Travel intentionality sounds easy, right? But how many times do we end up on a trip feeling distraught about where to go, what to do, what to eat, all while dealing with ongoing travel issues–currency exchanges, bad customer service and anything else that pops up?

At the same time we are trying to enjoy the time we are spending in a new place, time that seems to slip by much too quickly.

Intentional is defined by Merriam Webster as something done by intention or done by design.

In other words, traveling with intention means traveling in a manner of one’s own choosing, or one’s own design.

So what do you intend?

Intention is important because in this day and age, we are surrounded by so much stuff.

And with a thousand voices vying for our attention, it’s not a wonder we all feel overwhelmed at times.

Voices constantly tell us where to go, what to do, where to eat…and there is so much pressure to do things right. But what does “right” even mean?

As I was planning my winter vacation, I was overwhelmed trying to “figure out” what I wanted to do in London–even when I had lived in England for four years and London was where most field trips took us.

But as a list person trying to make my own while influenced by the multiple lists swarming in my head, I pushed off planning.

Best, most, and must-do. The lists are endless. And if that’s not enough, there is the fictional pressure to make vacations “worth it” while doing all the things one “has to do.”

To that end, I propose the beginning of more intentionality in traveling, where we intend to have adventures we actually want.

Here are 3 ways to add intentionality to your travels:

1. Make your vacation start with you.

Intentionality should start at the beginning–the planning.

Because amid the chaos, we lose sight of what matters…what we actually want.

It’s time to pursue you.

When you close your eyes and imagine your trip, what do you see? Do you see adventures of hole-in-the-wall restaurants or small-town cafes? Or maybe you imagine crisp fresh air while overlooking the city on a rooftop.

Maybe you imagine finding treasures you can’t find elsewhere at local shops and street markets.

The best adventures come from who you are and what you want without all the voices.

Think of it like this. A recipe would be poorly constructed if a person decided to add all their favorite ingredients without figuring out what they wanted to make at the beginning.

To make a cookie, you find and use only the ingredients that will produce the kind of cookie you want.

The same goes for traveling. What kind of travel do you want?

2. Intentionality can change how you choose to feel.

If we’re honest, things do not always go as planned. I’m talking lost suitcases, weather, and bad customer service…you get the picture.

And when things don’t go our way, it often seems impossible to fight the feelings invoked by travel fatigue or hunger or stress or illness.

It takes intentionality to overlook circumstances.

Whether you know it or not, you have control over what you think and what you allow yourself to think on. It is a choice. Thoughts can come and go but you do get a say in whether you ponder the thought or dismiss it.

When we were in England, we exchanged money at the airport and got ripped off…way below the conversion rate.

It was our first hour in London and I couldn’t believe I allowed myself to go through with it even knowing the rate of conversion was lower than the actual rate. Have you ever done something like this? Gone through with a purchase you knew you shouldn’t have?

Well, I wallowed for a good 10 minutes. But afterwards, I had a choice to make. I could choose to stay angry at myself and remind myself not to repeat mistakes or I could let the mistake go as a mistake and move forward.

In situations like these, it takes intentionality to combat the way I reacted to the situation.

Intentionality prevents an instance from disrupting or tainting a vacation. I couldn’t let the way I felt about this singular event trickle into every aspect of our trip. Or worse, let the consequence of my actions poison how I felt about everything.

Intentionality helps you think through situations and not stay in them.

Preparing for intentionality also takes pre-meditation. Set your mind.

Many times we allow ourselves to merely react, but oftentimes people don’t prepare for circumstances before they occur. Or worse, they set themselves up to be disappointed or angry saying things like, “If one more person pushes me on this sidewalk, I’m going to _____” or “If the waitress doesn’t come back in 20 minutes, I’m going to write a bad review.”

What do you set your mind to?

The reason preparing for intentionality is important is because not doing so makes us succumb to how we feel. It causes us to merely react.

Have you ever woken up in the morning without a plan? You wake up, then you check your email, and pretty soon, you’ve been in bed for 30 minutes replying/reacting to messages you’ve been sent that you haven’t even gotten up to get the day started like you’d like or how you intend to.

We’re not meant to just react to what occurs. When we’re merely reactive, it is a sign that we are passively going through the day. Instead, we need to proactively take on the day as we design or intend to.

3. Lastly, intentionality means letting go–of comparisons, pressure, and unhelpful thoughts.

Let go of comparisons and of the pressure to do or be and let your trip be a trip that unfolds from your dreams.

And let go of the things you can’t control. You can’t control catching a cold, how others act, and what others say, but you can make up your mind to find joy in every part of your way. Letting go of negativity enables you to embrace the positives and allows you to shift from a focus on the wrong things to a focus on the right ones.

Intentionality means purposely removing pressures fogging your true vision for your trip and letting what you dream become the trip’s design.

Do you have any ways to add intentionality to your life? If you have any stories, I’d love to hear them!

Tags: Intentional Traveler