Here is another example of how Essential Intent has helped me.
I used to travel with lots of focus on consumption. I would visit as many iconic places as possible, take tons of photos, and be out till late night to maximize travel value.
I was reading the chapter on Essential Intent in our vacation to Cappadocia when I decided to peruse my reasons for travelling. What exactly am I trying to gain by traveling and are my actions aligned with that intent?
Eliminating the Non-Essentials First
Finding Essential Intent begins with eliminating the non-essentials.
I don’t travel to learn facts. It’s nice to know the height of the mountain and the depth of the sea, but I forget most of the facts. Only a vague story of the journey remains with me.
If learning facts was the goal, then instead of trying to memorize them, I should take notes. Just collecting notes isn’t helpful either (Collector’s Fallacy), so I will have to spend more time to integrate them with my knowledge. Unfortunately, I don’t have time for all these.
I don’t travel for social media either. At least, not anymore. I once had a TikTok account where I posted videos of my adventures. It was nice; like a video journal. I gave it up when I realized it made traveling stressful.
Video making is hard, and with TikTok, vacations became work! I was thinking about videomaking more than enjoying what was in front of me. Which angle gave better view? Should I go back to film the building from further away? Maybe I should wait a bit more to let the crowd disperse? Then there was editing! That took even more time 🤦♂️
The Essential Intent
It didn’t take ten steps for finding the essential intent? Sometimes all you need is a bit of thinking to realize the truth.
It was obvious what the common pattern was here. I didn’t want travelling to be stressful or be a chore.
Essential Intent: Rest via Mindfulness.
(There are many ways to relax, so I made it a bit more specific to say: Relax via Mindfulness.)
That’s it. That’s what many of us travel for, don’t we. But sometimes we just forget about it. Now that I remember it again, how did it impact my traveling habits?
Impact of the Essential Intent
Just because I want to rest doesn’t mean I will take it to the extreme and stay in the hotel all day. The intent is an overall theme to be maintained throughout the activities.
I don’t have to take (too many) pictures, video or notes. I can just be mindful of the beautify and let myself relax.
I don’t have to be out and about till late night either. It’s fine to visit few places and return back to hotel early-ish (5-6 pm) to cool down. If we rest enough during vacation, the vacation won’t feel like a chore.
I don’t have to chain activities tightly what didn’t even allow a 10 minutes mistake. I can leave longer gaps between activities to de-stress. Drink coffee from the cute shop I see in the corner, enter a local shop, or just sit on the park to admire the nature.
As long as I can rest via mindfulness, the vacation is a success to me.