss the moments in between. The moments in between are as magical as the big stuff, the stuff we long for. They are the glue. Without them, we would be lost.

What would happen if we tore up the rule sheet, ignored society’s blueprint and followed our intuition? Truly followed it, leaning in to feel an urge or sensation to discover what it was showing us. What the quiet whisper wanted to share with us, developing your life roadmap as new information was presented to you.

Now that sounds like a true adventure, but if we are honest it feels too wild.

How do we know when we have arrived at our destination? With no expectation how will we know if we are happy or sad, filled with joy or lost.

Of course, we will know and, if necessary, adjust accordingly. With no expectation you suddenly have a new appreciation for the certainty that will soon come as you journey through life. Following your intuition, updating your ‘what makes me happy’ radar and the narrative that lives in our heads – acknowledging your growth when stepping into the unknown and out the other end – in one piece.

You enjoyed an experience.

Someday everything will make perfect sense. For now, laugh at any confusion and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason.

Only look back to join the dots and acknowledge your growth. Then only look forward to gaze into the horizon at that place called ‘the unknown’. Keep journeying through life, open to what adventures are thrown your way, and get excited for what the unknown will bring into your life.