I’m Freaking Out

We’ve got six weeks until our #yTravelOz Australian road trip. We hope.

There are road bumps appearing and I’ve got only one hand on the steering wheel. It is freaking me out.

How to overcome overwhelm

Time doesn’t move like a turtle and we still have so much to do and plan.

Apart from everything that goes with planning a indefinite digital nomadic adventure, we still have to pack up our things, get Kalyra enrolled in distance education, and sort out how we are going to make money travel blogging. 

We are entering our busiest months of our year.

Savannah’s birthday is next week, followed by Kalyra’s 10 days later, and Craig’s 40th five days after that.

Plus we have Father’s Day, cousin’s birthday, the birth of my new niece/nephew, and we are speaking at the Problogger conference on the Gold Coast, and farewell shenanigans to think about.

But wait, there is more.

We are madly trying to get our first eBook finished and published before we leave.

What started out as a fun quick eBook sharing our tips to get cheap and free travel has turned into this awesome guide where we share how you can create the travel life you really love. (Sign up below so you don’t miss it).

The more we work on it the more we want to include.

We are so keen to make this full of value. It’s been a dream of ours since we first started blogging. ( Pssst. Secret time. It’s actually why I started blogging.) Yep. Three and a half years later it’s going to be real.

I’m so freaked out, my stomach is in knots, my chest is tight, and I am starting to feel the urge to rant and scold.

I called on our Facebook community for help. I knew they’d understand the meltdown and could help me to refocus and calm down.

“Argh!! Quick help.

We’re due to leave on our road trip around Oz and I am starting to freak out. Soooo much to do and all the reasons why it won’t work are popping up. What would you do in this situation?”

I love having such great friends from around the world. Here’s how they helped lift me up:

  • Just go and let the pieces fall in place on the road.
  • You WILL LOVE IT! Make a list, check it off methodically. Anything that isn’t done by the time you leave probably didn’t need doing in the first place.
  • It always seems like everything has to be done at the last minute… try and work out what’s essential and what’s not and prioritize from there. We had to just leave a bunch of things unfinished in NZ and work out how to handle it once we were off.
  • Take a walk along the beach and grab a cup of tea and Zen out. After I am calm and distressed I’d start a list of priorities.
  • Breathe – you don’t need all the answers now http://www.a2acoaching.com/blog/you-dont-need-all-the-answers.
  • Just go… And make sure the outback & Alice Springs are on your list.
  • You didn’t get where you are without taking risks.
  • Looks like you just need to remember what you have done before and can do again. I always think of what we managed to do with adopting our son in China, home in Australia 11 weeks and then off to Canada for a year – the paperwork alone as you know was enough to tip me over the edge….but we got through and you will too.
  • Stay CALM.
  • Deep breath. Everything that happens is meant to be. And everything will always work out. My motto(s).
  • The week before our short RTW trip I just flipped thinking I’d made the biggest mistake. Everything was done, flights booked, travel money sorted, but I got cold feet. Once I got on the first plane I was fine. We went to 7 countries in under 5 months, so currency, visas, cultures, food, constant change. Looking back now I don’t know how we did it. Just remember that you are on home turf, no currency, language or cultural barriers this time. The experience and the freedom is what you have to look forward to.
  • Breathe!
  • I feel your pain …once you’ve gone though, all will be good. Just look at what you’ve achieved so far and trust in yourself and your decisions.
  • Just go, we are 4mths into a yr. long trip around Aus, everything will fall into place, oh and make sure you geocache all the way!
  • Crack open the champagne and celebrate – chances are you’ve ticked it all on the list and fate will tie the rest together. It’s Friday night after all.
  • Great advice… I’ll have to review these comments again at the end of October when I start my full-time RV USA Road Trip. Cheers to all of us for taking leaps of faith.
  • A full tank,an open road, an open mind and an empty diary. Every thing else will happen as and when you need it. Join hands and look forward to this wonderful adventure with your loved ones.
  • Stay calm, make a list, have a flexible itinerary!
  • Just focus on the leaving tasks & organizing the first destination. The rest isn’t urgent yet.
  • just go?
  • As long as you’ve got extra water and a jerry can full of petrol you’ll be ok.
  • I keep a list and cross it off. Buy your favorite candy for the road.
  • These sort of things always seem to happen just before you leave don’t they?! Try not to stress too much, just get it all done. Once you’re on the road all will be forgotten!
  • Don’t worry – just go.
  • Just make a checklist of all the things you want in your car!
  • Remind yourself of all the reasons that put you on this path and take comfort that all will work itself out.
  • Think in smaller increments of time than the entire trip. Where are heading to tomorrow?
  • Just go ..and have fun!

Boy did they help me out. They certainly me had me breathing in the Zen again.

(BTW: How much did their wisdom rock! You can apply that to almost any situation in your life.)

My reply:

FAB advice everyone. I’m breathing again.

I keep thinking back to when Craig and I first travelled together in 2002. It was 3 days after our wedding. We were planning for long-term travel (ended up being 5 years) as well as a wedding. We had just brought an investment property and had to pack up and rent out our house, and organize jobs overseas. But it all worked out.

I’m hoping these overwhelming tasks are a GOOD sign. Perhaps another 5 years on the road is ahead?

It’s easy to get stuck in the moment of fear and overwhelm and not think about what you’re capable and where you’ve come from.

When I thought about it, I realized this is a normal part of the travel process. In 2002, we survived the extreme madness and were gone for five years. Everything worked out perfectly. You just have to follow your heart and trust in the plan.

I calmed down and returned to editing the introduction to our book. My own advice jumped out at me.

There’s a saying I want you draw upon when fear becomes so overwhelming, you think you can’t have what you want, and all you see are limitations and mistakes.

“Leap and the Universe will catch you.”

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a sunset over water

I trust the Universe will catch me in 6 weeks when we take that gigantic leap of faith.

How do you deal with overwhelming fear?

Did you just trust and leap?

Were you caught?

19 thoughts on “I’m Freaking Out”

  1. Ahh yes. Having somebody who can call you down makes all the difference! I usually call my mom crying that I can’t handle everything. And then she quickly sums up what I have to do. When I follow her advice I always make it – also when I thought it wasn’t possible! “Breathe” is really the best advice…

    And yes! You’re going to make it! We set off on out adventure without any planning. And well, we had some trouble in the beginning but we’re always learning. So great! You’re going to be fine! 🙂

    1. Thank you for the encouragement Celia. I’m starting to feel better with some clearer back up plans in place. I think we’ll be fine.

  2. Lots of good advice already in this article. I find that venting to a friend or family member can really settle me down. I vent, whine and complain….then I feel better. Also a good night out with friends for a cocktail or five can really relieve the freak-out. Have fun on your road trip!

  3. So happy to see you breathing and somewhat at peace again! So many things right before a big trip come at you, especially as it gets closer and closer. But, when you are heading out on an endeavor of passion and truly believe this is right for you and your family, and you stand behind your dream, the laws of attraction will bring everything together. You all just have to keep breathing, keep smiling, keep excited, and get ready to have the time of your life!!!

    1. Thank you Ryan. It’s so nice to hear someone say this as I believe it too, but often I freak out and wonder if I am just an idiot for believing in the woo wooness. I’m ready for it to prove to be right once again!

  4. Sadly, we have just returned to British soil after our year of living on the road in Oz. We miss it already. We met lots of families travelling with their children and it really was quite an inspiration. What an adventure you have ahead of you!

    1. Great share Sara! Thank you. I do love that idea of action cures fear, it is absolutely the only thing that gets rid of it for me. 1.2.3 jump! I know when I am feeling fear, it is time for me to move and do something. Sometimes that action is to meditate and that is when I can use my own power to find out what the fear is here for and gently allow it to move on through.

  5. Caz,

    So glad you are breathing again! 🙂

    Reading all your posts got me thinking that you were Superwoman! Then I read this one and it made me realize that you are human also.

    Sometimes we forget that we are allowed to be scared and freak out. So FREAK OUT, take a deep breath, follow it with an alcoholic beverage of choice…. then enjoy your travels.

    I admire you! You are a strong woman!

    HAVE FUN!!!!! and be safe.

    1. You have no idea how good it feels to be breathing again 🙂
      Thank you Fil! Sometimes I like to think I am superwoman and then my human emotions bring me crashing back down to reality quite quick!! I love to look at our negative emotions in an empowering way. I really believe there is power in the freak out and it’s up to us to discover what it is and turn it into a positive. And freak outs always give us great stories to tell!!

      And if it is an excuse to have a mojito, then I’m all for it 😉

  6. I’m leaving the States mid-November for a year long trip to Oz myself. No job lined up, just $$ savings and a dozen friends to see/stay with while there. Your blog was a golden discovery. I’m so happy I’m not the only one freaking out! I’m eager to read your Planning-eBook to hear what I’ve missed. When is it scheduled for release? Nice to meet a soul sister ☺️

    1. Awesome Sherri. You will have the most amazing time. Australia is so incredible. We’re loving what we are discovering so far. Our book will be released this Wednesday! We are so excited.

  7. Really incredible….you really great and superwoman…i like your advice trust yourself and your decision..i appericiate your long travel and your breathe again..m also lot experience of long travel with families ..just calm and just go with fun….

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