4

How does one usually deal with excitement about travel, prior to travel ? A lot of people feel them butterflies in their stomach before a big travel is coming up. Is there an effective way to put these feelings away ? Or how can one best deal with such excitement/feelings (which almost cause interference with day to day activities) ?

9
  • 1
    I actually experience the opposite. The excitement usually starts once I am on my way for more then 30 minutes.
    – user141
    Nov 25, 2013 at 20:04
  • 4
    This is a nice topic to bring on chat but doesn't quite fit this site format hence my vote to close as opinion based.
    – Geeo
    Nov 25, 2013 at 21:32
  • 1
    @Geeo I was sitting on the fence with this one. I ran it by the chat room too. It just seemed one cold get a wider audience and hence more answers to this question, which I am surprised to find affects many Nov 25, 2013 at 21:35
  • 4
    @happybuddha many off topic questions would be very popular, if asked.
    – Geeo
    Nov 25, 2013 at 21:43
  • 1
    I agree with @geeo. Love to chat about it, but here it is primarily opinion based.
    – user141
    Nov 25, 2013 at 22:03

3 Answers 3

6

I remember this butterflies feeling in my first solo real travel back in 1998. I guess it started two days before the flight and only stopped once I reached London, I was so excited and I didn't feel like eating or sleeping, kept waking up every few minutes to check if it is time!. Excitement especially about something you have been dreaming about is a nice feeling but it is different from one person to another (it could be too much to the point that it bothers the person or people around).

I will mention a similar case also, look at kids at holidays when they get the toys they were talking about the whole year! few days before the toys they start to get excited and talk about it the whole day and giving the parent hard time. Once they open the toys that excitement feeling starts to fade. In time and as they grow up and get used to this toys thing they will not be excited about toys at all! and they start feeling excited about other stuff they have never experienced before and they were dreaming about, like a girlfriend or so, then they will be excited about first kiss until they get it and so on.

Same thing with travelers, they start dreaming about travelling at younger age, then when the time comes they are just excited and having the feelings you described. But in time after they travel few times they start feeling normal (or less excited) about travelling and they even might oversleep and miss a flight (ask me)!

Some people after they are used travelling, they will start looking for other extreme ways of travelling that will give them this butterflies feeling again, for example RoflcoptrException got so used to travelling and now he wants to go to the moon.

How to stop them, well I guess reaching the destination will stop this feeling (at least that was my case). I remember sleeping in the taxi all the way to my accommodation because I start feeling a less excited. If the excitement is really high I guess paying a visit to a doctor will help.

Bottom line, in time and with more travels, this excitement feeling about travelling will be less :)

3

The excitement is not connected only with travelling. It's connected with doing something you don't do often and you are looking forward to it or fear it. For example, it happens to actors before going to stage.

It will go away with repetition. Once you get used to the travelling, the excitement will go away.

If the feelings interfere with you day to day activities, take your mind from the feelings. Different things will work for different people but many people will read an interesting book or watch a movie or play a pc game. One of the best things is to do some physical exercise - playing tennis, swimming, running, having sex etc. Make yourself physically tired.

If the feelings interfere with your sleep (and physical exercises don't work), you can try breathing exercises to calm down. For example, just breath very slowly and concentrate on the breathing.

1

Plan the trip far in advance (or very incrementally so you naturally forget the details) and try to forget about the trip all together until the day before. While this may not be helpful for some, I've found it curbs my travel excitement.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .