It's Okay to Outgrow Places (and Things)

📍Basel, Switzerland - one of my all time favourite cities

The Why Not Theory might sound exciting on the surface, but really it's just a name for what I've been through and a guide for where I want to go and ultimately who I want to be.

I hope it helps you, readers, become better versions of yourselves, too! Take it from me, I could have used so much of this advice when I was younger. I've learned a lot of valuable life lessons in my 22 years on this planet.

I thought leaving a destination was the hardest part of travelling for the longest time. Turns out it's actually coming back and realizing you don't feel the same about the place you returned to. Nothing's wrong, but somewhere along the line, you changed in some way.

📍Huningue, France - departure port for river cruise

You might leave for a trip thinking it's just a break from your routine. A reset, an escape, a few good memories made then boom! back to reality. What nobody tells you is that travel doesn't just give you experiences, it tends to shift your perspective of the world.

At first, the shift is small, and then it might hit you all at once. You start to notice things a bit differently. It may be the way you go about your day, the things you get excited about, and even what feels genuine and what might not be.

Nobody talks about the 'after' of booking a trip. The part where you come back, and everything is ever so slightly out of place, and you realize that growth doesn't always feel inspiring...sometimes it's just plain uncomfortable.

You come back to the places that used to feel like they meant everything...and even those feel different, a little less... you.

That's where the hesitation & even guilt creeps in. How do you explain that a place you once loved just doesn't feel the same; simply because you are not the same? Perhaps the version of your life that once fit you perfectly now feels like something you've outgrown.

I believe travel does this magical thing where it expands your world so much that there's no way to see things the same way again. You've seen different ways of living, paces, and a ton of new locations.

I've included pictures from a few of my recent adventures throughout this article. Every time, I returned a different person. Sometimes a better version of myself, sometimes just more aware of the world.

📍Koblenz, Germany - river cruise port of call, small town on the Rhine.

Perhaps you've felt what it's like to be fully present somewhere new, as well as what it's like to not be fully present (as per the previous post I wrote), and all of a sudden it becomes nearly impossible to settle for running on autopilot.

There are places that I've been that have changed me more than I anticipated them to. Not always in a dramatic, movie moment kind of way. Mostly in the quiet realization that there is always more for me out there in the world. More ways to live & feel and perhaps even more versions of myself I haven't met yet.

Let me tell you...once you get a hint of that feeling of wanderlust... you cannot just ignore it.

Over the years, I've learned that travel might not be just about collecting destinations on a list. It might be about realizing that you are, in fact, allowed to outgrow familiar places, too.

The river cruise I talked about in a previous post was one of those places that made me realize I was possibly outgrowing the life I had prior to departure. Sure enough, I returned and made a change. A much needed adjustment.

📍 Somewhere on the Rhine River

My advice to you: outgrow the version of yourself that stayed comfortable, the routines that no longer mean anything to you, and the places that once felt like home. I say this because these things may have been enough at the time, but since they've already given you exactly what you needed to thrive, you no longer need them as much (or at all).

Being a traveller through and through, my heart belongs in many different places. I don't have it in me to call one particular place 'home' anymore, and I consider that a beautiful concept, but I understand it can also be a bit intimidating or even a little uncomfortable for some.

That's when I tell you to lean into the discomfort and let it guide you.

Through my travel experiences, I realized that not every place is meant to be permanent. Some places exist to change you. Some are meant to show you something, and some are just meant to be left behind so you can keep moving toward somewhere or something that serves you better.

📍Basel, Switzerland. Again.

So, if you've read this far, and you've ever come home from a trip and felt a sudden, inexplicable shift, like perhaps something doesn't fit the same way anymore... you haven't done anything wrong. You're just growing, and your environment is staying exactly as it always has been. Time for a change!

Perhaps the real question to ask yourself isn't "why does this feel different?"

It might just be: "why not consider where this version of me wants to go next?"