Welcome to Wanderlust Wednesday!

Welcome to my new series, #wanderlustWednesdays! If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know that in 2017, I took a year-long trip around the world in search of my purpose. In this series, I’m going to share some stories and lessons learned along the way. 

When I arrived in Seoul, the first stop on my journey, I was one part like a zoo animal just uncaged. Timidly scoping out the possibilities of my new life. The other part of me? Straight up scared.

I remember talking to a girl on my program who was on month six of her travels. I said to her “my biggest fear is that after a year, nothing will have changed.”

She smiled and said “that’s impossible.”

I was encouraged but still doubtful.

What sticks out to me about this moment and why I remember it so clearly is that so much had already changed. I had literally put my entire life in a storage unit, broken my lease on my dream apartment, taken my job remote, was managing a team from another continent, and I had left my decade-long friends behind in NYC. 

The day this picture was taken by a stranger, I had just eaten my first meal by myself in public. It took me 30 minutes to work up the courage to walk in to the restaurant and ask for a table for one. I was scared, but I did it. 

And there I was, worried if I was going to come out of this year around the world changed? 

At the time, it was my deepest fear because I was desperate for more than change. 

I wanted a full life renaissance. 

And, unsurprisingly I wanted a guarantee that it would happen as quickly as possible. 

When we are in the thick of transformation, we often can’t see it. We deny it's even happening.

I started reflecting on this and realized so many points in my life when I was longing for transformation and change. It was happening all along. By being human, we are constantly growing and evolving. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Sometimes with more intention, sometimes with less. 

The first step to transformation, big or small, fast or slow–is to believe that is it possible for you. 

Here are some journal prompts to open your mind to the possibility of transformation:

• Where in your life are you denying yourself the possibility of transformation? 

• What would transformation look like in my life?

• What is holding be back from change?

• How can I give less energy to those thing?

• What inspires or motivates me to make to make?

• How can I give more energy to those things?

Follow me on Instagram @claire_penelope for all my future Wanderlust Wednesdays!