SerpApi.Org
Speakers at Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Summit explained how uncertainty, vulnerability, and curiosity lead to unforgettable experiences.
The moment we pack our bags and leave home, the uncertainties begin. Yet embracing that nebulous zone is exactly what drives our travels, as a group of seasoned travelers shared during Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Summit panel on “The Power of Feeling Uncomfortable” on Wednesday in New York City. “That experience of moving from what we know to what we don’t know is always going to be uncomfortable,” Travel + Leisure Editor at Large Kevin West said. “Interior transformations happen when you make that exterior physical journey.”
But there’s power in that discomfort. Global travel expert and author Jessica Nabongo was the first Black woman to travel to every country on the planet, accomplishing the feat in 2019. Of course, meticulous planning was required to navigate through each nation, logistically and culturally. “Just to put it into perspective, more people have been to outer space and no head of state has been to every country—it’s very, very difficult,” she admitted. “My journey was driven by curiosity.”
She hit a wall when she was in Mali, already having checked off about 150 countries. While her social media followers were impressed by the high number, she simply couldn’t see the road ahead with more than 40 nations still to go.
“Public failure is terrifying,” she said of all eyes on her socials. But it was a real-life interaction that fueled her. A friend who had joined her told a few guys at the local market about her journey. Impressed by what she had set out to do, they responded: “It’s not for you, it’s for us,” referring to all the people rooting her on. “That really put a battery in my back,” she said.
Looking back, she now knows how much bigger her accomplishment was. She’s since received direct messages from followers saying that they got their first passport or booked their first solo trip because of her. “Getting past my own personal discomfort actually allowed so many others to get past theirs,” she said. “I’m grateful I was able to be the blueprint for so many.”
For TV host Antoni Porowski, he entered the uncomfortable zone when he was filming an episode of his National Geographic series No Taste Like Home with “Crazy Rich Asians” and Awkwafina is Nora from Queens star Nora “Awkwafina” Lum. They were recreating a South Korean noodle dish that connected them to her mother, whom she lost when she was just four years old. “Typically with the show, we try to have a lot of elements of surprise, but when someone’s dealing with real-life psychological anxiety… you have to hold their hand, quite literally, a little more,” the Queer Eye alum said of the “extreme example of the uncomfortability that can happen.” In particular, he was keenly aware of how much sensitivity was necessary as a white male responding to the emotions of an Asian American woman caught between her Korean and Chinese family roots, and never feeling enough on either side.
“That episode was definitely a lot of shifts… because she really wanted to do this, but was also deeply anxious,” he admitted. In the end, he realized pressing into the discomfort by asking questions and letting her experience her emotions helped the process.
Similarly, snowboarder Scotty James may have three Olympic and 11 X Games medals to his name, but he’s still reaching for Olympic gold. Now at age 32, which he said is considered “vintage” in his profession, he’s constantly pushing himself in his specialty, half-pipe. “[It’s] 200 meters long, the walls are 20-feet-plus high—it’s very unforgiving and it’s very uncomfortable,” he said. “With the pursuit of wanting to win events, the biggest learning curve has been not being so focused on the destination.”
He likens that feeling to his travel, whether it’s a hotel room that’s not up to par or missing a flight. As frustrating as they can be, he works on grounding himself, which has been made easier now that he’s a father, as he relishes in sharing the moments with his son.
Meanwhile, Alpenglow Expeditions founder Adrian Ballinger, is constantly leaning headfirst into uncertainties, having led more than 150 climbs across six continents, most impressively summiting Mount Everest 10 times. “For me, the unknown outcome of travel is what drives me, especially in the mountains,” he said.
So often the hikers on his expeditions want to know in advance that they’ll reach the peak. “But it’s actually intrinsic to the experience that that outcome is not guaranteed,” he said. “We constantly endeavor to make the mountains safer, but the point is not to make it a 100 percent success, because in that, we actually lose the power of the experience.”
While their moments of discomfort are all quite different, there are throughlines. One that rose to the top in this digital age is how to share those imperfect moments on social media.
“We gain nothing from hiding the pain…or when things are difficult…or make us uncomfortable,” Nabongo said. While she often gets comments that her Instagram is so beautiful, she’s more proud of the fact that it’s “incredibly honest.” She’s not afraid to film herself sobbing after missing a flight connection or write on her Substack about her grief about her father’s passing.
“As storytellers and public figures, it’s important for us to show the beautiful and to show the very ugly parts of humanity,” she said.
Also essential is having emotional and mental health support along the way. James started working regularly with a sports psychologist about a decade ago, which has been a life-changing decision. “I look at him more as a mentor of life… a sounding board who helps me navigate through a lot of different emotions and feelings, whether I’m traveling or being a dad for the first time,” he said of going through “big scaries.” That honest processing, he believes, has translated into his success on the mountain.
No matter how they navigate moments of feeling uncomfortable, it’s ultimately all about letting their guards down. “Sharing discomfort is allowing yourself to be vulnerable—and part of effective storytelling is allowing vulnerability in,” West said. “Locking into that discomfort, walking into that vulnerability, is really where the passion and the power of the story lies because that’s where the growth and transformation is.”
Read the original article on Travel & Leisure
