BLOG: Are You Taking One Step at a Time?

A mountain climber was once asked:

“How do you manage to climb a mountain?”

His answer:

“One step at a time, and I just keep going.” 

A monumental goal can be broken down into very doable mini-goals. To achieve success, this is exactly what I subscribe to… a lot of small goals where I can not only see the next step to take, but I can also love the accumulation of mini-wins which acknowledge my progress along the way!

This is how I create all the results I am seeking in my life… one step at a time, clear about the direction I am heading. Furthermore, this is exactly the strategy I employed when planning for, and navigating, our incredible summer adventures.

After a month of travel through Europe with our family, my husband and I sat on the plane headed home and high-fived each other for the monumental success of our trip. We spent time reminiscing about our personal trip highlights, and laughed at how many moments we both loved… like finding the best gelato in whatever town we were in, taking multiple Ubers and ending up at different entrances to the same destination, navigating the wide range of personalities that we encountered, and juggling directions and the different needs and requests of each member of our family. We talked about what we would have wanted more of, and what we would have loved to do without… (8 suitcases for 9 train changes was a wonderful character building experience).

How did we have such a smooth, wonderfully planned, expertly executed adventure?

1. We delegated the tasks between each other

2. We had an ideal scene of what we each wanted from it

3. We did not get attached to the way it was going to look

4. We let each person in the family make requests of what they wanted to do, so no one felt like they were just being told what they have to do

5. We shifted plans when necessary, and adjusted to things that we had no control of

6. We laughed at the things that were challenging, and worked as a team to get through them

7. We saw each other’s strengths, rather than focusing on the things that went wrong

8. We acknowledged each other for the contributions we made that helped the trip move forward smoothly

9. We were a team, which means we all helped, participated and contributed to the well-being of the group

10. We had down days where we could do whatever we wanted with no agenda, which helped each of us recuperate and promote self-care along the journey

Our trip was so successful that we are already talking about where our family wants to go next summer. Africa, India, Asia, and Australia are all on the table. I can officially say we are a traveling family!! It has been my personal life dream to travel the world, and to get to do this with the people I love is the most exciting and fulfilling experience. I set in motion that we were going to make this incredible trip a life memory, and I can easily say that is exactly what happened. Although I could have been gone another month, my family is happily home, returning to their routine, and the amazing planning begins to realize another epic Zands Clan Adventure.

If you are ever wondering if traveling is for you, you may want to consider the ten tips above as a great starting point for what you and/or your family will want to be prepared to navigate. If you have questions about planes, trains, automobiles, AirBNB’s, packing, and prep for your next dream adventure please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We are really getting the hang of it, and would love to share our expertise and knowledge with you!!