Notes on Quitting a Job to Travel: What Saying No To Would Mean Saying Yes To

After listening to a Dear Sugar Radio podcast, I felt inspired to reflect on the subject of saying no. It’s so hard in our society to say no, especially for women. I’ve been grappling with this topic in the context of leaving a stable job to travel long term and what that would mean. Does saying no to certain norms to follow a dream make me selfish or less professional or less employable? Would I be letting people down? Am I being realistic? Do I have the right to say no? I’ve been thinking through what quitting my job might look like because saying no to that opens up so many other opportunities to say yes to other paths. 

Saying no to a full-time job would mean saying no to a lot of things. It would mean saying no to an income, benefits, a 40 hour per week time commitment, a commute, stability in one location, a routine/schedule, having money for an apartment and possessions, how good consistent employment looks on a resume, mundane tasks that get repeated day after day, daily stressors that make me anxiously pull all my hair out, etc. I live in a time and place where most of these things are very highly valued/expected and the others come along with it. However, I want a break to spend my energy on different values.

What could I say yes to instead if I decided to say no to all of the above for a while (despite how taboo taking time off work may seem)?

I could be saying yes to having the freedom and time to realize a different life dream. For so long, my desire has been to explore the world, learn through travel, and grow as a person in ways I can’t in the 9 to 5 grind. My dreams include a backpack and new experiences. So why should I keep saying yes to a way of life that doesn’t reflect that? Why should I wait to pursue my dream? I don’t think there’s anything riskier than waiting for retirement to realize these travel goals. Life is too short, vacation time is too limited, and the world is too big. Leaving the familiar will always be scary, but it doesn’t seem as risky as waiting 40 years to have the experiences I’m craving. Especially because nothing is guaranteed.

Here are some things I could be saying yes to by taking time off work. I could be saying yes to the ability to go where I wanted and when I wanted by saying no to an apartment and possessions. I could be saying yes to flexibility and creativity by saying no to a work schedule. I could be saying yes to the unknown by saying no to stability. I could be saying yes to pushing my limits by saying no to routine. I could be saying yes to participating in life by saying no to passively repeating the same tasks every day. I could be saying yes to bonding with new people and cultures by saying no to living in mine.

It’s not all positives–I don’t think any decision we make in life can ever be. But I’m open to facing the challenges that will inevitably come. I’m also open to discovering things about myself and others and the world that would be impossible otherwise. I’d rather live with the questions of “what if I fail” or “what if I don’t like it” or “what if I can’t do it” or “what if I can’t get hired ever again after getting back” than not knowing if I missed out on something amazing because I was too afraid to go against the status quo.

Ps. Many people in different countries can make this decision more easily based on their societal standards. And a lot of people in other countries could never even dream of making this choice because it just wouldn’t be possible. It’s definitely a spectrum, and I feel blessed to have this as an option but also feel like we could make progress towards the US being more encouraging of travel.

As you might have figured out, I decided to “say no” to the status quo. My last day of work is 5 days away and then I’m off on a travel adventure! I plan on sharing a lot more on the blog throughout this journey, and I’d love if you followed along 🙂

How do you feel about saying no to something that most people say yes to? Do you ever feel pressured to do something just because it’s what society expects of you? It might not be travel-related but I’d love to know!