Travel without social praise

Travel without social praise(prāz)

By Derek Sivers

I met a couple who were thinking of quitting(kwit) their jobs and travelling the world for a year. They asked my thoughts.

I suggested they should only do it if they don’t bring a camera(ˈkam(ə)rə), and don’t tell anyone but their family and few dear friends. No sharing on social media.

Why? Because we often live for others, without even realizing it. We are trying to impress an invisible(inˈvizəbəl) crowd. We like the social reward of saying, “We’re travelling the world!” We imagine how friends and strangers would react to this big news.

We go places we think would be impressive to other people. We take photos that will make our life look wonderful when we share them. We want that praise — that social reward.

Do we really want to do this thing, for its own sake(sāk,ˈsäkē)? Or do we just want the praise?

One way to find out is to see how appealing(əˈpēliNG) it would be to do it with no photos, and no sharing. Like the first person to run a marathon(ˈmarəˌTHän) without talking about it.