Walking Life's Paths: How Different Terrains Mirror Your Travel Needs

Ever notice how the ground beneath your feet changes when hiking? From sandy paths to packed dirt trails, paved walkways to rocky terrain—each surface requires a different approach and energy level. What if these changing terrains hold wisdom about the type of travel that would serve you best right now?

During a recent solo road trip to West Texas that didn't quite go according to plan, I discovered a powerful metaphor while hiking that perfectly illustrates the relationship between life's seasons and our travel needs. Those sandy stretches where progress feels slow and tiring? They might be signaling you need a trip centered around your passions—music, cooking, hiking—something to restore the joy that daily challenges are slowly depleting. Walking comfortably on packed dirt trails with steady momentum? Your stable life foundation makes you perfectly suited for ambitious multi-city tours or country exploration.

Then there are those moments we find ourselves on autopilot, so overwhelmed we're just trying to survive each day. Surprisingly, these "paved pathway" phases call for wellness retreats or spa getaways—controlled environments that provide restoration without requiring you to make decisions. And those rocky paths demanding your constant attention? When life has you carefully navigating multiple challenges, cruises or organized group tours remove the burden of planning while still giving you the escape you desperately need.

This isn't about running away from life's difficulties but gaining fresh perspectives that transform how we navigate them upon return. In my one-on-one travel coaching, we assess exactly where you are in life's journey and design travel experiences that meet you right where you stand. Whether you're trudging through sand or picking your way across rocks, there's a perfect travel experience waiting for you.

Ready to discover what terrain you're walking and what type of travel would serve you best? Visit CherylBeckEsch.com to learn more about my personalized travel coaching program and schedule a free discovery call today.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to Solo Travel Adventures.
I'm Cheryl Esch, your host.
Well, very recently I went on aroad trip to West Texas.
I love road trips and if youwant to hear more about some
important factors on how toprepare for a solo road trip, go
back and listen to episode 152,just about two weeks ago.

(00:25):
Well, I have to admit, itdidn't go as planned and
actually my last two road tripshave not gone as planned.
I think that's kind of thebeauty of solo travel, of travel
in general, in that it'sconstantly changing.
You're constantly having topivot and adjust to things.
It's never going as you planned.

(00:46):
So I did kind of expect that.
But I had to remind myself,even though it didn't go as
planned and I ended up comingback early, I had to remember
what my intent was, and that wasto specifically get some good
hikes in.
And that is what I accomplishedon this road trip.
I love how it just evolved andit did satisfy that intent the

(01:13):
hiking and I was ready to comehome a little earlier than
intended.
But during one of my hikes, godgave me a metaphor and for
anyone who's ever hiked you mayhave experienced a variety of
terrains Even if you haven'thiked this metaphor is for
everyone.
In my hike I walked through avariety of terrains.

(01:36):
I had the ground, meaning itwas either sandy ground, I had
some paved paths, some packeddirt trails and some rocky
terrain, and these terrainsreminded me that in life we may
experience most of thesejourneys depending on where we
are in the season and wherewe're walking through.

(01:56):
So I'm going to share how eachtype of terrain corresponds with
sort of maybe the season you'rein in your life and how kind of
give us signals on what type oftravel may be best for you,
depending on where you arewalking today.

(02:17):
So the first terrain that Iexperienced, which was kind of
odd, I wasn't expecting itactually that I experienced,
which was kind of odd, I wasn'texpecting it actually was very
sandy ground and this was, youknow, kind of had that clay like
coloring rustic you knowthinking of.
If you're from the US, you knowthat sort of that southwest
region there's a lot of thatcopper in the ground, and so

(02:41):
this was actually very sandy,not the packed sand that you
would find at the edge of awater, but very loose and even
kind of deep and granular sand.
And if you have experiencedwalking, maybe on this type of
sand, maybe on a beach.
You know that it takes effort,it's hard, it can be tiring and

(03:03):
you're making slow progress.
Right, you can't really.
It's hard to run or to make anykind of good time in walking in
sand, but you're makingprogress, but it's just slower.
If you are feeling like, yeah,I feel like I'm walking on sandy
ground.
Things are a little shaky.
Maybe in your life Things couldbe a little challenging, but

