Abduljabbar Ali When it comes to solo traveling, you need confidence more than you need your skills. So, this means you need to build it from the first day you hit the road.
If you have skills but you aren’t confident enough to use them, they will be good for nothing.
The way you will handle yourself when you are alone exploring the world, that’s what people will use to measure you.
If you aren’t confident enough to handle yourself in the streets because you look like someone is there to get you, this will show to the people next to you.
When someone notices that you can’t even stand up for yourself the first thing they will think of is taking advantage of you.
But when you can’t get yourself out of the tricky situation but you seem calm and behave like you have it figured out, no one will dare come close to you.
They will know that you aren’t just winging it but you are ready for anything that comes your way.
Confidence can save you from a lot of people with bad intentions. It also plays a big part when it comes to connecting to the strangers you meet as you travel and making friends too.
Now that you know that much, let me share with you how to build it.
This is how to build confidence while solo traveling;
1. Work on your self-esteem first.
The first thing that is going to help you build your confidence while traveling, you need to start working on your self-esteem.
The way you feel about yourself is what will either make you or break you.
Take your time and reflect on how you feel about yourself.
Do you feel you are sufficient?
Do you feel comfortable in your skin?
Do you feel you are capable of dealing with any problem you come across?
Asking yourself these questions and finding answers to them, is what will enable you to where your level of confidence is.
If there is anything about you that lowers your self-esteem then you should start working on it.
You can’t gain confidence while traveling around the world alone when you don’t think you are good enough to do it.
What you feel and think about yourself plays a big part when it comes to how you handle yourself when you are out there exploring.
When you feel good about yourself, this reflects even on the people you meet out there.
Someone will think twice before he or she comes to pull tricks and think of ways to exploit you.
People usually take advantage of others after observing and gauging how confident they feel about themselves.
When someone notices that you can’t even stand up for yourself, that is when they will get to you and try to exploit you.
How can you start working on your self-esteem?
You can only build your self-esteem by changing what you feel and think about yourself.
If you feel you aren’t good enough and you know the reason why you feel that way, start working on this fault.
The next thing you can do is just love and appreciate yourself. The energy that will radiate from you loving yourself, is enough to make you confident.
The way you talk, walk, and handle yourself in any situation will show that you know your worth.
This is how you will build your confidence while solo traveling.
2. Uphold your positive attitude.
You are traveling solo around the world without having anyone to rely on but yourself.
The world is a maze, full of bad people and terror.
You have no idea what is going to happen out there. What people think when they see you alone in the streets dragging your suitcase.
When you let yourself think that the world is a terrible place and everyone in the streets is out to get you, you won’t travel freely.
To gain your confidence while traveling alone, you need to occupy your mind with a positive attitude.
Instil it within yourself that the world is a better place with you in it and most of the people you will come across all want something good for you.
It’s not crazy or stupid to hold on positive attitude even when people think negatively about what you do.
When you are traveling alone some people will start telling you that you are putting yourself in harm’s way.
You are risking your life and the bad people will get to you. When you let this sink in, it will be so hard for you to enjoy yourself and gain confidence while traveling.
This will limit you from interacting with the locals and other solo travelers since you will conclude that they all have an ulterior motive.
If you can’t trust anyone you meet while you are traveling, it will be hard for you to let yourself loose and enjoy the moment.
You won’t open up to anyone to share your stories because you believe people will use this to hurt you.
The only way you will build your confidence while traveling alone is by eliminating the negativity in your head.
When you are always more about the good than the bad, you will always be smiling, you will connect to people easily and you will move around obstacles without being overwhelmed by them.
You need this when you are traveling solo. This is what will give you the courage to walk to a new destination like you know the place.
Read also; 9 Ways To Get Over The Fear Of Traveling Alone
3. Start working out.
Working out is another way you can gain confidence while solo traveling.
You may ask, “What does working out have anything to do with gaining confidence while on your trips alone?”
When you work out, you shape your body to your liking — this will make you feel great about yourself.
You will feel strong and capable of jumping over anything that is about to drag you down.
When you are out there exploring the world alone, you need to feel this way.
The process of working out is enough to make you feel that you have control of your body and energy.
You will feel entitled because you are molding yourself into who you want to be.
Nothing will change what you think about yourself since you are the reason for being the way you are.
When you are in shape everyone else around you will notice that. You will look strong and a man or woman who is tied to his or her discipline.
People will admire you wherever you go. We all love great physiques.
This will make you walk tall and head high wherever you are. When you look at yourself all you see is potential.
The energy you put into shaping your body will also vibrate towards everything you do.
This will greatly build your confidence because you will be ready to get anything done wherever you are.
When it comes to solo traveling it will boost your confidence even more because you feel in control of your body and what you do.
The effort you put into working out will reflect greatly on what you do.
If you feel great about how you are and this also reflects to the people out there, it will build your confidence.
4. Start traveling solo often.
It’s not enough for you to read and watch some videos on how to gain confidence while solo traveling when you aren’t even doing it often.
The start is usually the hardest and trickiest part, but when you get the hang of it, you will always do it like a pro.
Going on a solo single trip won’t help you gain confidence at all.
