In August 2022, I made a bold move and quit my dream job. Like many, I dreamt of escaping the confines of work-related stress and finding happiness in a different way. My solution? To Travel The World. I embarked on an ambitious year and a half journey across South America and Asia, spending $34,000 in the process, hoping to heal my burnout and discover a more fulfilling life beyond the office.
For the initial months, I enthusiastically ticked off bucket-list destinations. I hiked majestic snow-capped peaks and admired glacial lakes in Patagonia, and relaxed in the inviting, warm waters of Thailand. This was it, I thought, the dream of a lifetime, finally realized through traveling the world.
However, the initial excitement soon faded. Standing on the stunning coastal cliffs of Jeju Island, Korea, a sense of apathy washed over me. Even while exploring the wonders of Japan, I found myself envying those I saw working on their laptops in coffee shops.
I was living what many consider the ultimate dream – traveling the world – yet I felt deeply burned out and strangely empty. It was then that a stark realization hit me: I had drastically changed my external circumstances, but I had neglected to address my internal state of mind.
The Critical Mistake I Made While Trying to Travel the World
It became increasingly clear that I was approaching my sabbatical, my grand adventure to travel the world, with the same workaholic mentality that had defined my career. The very mindset that had led to my burnout was now sabotaging my attempt to heal through travel.
Back home, the relentless pursuit of professional success and prestige had transformed me into an anxious individual, incapable of living in the present moment. Now, in my quest to travel the world, I was replicating those same detrimental patterns by adhering to a meticulously planned, almost militaristic travel schedule.
I was obsessively checking off destinations, viewing each new place as a badge of honor, a testament to my adventurous spirit. I mistakenly believed that accumulating travel experiences would somehow make my life as enviable and worthwhile as those of the travel the world influencers I followed online.
I realized that a significant change was necessary if I was ever going to truly enjoy my time off and find the healing I desperately sought. These are the three pivotal steps I took to transform my sabbatical, my experience of traveling the world, and ultimately, my life. These changes taught me invaluable lessons about finding balance between well-being and ambition, no matter where you are in the world.
1. Reducing the Pace and Redefining My Focus While Traveling the World
Lying in bed in Tokyo, a wave of defeat washed over me. I mourned the grand plan that was supposed to be my path to happiness: visiting all 34 countries remaining on my extensive bucket list during my sabbatical. The goal was to “get travel out of my system,” return home, and then single-mindedly focus on career and family planning. I was worried about falling behind my peers who were achieving traditional milestones like buying homes and starting families while I was off traveling the world.
However, my persistent burnout, ironically, provided the clarity I needed. I drastically cut my ambitious travel bucket list in half, shifting my focus from quantity to quality. What was the real point of seeing so many places if I wasn’t genuinely experiencing and enjoying them?
Tokyo
Image of a bustling Tokyo street scene, capturing the vibrant energy of urban travel.
I let go of the need to impress others with a long list of countries visited. I accepted that I could continue to travel the world later in life if I desired, even if it meant a slightly slower trajectory towards conventional professional goals.
Learning to truly prioritize my well-being meant relinquishing control and detaching from the metrics I had mistakenly used to define my self-worth. I began to measure success by the moments I felt genuinely alive, peaceful, and connected with others, rather than by quantifiable accomplishments that might look impressive on a resume or social media profile. This shift in perspective was crucial to transforming my experience of traveling the world into something truly enriching.
2. Embracing “Missing Out” to Enhance My Travel Experience
I started to consciously ignore the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) and instead, prioritized listening to my own needs, even if it meant “missing out” on many of the most hyped and Instagram-worthy activities that are often associated with traveling the world.
For instance, instead of enduring a two-hour journey to the mountain backpacker haven of Pai in Thailand, I chose to stay in Chiang Mai. There, I spent peaceful days reading articles and watching insightful mini-documentaries in charming local cafes, savoring the present moment rather than chasing the next popular destination. Similarly, instead of joining a Caribbean island tour from Cartagena, Colombia, I opted to sleep in and recharge after a night of enjoying salsa dancing with new friends.
Once I prioritized the genuine pursuit of joy over the self-imposed obligation to experience all the things I thought would make me a more accomplished traveler or professional, I began to truly enjoy everything I did during my travel the world sabbatical. This intentional slowing down and focusing on personal well-being transformed my journey from a checklist of destinations into a source of genuine rejuvenation.
3. Giving Up Work to Fully Immerse Myself in Travel
In the initial months of my journey to travel the world, I frequently found myself staying up late into the night, frantically trying to formulate and pitch freelance story ideas. I was desperately clinging to a connection with work, as my self-esteem was still heavily intertwined with my professional identity.
However, this attempt to juggle work with travel was counterproductive and was actually accelerating my burnout. Trying to multitask and remain professionally engaged while simultaneously attempting to travel the world and heal was simply unsustainable.
Tokyo
Image capturing the vast and serene landscapes of Patagonia, highlighting the beauty of nature and escape.
Eventually, I made the liberating decision to completely give up freelancing. Instead, I redirected my energy towards delving into subjects that had always intrigued me but for which I never had time while working full-time, such as history, geopolitics, and real estate investing. For the first time in years, I felt like a genuinely curious human being, learning about the world around me, rather than just a worker bee defined solely by my productivity. This shift was fundamental in allowing me to truly embrace the experience of traveling the world.
Developing a fulfilling identity that was completely independent of work has been profoundly beneficial. I now consciously make time for rest and play without feeling any sense of guilt. And paradoxically, by detaching from work during my travels, I’ve found that I can now approach my professional life with renewed vitality and a wealth of fresh ideas.
Integrating Mindfulness into Daily Life After Traveling the World
Upon returning home to Los Angeles in late February, I felt the valuable lessons I had learned while traveling the world slowly slipping away. The familiar anxieties and workaholic tendencies resurfaced as I was back in my old environment and began the search for a new job.
To actively reconnect with the more balanced and mindful person I had become during my sabbatical, I intentionally incorporated daily practices into my routine. I started to meditate, journal about the things I was grateful for, and make sure to take walks every day.
These were practices I had always wanted to adopt, but I had never prioritized them before, fearing they would detract from my productivity. Now, these simple routines serve as anchors, helping me to maintain and build upon the emotional growth I experienced while traveling the world.
Instead of succumbing to burnout or feelings of inadequacy, I am now embracing the time I have to explore what comes next in my life. I am actively learning to cultivate a fulfilling identity and life, even when I am not working in a dream job or actively traveling the world. The true journey, I’ve realized, is not just about seeing the world, but about changing the way we see ourselves within it.
Helen Zhao is a former video producer and writer at CNBC. Before joining CNBC as a news associate, she covered residential real estate for the LA Business Journal. She’s a California native and a proud USC Trojan and UCLA Bruin.
