April has been an exciting month for me. I finally got to go on a girl’s trip to Bali. More on that soon. So, this might be a longer blog than usual.
I have been trying to pay attention to my unconscious thoughts and beliefs more this month. This is easier said than done. When you are caught up in the heat of an argument, your tendency will be to prove yourself right more than thinking from a third person perspective. But as I work on myself more, I now tend to go back after the event and with a sense of curiosity try and analyse what caused the trigger and how I could have handled it better.
Going back to my trip….
This was planned well in advance – some 7 months earlier. Being working mothers, we wanted to make sure we don’t inconvenience our husbands (🤣), at least a little bit and hence decided to embark on our adventure during the school holidays.
If you have been to Bali, you know that it is heaven – the weather is warm, the food is great and the people are all friendly. If you haven’t been to Bali, time to plan your next getaway, my friend.
Ours was a small group of three, so it was quite intimate and easy to roll with the choices. More than the details of the trip, I want to break down my mindset on the trip. If I have to be honest, I am a loner and like to do things alone. But we live in a society and I do love my friends and family and all the people I come across on my business journey.
Whenever something new is coming into my life, I over analyse. This trip was no different – ‘what if I don’t like to do a certain thing’ or ‘what if I feel like I have to do something because everyone else wants to’ and so on. But going on the trip made me realise that being with like-minded people makes such a big difference. Not at any time did I feel forced to do something I didn’t want to.
Actually, let me take that back. My friend got me to air-ride a bicycle (on a wire high in the air) with her. I am petrified of heights, but I did it for two reasons – one is to see if I can push my boundary and the other is definitely for my friend! Now as I am writing this, I think I could have got her to do it alone (too late). Pushing your boundaries and getting over your fears is something I try to do regularly.
At one time, I was so scared of going into a swimming pool because I have (almost) drowned trying to learn to swim when I was young. This time in Bali, the fear sort of came back (because I don’t regularly swim). I pushed it away and got to enjoy good times with my friends. If you have seen me, you know that I am not that tall and when I get into a pool, I am only neck deep in water. So, to have been comfortable in water without any aid or my family is a big achievement for me.
The second courageous thing I did on my trip is to have signed up to climb Mt. Batur – which is a non-active volcanic mountain. There were many reasons I didn’t want to sign up for this. Of the three of us, only two of us were going to go. First of all, the travel to the base camp itself takes almost 2 hours, which meant that I had to wake up at some ungodly hour – like 1.30 am. My idea of trips is all about being relaxed and pampered. This definitely was not in that category.
Secondly, I came to know that it was a 7km hike. I am more of a yoga person and not an outdoor activity kind of person. Strenuous activity and I are not best friends. Again, I signed up because of my friend and also because my family was not involved. Imagine trying to get kids out of bed at 1.30 am when they’ve only slept for like 3 hours – no, not their ideal holiday too. For these reasons, I said ok.
The climb itself was harder than expected. It was dark at 4 am and rain started coming down on us. Bearing in mind we only travelled with a light jacket and were not at all prepared for this, I braved the climb with a poncho. After like 20 minutes, I just couldn’t keep up with my group of 5, so I lost them and went at my own pace. A little further down, my group and my guide were waiting for me.
Ultimately, my friend and I ended up taking the bike to the top (the easier option) but it was another amazing experience. It taught me that I am more resilient than I think I am.
The evenings were ah-mazing with juicy conversations. If you have been thinking of doing something like this, get the right group together and explore travel. It changes you in many ways.
I also got to spend some beautiful moments with family during the school holidays.
April has been a month of deep exploring and understanding/questioning my beliefs. How has your month been? I’d love to hear from you.