(03:27):
you are still moving slowlyforward each day.
Maybe it's just a stress ofyour job, maybe there's some
relationships, there's just somethings that are uncertain, but
you're still making some headway.
It's just a lot harder and soyou are feeling probably a
little tired and if you arefeeling you are here in this

(03:50):
part of your life, this is whereyou're at.
I got the sense as I was walkingand just feeling how this
metaphor relates to travel.
I found that if you are kind ofwalking in this sandy kind of
ground, your travel you might bebest suited to find a travel, a

(04:13):
trip, that is based on yourinterest, for example, what
makes you happy and alive.
Some examples might be basingyour trip on, if you like, music
.
Music brings you life.
You feel in, you know, justenergized by it.
Then find a music festival,somewhere that you would like to

(04:36):
go to.
Maybe you like hiking, find aplace to go hiking.
Maybe you like cooking and youwant to base your travel on, you
know, going somewhere wherethere is some unique cuisine and
you take some cooking classeswhile you're there.
Maybe you like to knit.

(04:58):
I recently just saw that, uh,you know, there's kind of a, a
knitting.
I don't want to say retreat,but sort of you can experience
that in Iceland actually.
Now, that would be fun, but I'mnot a knitter.
So I would think, basing yourtravel on your interest to give

(05:20):
you back some of that joy inyour life, to give you some of
that energy back in your life,because you are working, you're
walking on sandy ground, you'refeeling a bit tired, and so this
would give you an opportunityto really find that that joy
again in your life and, you know, be able to go back and, you

(05:45):
know, continue or find a newpath right, and so that's going
to be.
The next one that I experiencedwas that traditional packed,
dirt kind of pathway.
Now, those are really easy.
You can make really good timeon those pathways when you're
hiking.
It's, it's um, there's really,you know, might be windy,

(06:06):
there's really nothing.
You don't even have to reallylook at the ground while you're
walking because you are assuredthat it's packed and you're
making good time in your travels.
And so, if this is you, you arelikely maybe doing well in your
life and you are going throughlife, you're making good

(06:27):
progress.
Nothing major is happeningpotentially in your life, but
you also want to get away, butyou haven't really considered
where would you go.
My thoughts are, since you havealready this energy you're not
being bogged down by maybe somethings in your life that a

(06:49):
multiple city tour might bereally exciting because it moves
fast.
You have that energy.
Or you could focus your travelon, you know, maybe just one
country.
There's a country that you justwant to explore, and so you
just bounce around to thosevarious cities or towns in that

(07:09):
specific country and you havethe energy to do that and that
sounds like a lot of fun.
That might suit you and fitwith the season you're in right
now.
The third pathway that I cameacross was just occasionally,
some path.
You know they're paved.

(07:30):
Whether it was just likeconcrete, it might have been a
boardwalk, you know, again veryeasy to walk on.
But as I was walking on, youknow, certain sections had just
some streets that I had to walkon.
I recall in my life at timesand it reminded me of if you've

(07:54):
ever been so stressed oroverwhelmed in your life and you
get in your car and you driveto work or the grocery store and
you get to your destination andyou go.
How did I get here?
You were on automatic or you'reactually supposed to go

(08:15):
somewhere else, but you're onsuch automatic, such that you
actually go to work because youthink that's where you're just
like in this tunnel vision inyour life right now, and you
might actually be in what I callsurvival mode.
And so when so much has comeinto your life that you are

(08:37):
overwhelmed, often we will kindof box ourself to kind of
protect us from having toprocess or deal with that all at
once.
Right, maybe there's multiplethings that are just weighing on
you.
It could be an illness, itcould be a death, it could just
be again.
Maybe the stress of work, maybeyou're having to care for aging

(09:02):
parents, or it could be anumber of things, a trauma, and
you're just in survival mode.
And if you've been there, youknow what I'm talking about you.
You almost, like you haveblinders on and you're, just,
like I said, on this pavedpathway, just going and you're

