Thread by @WrongsToWrite

How a Rocket Launcher, Backpack, and 91 days in Asia Changed My Life Forever

10 Reasons Why You Need To Buy a Plane Ticket and Disappear

At age 19 I was working 84 hour weeks

Making good money but losing my soul

I also had recently lost my mom to a drug overdose

I needed a change

So I bought a backpack and booked a plane ticket to Asia

It was the best decision of my life

Here's why...

1. Deprogram

Society wants to trap you

You go to school to get a job you don't like

So you can buy things you don't need

To impress people that don't care

Stepping off that plane in a foreign land separates you from it all

It gave me perspective on how brainwashed I was

2. Growth

Travelling throws you into discomfort

At first it feels like everything is coming at you 100mph

But over time you learn to adapt

Strangers become friends
Foreign lands become home
Challenges become adventures

Things don't get easier

You just become stronger

3. Humanity

In Cambodia I had a pharmacist stitch up my wounds

In Vietnam I had an old man teach me how to eat phở

In Thailand I had locals tell me what dangerous areas to avoid

Despite what the news says, majority of people in the world are good.

4. Happiness

When you travel alone, you won't always have company

You can't rely on anyone else to entertain you

You learn to enjoy your own company

You enjoy eating by yourself
You enjoy sitting by yourself
You enjoy exploring by yourself

Want to be happy?

Normalize this.

5. Memories

When you're on your death bed

Are you going to remember all the times you played it safe?

Fuck that.

• Start that business
• Ask that girl out at the cafe
• Pay $500 to shoot that RPG

Live a life worth writing about

6. Responsibility

While in Asia I:

• Fell off a roof
• Was lit on fire
• Fell off a scooter
• Almost got gang beat

My dumbass 19 year old self realized my choices can have serious consequences

7. Minimalism

I only brought a backpack with me to Asia

When you have limited space, you learn to take what you need

You emotionally detach from items

I stopped seeing the value in things and started seeing value in experiences

I saw the beauty in minimalism

8. Understanding

You only understand home once you leave it

I used to think we had it so good in Canada

Then I saw how happy people were in Vietnam

No news, no politics, no bullshit

Just rice wine and family

@lawrencekingyo summed it up perfectly

@lawrencekingyo 9. Confidence

I shared drinks with strangers

I bartered with old women

I told weirdos to fuck off

Quickly you become comfortable with

• Saying no
• Making friends
• Asking for what you want

Travelling is the best way to refine you skills because you're forced to interact

@lawrencekingyo 10. Awareness

To become aware of who you are meant to be

You have to detach from who you are expected to be

Detaching from:

• Work
• Family
• Routine

Allows you to assess your life in an unbiased way

No book can teach you this

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