I have always been big on new beginnings.

Something about a clean slate in whatever context is so refreshing to me. I am one of those annoying people who draw up new year’s resolutions in January. I have a fresh set of weekly goals in a book every Sunday, and try as much as I can to tick everything off my daily to-do list (yes, I have one of those too!). It is the only way I manage to maintain any kind of structure.

Here is the thing, right? New beginnings, whether that be a new day, a new week, a new month or a new year. They all represent a blank canvas for us to draw whatever picture we choose. We get to decide what kind of day, week, month or year we want to have.

Now, I am not delusional enough to believe the direction of our day is solely dependent on the decisions we make, but they definitely factor in a great deal.

I read a quote in James `Clear’s Atomic Habits that goes “Decide on the type of person you want to be and prove it to yourself with small wins”. Man, that quote haunts me, I love it so much! I reckon it speaks so much to be intentional about who you are/wants to be with no pressure at all – just one good decision at a time.

Intention 

This year, the person I have decided to be where travel is concerned is

purposeful. Like any person living in the digital era, and worse so a travel creator who practically lives on the Internet, I am not immune to the pressures that apps like Instagram cause. I have perhaps given in to some of it and travelled just to create (…gosh, what a difficult thing to admit), but no more.

I am going to see the Thesen Islands because I dream of owning a holiday home in the lush Suburban Knysna, not because I want a trendy reel for Instagram, to visit Epupa falls because the culture interests me, to learn about it, experience it, and leave with a piece of the people with me, you know?

Purposeful travel

I hope what I have in store for the column this year impacts you, my audience, just as much as the places and people I visit impact me.

I hope the trips I take for relaxation make it to your bucket list, that the lessons I learn and share are as meaningful to you as they are to me, and that the dreams I dream through travel make yours just as tangible as I want mine to be.

No pressure though, just one good decision at a time.

Do not hesitate to reach me should you need travel consultation, travel planning or travel collaborations.

Email:ndapandahaininga@gmail.com

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