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wanderlust

Grayscale

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does anyone else suffer from this?

how does it affect you? what good or bad has come from it?

does it apply to all aspects of your life or only a few? (job, residency, relationship, hobbies, etc)


most importantly, what do you think causes this?

how do you deal with it?
 

Kyrielle

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does anyone else suffer from this?

Yes.

how does it affect you? what good or bad has come from it?

I look out windows more and am more likely to succumb to bouts of looking up travel expenses and things to do in foreign places. Sometimes I get to the point of almost planning a complete trip, only to abandon the project once the mood has passed. Nothing good or bad as of yet. I suspect I'll become somewhat migratory as far as travelling goes in the future.

does it apply to all aspects of your life or only a few? (job, residency, relationship, hobbies, etc)

Just travelling. Sometimes residency.

most importantly, what do you think causes this?

1. The transition between fall and winter as well as winter and spring.
2. Desensitisation of the area I'm currently living. I no longer seem to find anything new or interesting to explore.
3. I want to go be an explorer for a while.

how do you deal with it?

I simply remind myself of obligations A-Z and how wandering around would do more harm than good. That and I slowly realise that I'd rather live someplace where I know every crack in the pavement and keep that as an anchor point and do all that I can to sustain that place as an achor point.
 

phoenix13

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It makes me relentlessly restless...

[YOUTUBE="_8ZPV4RzG4M"]Wanderlust- Bjork[/YOUTUBE]

Consequence
Bad: All that nervous energy makes me aggressive, impatient, and slightly socially awkward (and/or antisocial).
Good: For me, there has been no positive consequence of wanderlust.

Applications (pun intended)
It applies to my job and life. I need to move. I need to be challenged. I need somewhere to dump this friggin' energy.

Cause
The cause is... nowhere to dump excess energy. I'm in the lame in-between college and med. school rut. I think I'm specialized for the life of a gypsy/ nomad, and the 9-5 job is a horrible fit.

Cope
How to deal with it? Take a vacation, or consider other carreers. In the meantime, just take it like a woman.
 

substitute

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do I have it?
hell yes.
suffer with it?
hell no!

I indulge it at every opportunity :D

I used to somehow think that there was something wrong with just liking to travel and explore. I let people talk me into thinking that it was all about wanting to run away from problems or avoid commitment.

It's only fairly recently that I've come to realize that it's a totally valid part of who I am, and that my choice is to either embrace it or live with all the side effects of self-repression, including depression, frustration, restlessness and dissatisfaction with my life generally.

Obviously I can't go to silly proportions like leaving the kids to fend for themselves while I go on a tour of China or something. But the way I deal with it is just to go out for a long drive to someplace new whenever I get a chance, take daytrips and frequent short breaks, camping and stuff, and then once or twice a year take a foreign/long distance vacation.

I used to think that my wanderlust was behind my not being able to keep longterm relationships going, but in fact it wasn't that... it was more that it was the wrong person... anyone I'm going to be with longterm needs to accept that this is a part of me and not try to guilt trip me about it or try to change it. It's ideal if they're the kind of person who SHARES this tendency, as I like nothing more than travelling with a companion!

The only times I've ever felt unable to keep or commit to something like a job, relationship or whatever, it's been exactly because that thing was limiting TOO MUCH my freedom to explore in my spare time. As long as whatever else in my life either allows, facilitates or joins me in exploring, it can stay in my life indefinitely. But nobody's gonna stick with something that wants to cage them for long.
 

6sticks

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I'm very wanderlustful. Humans get maybe 60 years of mobility tops and I'll be damned if I waste them all in the same places.

It generally costs more in terms of energy and money. So just make more money.

It affects all parts of my life. After a while I just don't want to do the same thing anymore. It's just who I am. I don't really see a drawback to it, I mean sure you might die penniless and alone in a gutter in a strange city at 38 but hey, it was kinda fun, right?
 

Jeffster

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It sounds fun. What is it?
 

Thursday

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yep
its more of a 1up or mushroom like in mario bros than it is a liability
 

Jeffster

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yep
its more of a 1up or mushroom like in mario bros than it is a liability

Dude. I totally just bought a "1UP" green mushroom shirt at Wal-Mart the other day. :D
 

cascadeco

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Arg, I'm trying to seriously cut back on forum posting, but this question is too applicable to my life. Can't....resist....answering.....

does anyone else suffer from this?

Definitely.

how does it affect you? what good or bad has come from it?

