Go by yourself

Solo adventures are better than missing out

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is that you can go by yourself if
there is something you want to do, from trying a

(00:24):
new restaurant to traveling, you don't need to have a companion.
It's usually better to have the experience than not have
the experience, even if you generally do prefer to have company.
A few weeks ago, I was quoted in a Baron's
article about how COVID had stolen time from retirees. The

(00:48):
article made the point that many folks were realizing that
they had lost almost two years from their total quantity
of healthy retired years. Now of us lives forever, and
many of us will face increasing health challenges in the
last years of our lives. So if you retire at

(01:10):
sixty and we'll have a decade to travel and do
hobbies before those things become harder, losing two years of
that is a pretty big chunk. So many of the
affluent readers of Barons are trying to make up for
lost time. I had some suggestions about accelerating the pace

(01:33):
of travel and get to gathers. If you would normally
take two big trips a year, try to take three
or four. Go visit people over long weekends. Yes, life
might feel a little busier, but that is balanced by
the past few years when it was a lot less busy.

(01:53):
It will be okay. But more importantly, for this episode,
I also suggested that if these retirees wanted to do
something but their partner or friends did not, they might
not want to wait for them to come around. In
other words, you can go by yourself. That goes for
all of us. Now, some people listening to this are

(02:16):
probably thinking, well, of course, you can go places by yourself,
But I think a lot of folks are a wee
bit more cautious about solo adventures. I have posted a
few photos on social media of me eating solo at
some fancy restaurants, and a few folks have told me
they would feel really weird doing that. But it isn't

(02:39):
really that weird because no one cares what you do.
Bring a book or just scroll around on your phone.
It will be fine. Really, other people aren't paying attention
or judging you. I've made some solo trips to gardens
and farms and such that many people go with their

(02:59):
kids too, And yes, I've taken my kids there many times,
but sometimes it's fun to go and just do what
I want to do. So yes, you can be the
one solo grown up lady at the pick your own farm.
But if you like doing it and your kids are
whining about going, well, why not you can buy a

(03:21):
single ticket to a concert that you would like to see.
I actually think this is a great approach if you
are in a relationship where one person is far more
of a homebody than the other. If you always lean
towards one person's interest or the others, someone is going
to be unhappy. But if you recognize that you can

(03:43):
love each other and can do separate things, sometimes you
will probably have a happier home life. Now, solo travel
can be a bit more complicated. If you have never
traveled solo before, you might want to start small. All
take a weekend trip to somewhere familiar, book tickets for

(04:06):
things ahead of time so everything feels straightforward. But if
it goes well and you have fun, you can try
something more ambitious. I agree that it might be more
fun to travel somewhere with a companion. Retired spouses in
particular probably do want to spend time with each other.

(04:29):
But if you are trying to make up for lost
time and you have certain things you want to do
in your life and your partner or friends don't necessarily
want to do these things, then eventually you have to
make a calculation. We only have so much time. The
older we are, the smaller this number most likely is

(04:53):
which sounds worse potentially never going to let's say Paris,
are going Paris on your own. We all have to
ask what type of life we would like to live. Personally,
I would rather buy a solo ticket for a show
and get to see it, then worry about whether I
can find anyone to go with me. If there are

(05:16):
things you'd like to do, but coordinating with others becomes complicated,
then consider just going on your own. My guess is
that you will have fun and you'll get to share
the story with others afterwards. That could be fun too.

(05:36):
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

(05:58):
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. At before Breakfast pod.
That's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

(06:25):
a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.