I have been writing – here – about the false myth of the fancy frequent traveller life and I want to explore it a bit further in this post, knowing there will be few people understanding it quite well.
I am in Singapore at the moment, third of five days on site, and looking forward to go back to Geneva for quality time with my kids. So, my mind is constantly projected on the next location, actually looking forward to it, but most importantly – and this is the tricky thing – unconsciously saving energy for my next move, especially because I am mindful of the fact that there will be some twelve more places I am required to be in the next five weeks.
What are the consequences of this ?
1- a profound feeling of not fully enjoy the present moment, in terms of not ‘exploring’ enough. Comfort zone is what preserves your energy the most, and it s easy to understand it would be much easier to switch on your adventurous mind if I had fewer opportunities to visit so many places
2- the opportunity to maintain your network despite its scattered geography. This when you find time to keep in touch, consistently, with the people who match your willingness to stay in touch, and in my case I am fortunate to say there are quite a few
3- the line between being switched on or off is very thin, not to say non existent. The direct impact is that you tend to think everyone else should be on the same page, and the mismatch on expectations sometimes gets heavy to bear. I think I extensively talked about it in my previous post as well.
4- when you stay only few days in a remote (but repeated enough) location, especially with an hectic schedule, there are a limited number of unscheduled catch up you can make, and because of jetlag can afford, simply, sometimes. This can generate frustration on both sides, when it s just a matter of survival, more often than not.
5- talking about survival patterns, these change a lot. My biggest fear is actually to get a simple cold, that can turn your travel schedule in hell. Back to the “enjoy the moment” theme, is difficult to make yourself understood when you just want to get enough sleep, or not drink too much, or whatever behaviour against most of people concept of “fun” can be. Be resilient is an asset you can’t neglect, for sure.
6- you are a slave of speed. And your judgement gets clouded sometimes. Funny, sometimes the more I get involved, the more I am fearing to miss out. It is only a perception, but with a very precise collateral damage: am i Living the present moment?
So much for a FinTech blog 😉
Stay tuned
Matteo