A few weeks ago, we had a dear friend of ours on the Consummate Athlete Podcast, mechanic/team manager/all-around badass Scott Kelly. And something he said has really stuck with me as travel got even crazier at the end of December and through this month and the season winds down.
He told us that the secret to traveling and keeping it all together, even when travel and work are completely insane, is simple: you have to want to do it. If you chose to travel as part of your work, you have to just embrace it. There’s no hack that’s going to make it magically better, no piece of gear that will make or break how you feel about it.
It’s really easy to get down on travel when you’re in the thick of it, when you’re exhausted, when things aren’t going according to plan. But “there are tons of jobs that don’t involve travel,” Scott pointed out. So if you choose one that does, remember that it’s a choice you made. And that you chose it because the pros outweigh the cons.
That idea of simply wanting to do it and remembering that was weirdly potent for me. I can get a little whiny towards the end of the season and just want to be in one spot, but this year, I’m taking his words to heart: even when travel gets crazy or we get hit with curveballs, we choose to do this. So why not enjoy it?
This also segues into something I’m going to focus a lot more on in 2017: mindfulness. I think as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to calm down a bit, but I think — especially with all that’s going on in the world — we can all use a little extra mindfulness in our lives. But for now, I’m trying to savor these next couple weeks on the road with the crew and really love what I’m doing, where I am, what I’m seeing, and who I’m with. Because, to be honest, it’s pretty rad — even when flights get delayed.
(Another tip from Scott: pack as light as humanly possible. I’m still working on this one.)