(09:23):
just surviving, all right.
When we are in this survivalmode in life and we're just, you
know, we don't want to thinkabout anything else.
Honestly, we're just trying toget through each day.
Well, often when we're in thatplace, we are not thinking of
travel, right.
However, it's probablysomething that you definitely

(09:47):
need, but a specific type oftravel is going to be the most
beneficial for you.
For example, I would highlyrecommend, if you are in
survival mode, you are on this,like, oh, you're just got these
blinders on, you're just walkingthis path, just trying to get
through each day, a wellnessretreat, a spa retreat or even a

(10:12):
silent retreat might be whatyour body, mind and spirit need
right now to kind of helpalleviate this whole survival
feel and give you a chance totake care of yourself, right?
That would be a suggestion.

(10:34):
And then the final pathway thatI came across was a rocky
pathway a lot of rocks andstones and a lot of times when
it's rocky, it's also got hillsinvolved, typically, because you
think kind of like mountains,and and for that kind of pathway
, you really have to payattention to where you're

(10:56):
stepping, where you're walking,how you're placing your foot.
It does require more attention,it is more challenging,
especially if you're talkingabout a rocky pathway with hills
, and it does require moreenergy.
And so, if this is where youare maybe in your life, you are,

(11:17):
you're challenged, you'reworking hard.
Again, you might be a littletired, you might be maybe
somewhat in survival mode, butyou're more attentive, right,
you're not just blinders on, butyou are still burdened by some
things in your life.
And so you're climbing thishill, this mountain, with those

(11:40):
rocks.
You're really taking your timewith each step.
But again, the last thing onyour mind right now might be oh,
I just don't have time totravel, nor would you want to
plan anything.
Again, you might be alreadyhandling enough stuff in your
life that thinking aboutplanning a trip just isn't

(12:04):
feasible, because you're stilljust trying to manage some of
these things in your personallife or even your family life.
My suggestion again, we get tothe point where we're working so
hard, we're feeling prettyphysically exhausted and even
mentally and emotionallyexhausted, for whatever reason.

(12:26):
Getting away, getting out ofthat situation is the best idea
and you don't have to go faridea.
And you don't have to go far,as I've said before, but for
this particular situation, Iwould recommend again a cruise
or a group tour where things areplanned for you but you're

(12:50):
still getting away, you're stillhaving that opportunity to just
for a moment, just for a timebeing, leaving the burdens or
the challenges that you arefacing just behind, even just
for that week or so.
Now, these ideas and thesesuggestions for the type of

(13:11):
travel dependent on your seasonof life are just suggestions.
However, if you would decide towork with me, this is what I do
in my one-on-one travelcoaching we assess where you are
in your life.
You know, maybe I'll startusing these metaphors of you

(13:31):
know, the sandy, the packed dirt, the paved path or the rocky
path, just to assess where youfeel like you are in the season
of your life.
What are you trying to juggle,what are you managing?
We look at that, we look atyour personality and then we
determine what would be the besttype of travel for you.

(13:52):
And this just kind of gives youan idea of how this metaphor
was sort of given to me and Ijust kind of gives you an idea
of how this metaphor was sort ofgiven to me and I just kind of
came to my head that it appliesas well.
You could utilize this andconsider these types of travel
depending on where you are.

(14:13):
If you're still unsure, I wouldlove to have a discussion with
you.
I do offer a free discoverycall.
You want to know more about theprogram?
That one-on-one travel coaching.
It is four sessions to get youstarted, get you out there, and
also some post reflection afteryour trip, your trip.

(14:43):
Go to Cheryl Beck ashcom andclick on work with me and you
can see a little more about theprogram.
You can click and schedule adiscovery call as well through
that, that page, and I hope tohear from you because I want to
see every woman have theopportunity, even if they're
struggling with their, theirday-to-day life, have that

(15:04):
opportunity to see travel as away not to just to escape it,
but to be released from it formoments, to have a different
perspective from it, and that'swhat I work.
You know, individually.
Each person, each client ishandled individually, so it's

(15:24):
not a cookie cutter program.
We look at yourself, yourpersonality and where you are,
and I would love to see thatfreedom happen for you and that
transformation in your nexttravels.