5 Rookie Mistakes of the Digital Nomad
Life seems magical when you read articles about leaving your "9-5" for the freedom of remote working. It's the new buzz term, "digital nomad", but the idea of working remotely is an old way of life just ever-growing with Millenial’s desperation to create an impact on the world.
Marketing teams join up to create deeper illusions drawn from mainstream culture. Their fixations lead to little purpose and a lack of clarity in life. The travel/work lifestyle is more than what meets the eye of the consumer.
The newbie tends to build their life based on the shiny marketing ads instead of their own reality.
These five areas I break down below are areas that are either are never or vaguely mentioned. If they would be revealed completely, marketing companies would lose a lot of money. This would lead a newbie astray instead of getting them to see the urgency in leaving their jobs for the elaborate and wildlife of travel.
The main difference between a marketing company and me is I am not doing this for money I am sharing all of this information because I truly care about everyone that I am facilitating. It is not that I don't feel that this poolside digital life is possible. I don't believe that it is the right fit for everyone if they started asking themselves the right questions and did a bit more self-discovery.
I currently am an empowerment coach specifically for remote workers as I have seen the growth of the epidemic of disconnected, disimpassioned, and overworked nomads. It is entirely possible to shift out of this living hell, but to have some guides gets you there faster.
ENROLL IN OUR FREE CLARIFYING YOUR PURPOSE BOOT-CAMP!
Without guidance, these steps could take a few years to really figure out and perhaps you may have already given up on the process.
1. Not Having a Purpose
Without having a clear purpose, people end up taking a job based off of the money and desire to have stability before they realize that they can achieve so much more than that as a nomad. When you leave a job, it’s because you weren’t happy doing what you did before. So many nomads were so aware of what they didn’t want that they barely thought of what they wanted before quitting.
Hoping a vipassana, a mastermind digital retreat will help them figure out but only leads them to more questions and fewer answers.
Many newbies in the digital world are so scared of all the change when they take the leap because they didn’t have an exact plan or realization of what the different life would look like at all. They only saw photos of people working on a beach or at a poolside and believed that they could live a life like that.
So scared and unclear of what they want to do, they end up doing the first or second idea of a potential career that is offered to them without much research. Just in search of some thread of consistency and clarity they choose in desperation, scared of not knowing what they are doing.
It is crucial not to rush the process of figuring out what you really want in life. It is there that all the awesomeness follows. It serves to make space and time to delve into your purpose and make that a number one priority. Money flows; it will always come if you are doing something that is your true calling and mission in life.
2. Not Understanding Success Takes Work
Anything at the beginning takes work and a crap-ton of work. When you struggle with not having a purpose and then add the challenges and failures that arise from any new business it gets tricky. A nomad usually is mystified faster because they didn’t have confidence in the work in the first place. You will see many nomads come and go and many businesses fail because of the lack of conviction in the career choice.
However, if they find something that they REALLY BELIEVE IN, the work doesn’t seem bad at all, it has a goal. It also can slow down after the grace period of any start-up. The beginning is hard for anything that is worth it. That is how you know you want it. The challenges are exciting and won’t stop you.
If you really believe in something you will keep on truckin’ until it happens.
The man who founded Starbucks got rejected 495 times for a loan from any bank till he was finally accepted. Obviously, he really believed in himself and it paid off in the end!
3. Imbalanced Routine and Lifestyle
Many new nomads don’t find time to exercise, meditate, or do anything they once did at home that made them feel centered.
Exercise is not just for the body, but it is a time of being with yourself and doing something you feel connected with your body and mind.
When you don’t make time to have alone time, body time, and eat healthy, eventually you will break down and start feeling like you are dragging. Your quickie cheap massages in Southeast Asia just don’t cut it.
This is one I had to learn the brutal way and my career is in health and wellness. It is so easy to put your body, mind, and spirit to the wayside when there are shiny sparkly things everywhere distracting you.
There were many times in the beginning of my travel life I had migraines all the time from over-working and not giving myself enough “me time”.
When everything in life is different, it is important to find things that make you feel “normal” or “at home”. This is our internal equilibrium, our compass for inner strength.
4. Wherever you go, there you are.
Newbies have a way of thinking that their previous career was all that was amiss in their life. However, because of being in a sh*tty job for a while it consumed the person to neglect many areas of their emotional life. They think if they leave their home city and change everything it’ll all be mended. But, if you were terribly depressed before, it may not be that effortless to break the habit.
Life takes self-investigation and regular discipline.
Many times the new breathtaking feeling lasts for a short period and then the rookie nomad wallows with themselves again and all the crap that they felt before they started their travel life. The sadness, anxiety, feeling alone, and everything else that they may not have had focused time with will creep back into their life as soon as travel begins to be a "normal way" of life.
It is imperative to recognize what you are feeling before you leave anywhere and hold yourself accountable for your own happiness.
Happiness takes effort, but no one ever says it isn’t worth it. If the final result is happiness then, of course, the labor is worth it! It is a labor of love, right?!
5. Hidden Expenses and Planning of a Travel Lifestyle
So often the principal expense of being a digital nomad is travel. This includes; visas, buses, trains, airplanes, traveler’s insurance, buying new gear in foreign countries repeatedly because a traveler must travel light, shipping stuff, phone services, and a bunch of online apps that help make a business flow better and are needed only because of traveling.
Before the travel lifestyle, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I thought I would just get some credit cards and travel miles and that would be it! I was surprised with all the hidden visa runs and how quickly they added up.
Of course, the other large amount of money goes into business, but newbie nomads have a very odd sense of where their money is going to be spent. Newbies generally think that if they go to a cheap country life will be economical. That is true in some ways, lifestyle and quality of life can be low-priced relative to expensive countries. But, to be able to afford to travel often or even to have extended visas can get costly and the planning is rather time-consuming.
It serves to KNOW specifically that you want the lifestyle of travel or the work and money that goes engaging in traveling can be overwhelming.
I personally slow-travel -I stay in the same country or town for at least six months at a time- because I prefer less stress and this way I get to build a real community everywhere I go.
So, to Recap…
Give yourself time to find your purpose. Don’t rush it, after you have your whole life ahead of you. Be gentle with the process and be okay with a little elbow grease to get to your dream goals.
Find “me time” and ways to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Successful people everywhere have a healthy routine to keep their brain and body high functioning.
Don’t forget how much planning and budget changes happen according to how often you want to travel and change your surroundings.
With infinite love and Gratitude,
The Snarky Spiritualist
If this resonated with you, please message me and set up your first FREE Transformational Breakthrough Session with me. I promise it will be the beginning of the rest of your life.
Are you ready for a profound understanding of your purpose and clarity?
Are you ready to connect more intensely than you ever have to your mind/body/spirit, let go of all that old baggage, and take accountability for your future?
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What are you waiting for, let's start the transformation today!
Are you ready to be the creator of your life? Ready to Connect to what you want in life, instead of focusing on the knowledge of what you don't want?
Don’t wait any longer for the change, you have suffered enough.
It is possible to have a successful travel life, but it starts with understanding your purpose and letting go of what has been holding you back first.
In Albert Einstein’s words,
“Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.”
Perhaps it is time for a mentor, a person you resonate with, to help facilitate your transformation that will change the rest of your life.