What do you do when you come across an amazing vacation package with an amazing price? You do what lots of people would do – send out a group text to your friends, shouting about a great travel opportunity, and hope everyone is on board. These are the same people that you have been talking to all day, but then there is radio silence – no one responds. Every time a notification goes off on your phone, you are picking it up to see if anyone responded to your travel idea because it is such an amazing deal and you don’t want to miss out. You are waiting by the phone hoping that someone will respond, that someone will acknowledge you. But nothing.
Now you are at the fork in the road – in one direction, you have the option to keep asking your friends and waiting for someone to respond, hoping you do not miss out on the amazing deal. In the other direction, you hear Chris Brown singing, “I’m moving on to something better, better, better. No more trying to make it work. You made me wanna say bye-bye…”.
The question is – which direction are you going to go in? For me, I am going to go in the direction of the music. Yasssss, music to my ears. I am going to chuck up the deuces and book the vacation that I want, regardless of if my friends are on board or not. If I spent time waiting for other people to respond to me, I would never go anywhere, miss out on great deals, and ignore what the world has to offer me.
When you decide to open up your travel plans and ask others to join you, you must then decide:
- How long do I plan to wait for others to make a decision? If there is a time limit on the deal or a booking deadline date, set that as your timeframe to allow your friends the opportunity to make a decision and respond. Once that deadline arrives, it is up to you to drop the vacation or book it by yourself.
- Am I confident enough to travel by myself? This is not a question to take lightly. It requires you to look within yourself and know what kind of person you are and if you can travel by yourself. Some people can’t go to the movies by themselves or sit at a bar by themselves, even in their own town. So, I think it is important to determine if you are confident enough with yourself to travel alone.
- Am I willing to take this specific trip by myself? If you have the confidence and feel you can travel by yourself, are you willing to make this trip by yourself if your friends do not respond? If it is important enough to you, book that trip by yourself and be at peace with your decision. After all, you did inform your friends and provided them with the same opportunity.
It may take some people longer to decide than others. However, if you put the vacation out there and open it up to others, they need to be on your timeline that you predetermined for yourself. Once that deadline has passed, then move forward with your decision to vacation by yourself. You do not have to alter your timeline or plans for others. Life will pass you by while others are trying to make a decision. You just have to wave at them while you pass by on your way to the airport.