Good = I think I have an adventurous spirit and an intense desire to see and experience as much as possible in this short lifetime of mine. I think this is a great thing, and I feel really alive when I do it. Traveling is...quite a sensory, amazing experience for me, and it's almost better than any other high I have experienced. I also think it broadens my horizons a bit and my view of the world, and helps me to see things on a larger scale. Keeps things in perspective, and I'm able to let go of what are ultimately trivialities. Also, I have SO many fantastic memories already, as a result of the wanderlust.

Bad = restlessness. The grass is always greener syndrome. Tendency to be dissatisfied with a sedentary, unchanging life. It takes me about 3 months after a trip, before I start getting that itch again. This complicates things.

does it apply to all aspects of your life or only a few? (job, residency, relationship, hobbies, etc)

Not certain what you mean, as I've always associated wanderlust with wanting to travel and not wanting, or being able to, stick around in one place indefinitely. An itch to see the world.

But if you're talking about general dissatisfaction, boredom, or apathy, then that can extend to other areas of my life. Certainly job -- it's why I've never been able to envision a career path that I'll be content with for life, and as far as day-to-day stuff, once things become too routinized, I become pretty dissatisfied and think I'm missing out on other things or opportunities - not living my life to the fullest. But it's possible that a component of this is that I don't really have anyone to share my life with, so my wanderlust takes the center stage instead.

most importantly, what do you think causes this?

Personality?

:smile:

how do you deal with it?

I have had a great job the past 5 1/2 years in terms of benefits and paid time off, so I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to take 2-3 vacations a year (usually one longer one - say, 2-3 weeks, and then a couple of 4-5 day ones over holiday weekends). This has definitely helped keep the wanderlust at bay. I also recognize how lucky I am in many ways, so that can help me keep things in perspective as well.

However, despite my telling myself how lucky I am, I still have the itch. At work, I don't feel terribly challenged anymore, and I can't stand the thought of being at the same job for the rest of my life - can't stand the thought of being in the same company for the rest of my life! Also don't really like the idea of staying in the same state for the rest of my life. I want to experience more.

So due to all of this I'm throwing caution to the wind and at least for a little while, I'll be 'free'. I'm giving notice next week and will be done with the job by the end of October, then I'm off to South America. :) Eek. :blush: The plan right now is to travel and do stuff like that til March, and then in April the plan is to move to a different state. I'm just wanting a change.

Guess that's my second 'approach' to it -- just follow the desire. :)

Several years ago I didn't go through with it, even though I wanted to, because at that time I felt it was an escapist maneuver. But now I don't think that it is. I'm moving towards something new. I know it'll seem escapist to many, but from my perspective, this has been a long time coming and I think it's necessary for me at this point.

And...making a living will definitely be waiting for me by next summer..then I'll have to be responsible once again. ;-)

It is certainly an interesting balance, and while I think it's possible to integrate the wanderlust into a more stable overall lifestyle (it's something I do aim for), it can certainly be challenging - logistically, as well as emotionally.

The end. :)
 

Jeffster

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That's awesome! Wait, I just remembered it isn't 1999 when that shirt was cool. Oh damn.

OH SNAP!

Guess what? Since I have it now, I'm bringing it back, baby! :cool:
 

Jack Flak

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OH SNAP!

Guess what? Since I have it now, I'm bringing it back, baby! :cool:
Yeah but mine's aged, and you know vintage is cooler. As long as we're never in the same location, it's fine. Note: I do not have this shirt.
 

colmena

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Apr 27, 2008
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I'm in love with Bruce Parry.

en_starsandstripes-1.jpg


Bruce Parry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

---

I see (for myself) traveling as a bit of a learning/wisdom experience thing rather than life long experience. But I guess in a Bruce Parry kind of a way, it's the anthropological side that really takes my fancy.

There's a guy called Quicky on Criticker that went on a 7 day hiking trip in Finland on his own. He's awesome.

Anyway, I'll be off if I ever get some good Fe.
 
V

violaine

Guest
does anyone else suffer from this? how does it affect you? what good or bad has come from it?

Yup, it makes me restless... the good part is that I have traveled a lot and had amazing experiences. Even the bad experiences were great in that they were a challenge. Traveling on my own has given me a lot of confidence in my own abilities. The downside is a lot of travel tends to feed the restlessness, your life can become a bit fractured, you miss family and friends while you're away for a long time.

does it apply to all aspects of your life or only a few? (job, residency, relationship, hobbies, etc)

It doesn't manifest in any other way than wanting to travel.

most importantly, what do you think causes this?

Endless curiousity. Wanting to see the world and meet the people of the world (I know how lame that sounds haha)...

how do you deal with it?

Going and doing it to get it out of my system a little. What helped to calm me down a little is actually moving to different countries to work. Best of both worlds, I don't feel restless and I also don't feel like I'm endlessly wandering and burning through my savings.
 
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