You will only gain it by traveling often. The more you do it, the more better you will get at it.
At first, you may feel like you don’t know what you are doing and you will be super nervous.
The fear of the unknown will be all over you. This is what will prevent you from gaining the most out of your solo trips.
But when you are afraid of something but you get yourself to do it over and over, it will reach a point where you won’t even be scared of it anymore.
You will feel comfortable doing it and you won’t have to worry about anything else because every time you have been doing it, it turned out to be positive.
The more you conquer the fear of the unknown while traveling, it will end up being something that is within your comfort zone.
So, if you want to build confidence while solo traveling, I urge you to start traveling solo as much as you can.
Make solo traveling a habit and it will feel like it’s within your comfort zone.
Read also; How To Start Traveling Solo (Making It A Habit)
You will only get better at something when you keep doing it often.
Get yourself in the zone of working out this issue and you will manage to do it like a pro.
5. Learn how to keep your composure.
You are traveling alone sometimes you might find yourself in stressful situations.
The way you handle yourself when you are under pressure is what will either play to your advantage or not.
When you learn to take control of your emotions when you are in stressful situations, that is what will enable you to gain confidence.
It will click within you that you can handle yourself whenever you feel anything bothering you.
If you have lost your documents or money while solo traveling, instead of breaking down, you think of a way forward.
When you are in the middle of people who are trying to threaten you since you are alone, taking control of your emotions is what will get you out of this situation.
If you show them that you aren’t scared of them even when you are, it will give you an added advantage over them.
It will also prepare you for what is to come next because you won’t let your gut down.
When you are calm in tough situations it will help you think of the right ways to solve your problems.
If you can take control of how you feel whenever you feel threatened or in stressful situations during your trips, you will always feel you are capable of taking yourself out of any issues.
This will build your confidence tenfold when it comes to solo traveling.
The power of controlling your emotions and always coming up with ways to jump over any tricky situation is enough to make you travel alone anywhere you feel like.
6. Acknowledge that the people you meet know nothing about you.
Do you think the people you come across while solo traveling know anything about you?
They know nothing about you. You may see them staring at you but that is all they can do.
You are curious about them, and so are they.
They don’t know about your problems. If you have social anxiety, you are the only one who knows that.
To them, you are just someone capable enough to handle yourself in any situation you are in.
They think you are brave for traveling so far in the corner of the world just with your backpack.
You are prepared to do what you do and that is why you are doing it.
The truth is that they don’t know that you feel afraid and out of place sometimes.
Take advantage of that because no one in the streets will give you a questionnaire and ask you to fill it.
They know nothing about you, so you don’t have to concern yourself with them.
You are the only one who knows what makes you tick. When you acknowledge that they know nothing about you other than what they see outside, this will give you a protective measure.
The delicate part within you that eats up your confidence won’t have any effect on you.
You won’t be walking around with a banner saying, “I am not confident in what I do.”
If they don’t know anything about you then you don’t need to be stressed about them.
The things that you can’t manage to shake off, you are the only one who knows something about them.
No one will unfold your weaknesses for you.
This is enough for you to travel solo to any part of the world without having to worry about what the people perceive of you.
7. Don’t care about what the people think of you.
When you are out there in the streets trying street food, walking in the rain and even wearing the same clothes for several days, all these are your decisions.
You shouldn’t care what people think about what you do as long as it makes you happy.
The thought of how people perceive you when you are busy on your laptop or out there filming your vlogs is what will either build or crush your confidence.
To gain confidence while traveling alone, forget about what other people say or think about you.
Keep doing what you love and enjoy it the most. Their thoughts on you don’t have anything to do with you.
It doesn’t matter what they think about you because you are in your world, you do what you like and focus on what matters.
This will help you build your confidence when you are out in the streets doing what you love most.
You won’t let what people think about you prevent you from doing what you love the most.
This alone is enough to build your confidence when traveling solo.
Once you manage how to handle yourself in front of different people around the world while traveling solo, the rest won’t be tough for you to handle.
8. Take pride in what you do.
You are traveling solo because it is what you decided to do. You have been working on this dream for as long as you can remember.
Don’t let anyone take this away from you. Synchronize yourself to what you do.
Love the entire process of solo traveling. Let it make you feel great about yourself.
Let what you do define you. Once you take pride and love what you do, you will always do it with confidence.
This applies to anything you want to gain your confidence in.
Once you let the art of solo traveling define who you are, it will click in place that this is meaningful to you.
This means you won’t let anything or anyone prevent you from working on it.
You should do the same with your solo trips. Take pride in them and let them define what you do and work for in your life.
If it means everything to you, it won’t matter what situation you will be in, you will always find a way to walk past it.
It will give you the courage to face anything when you are traveling solo around the world.
Lastly…
When you are traveling alone around the world, you need confidence to help you navigate the chaotic world.
It will be harder for you to navigate the world when you don’t believe you can do it.
Everything you are hoping to achieve when traveling solo isn’t possible without confidence.
Handling yourself in dangerous situations, making friends, and interacting with people as you are traveling alone, all need confidence.
Let what you do take over your entire identity. When it hits you that you can’t get anywhere if you don’t put some work into it, you Will develop the courage to do it.
Related reads;
