Fear of Unknown. How To Deal With It As A Solo Traveller

The most common reply I get every time I talk to someone about my nomadic lifestyle is that they wish they could do it too. People tell me about their solo travelling dreams and share the fantasies of being a solo backpacker somewhere in Amsterdam, then they come up with common excuses as to why they can’t realise them:

They fear they will feel bored alone.
They fear that solo travelling is safer for them as a woman.
They fear their parents won’t allow it.

Fear! It’s always the fear that keeps us from living our dreams and doing what we always wanted to do.

I remember when I’d initially decided to quit my job to travel I was as scared as I was while leaving for my first ever indefinite backpacking trip to Bhutan. And two years later, even today, when I plan a solo trip I feel equally scared. Fear of the unknown has always remained there. It has always accompanied me and proved to be more loyal than any friend, any habit, I’ve got in this lifetime.

With all that fear, it was much easier to stay at home in my comfort zone than to break out and travel. And that’s what most people choose – a life of security. They stay at home, held back by their own fears, wishing they could travel but never doing so.

But I always encourage people to travel solo, at least once in their lifetime, because I’ve learned that such an experience educates us more than a job, a school can ever do. We learn to be humble. And to be stronger. To be self-reliant. And being positive, even in the toughest conditions. We meet people from different backgrounds, who help us expand our horizons, and see things more clearly. We learn about finding solutions to our fears.

Sure being on your own in a foreign land takes a lot of courage. But while different people give different excuses for not travelling solo, I think it’s the fear of the unknown that really holds them back. But looking at these fears logically, they have no substance.

You Aren’t The First Person To Be Traveling Solo

One of the things that comforted me when I began travelling solo was knowing that lots of other people have done it before me. People have travelled the world on their own. And if they can survive it, and return home in one piece, why couldn’t I?

You aren’t the first person to leave home and do a motorbike trip to Thailand. Columbus had a reason to be afraid. You don’t!

And if you are still scared, read these solo travel quotes and stay motivated.

You Are Just As Capable As Everyone Else

Don’t doubt yourself. You’re just as capable, as smart. If other people can travel the world, why can’t you? What makes you think you lack skills? Can you not say hello to strangers? Have you not bargained for prices, while living in your city? Do you not make it home every evening after your office?

Don’t doubt yourself. You got by in life just fine until now. The same will follow true when you will travel. Just trust yourself!

You Will Make Friends

People always ask me how I make friends on the road. They tell me that they’re not very social and that it’s hard for them to meet strangers. The truth is that when you travel, you are never alone. There are many solo travellers out there in the same boat as you. Though you might not find many solo travellers from your home country you’ll always find people from other communities, who are ready to share a part of your journey. Meeting people from across the world moreover only makes travelling a lot more fun.

When I initially started travelling, I used to be nervous talking to strangers, but the fear subsided as I eventually realized that every traveller is willing to make friends. And one of those friends was me.

The World Isn’t As Bad And Unsafe As You Thought

If you fear solo travelling can be unsafe, please don’t. I’ve been travelling for over two years, with 90% of my journeys, both in India and abroad, being conducted and completed solo. I’ve lived with locals, slept in their homes, and even hitchhiked with them. I did solo bike trips and even camped out in the wild – all by myself. And if you think I could do it because I was a man (which sure makes things a little easier, I don’t disagree) but let me tell you that there is a good share of solo women travellers out there. And there’s no reason for you to find it scary because you’re a woman.

The anxiety of travelling on our own sure curbs us from doing it at all and heading off into the unknown. But once you look at why you are afraid of doing it, you’ll realize there’s no reason to be. You can travel. You are capable. It’s not as hard as you think.

Don’t let fear win.

Need more inspiration for your next solo adventure? Read: My Biggest Solo Travelling Lessons