Things Won’t Go How You Planned (And It’ll Be OK)

Why the Real Journey Is Learning Not to Abandon Yourself

I came across a post on an all-women travel Facebook group recently that stopped me in my tracks. Someone shared that her biggest challenge with solo travel wasn’t booking flights or finding accommodations—it was the airport-to-accommodation transfer. How do I get from the airport to where I’m staying? Will I have the right currency yet? Can Uber even pick up at this airport? Every airport is different, and I completely understood her concern.

The comments flooded in with logistics tips, and they were all genuinely helpful. But I found myself wanting to say something different.

Here’s what I posted:

All the logistics posts are very helpful and this is a real thing. But I think the bigger thing is knowing that no matter what happens, you won’t abandon yourself. That you’ll be present with yourself and trust yourself to take good care of yourself. That’s really what it comes down to. When you’re traveling, there are tons of unknowns, so stepping up your game and parenting yourself—truly being there for yourself on a whole new level—is imperative. It’s about creating capacity to take care of business instead of shrinking.

Because here’s the truth: you can plan every detail, research every transfer option, and have backup plans for your backup plans.

But things won’t go how you planned.

And it’ll be OK.

That was my mantra as I set out by myself to travel full-time. I repeated it while waiting on delayed buses, when housing plans fell through, when my card didn’t work, or when I was trying to translate something quickly. Things won’t go how you planned, but it’ll be OK.

But honestly? This isn’t just about travel.

If you’re self-employed, you know this feeling intimately. You wake up and check the news—another unbelievable political horror, policies that might affect your business, your healthcare, your clients, your safety. The ground shifts under your feet daily. There’s no HR department to handle it, no corporate structure to absorb the shock. It’s just you, figuring it out, again and again.

The airport transfer moment—that “I don’t know how this works and I’m on my own” feeling—that’s just a Tuesday when you work for yourself. Will this client pay on time? Will the algorithm change destroy my reach? Could the next piece of news upend my entire business model? The unknowns are constant.

 And the only way through is the same: don’t abandon yourself. Be present with yourself. Trust yourself to take good care of yourself.

You will build resilience on the journey. You will build capacity and self-trust with every problem you solve, every moment you don’t panic, every time you figure it out. In the airport, in your business, when the news makes you want to curl up in bed and play a game on your phone for hours on end. Just commit to showing up, handle the next thing, and do your best in each step.

The logistics matter. Planning matters. But the real foundation? That’s internal. That’s you, knowing you’ve got your own back. Always.

Because no matter what happens—in travel, in business, in this wild uncertain world—you always have yourself.