Welcome to post 11 of 26 in the A-Z guide to full-time RV Living.
So you have a burning desire to live on the road full-time. Maybe you’ve even begun making steps towards making it happen. Your determination is fierce and it’s all you can think about. Do you know why?
I believe this is a vital question to ask yourself before leaving your old life behind and venturing into an entirely new way of living.
The thing about chasing dreams is that the glistening thing you’re pursuing that feels like it’s brimming with possibilities and promises of a better future, takes hard work and perseverance to attain, not to mention the reality of that dream may come with unexpected challenges. Unforeseen obstacles and bad days happen, sometimes leaving you to wonder why you wanted this thing so badly in the first place. And when you’re deep in the muck, the Why can be hard to locate. Our temporary feelings and emotions can stifle the greater, wiser instincts that got us here in the first place.
Back when we were one day away from our house closing escrow and our dream of full-time RV living was 24 hours from becoming real, the reality of the massive life shift we were making started to set in. The house would soon no longer be ours, we couldn’t come back. So I sat down at my computer and made a list. It contained all the reasons why I was ready to leave our house behind and all the things that were motivating me to live a nomadic lifestyle. The feelings were fresh, so they flowed out of me like water, and left me with a tangible reminder of why we were willingly turning our lives upside down.
Our first month on the road was the opposite of glamourous. It was hard. The weather turned on us sooner than expected causing us to endure single digit temps and ice and snow for the entire month. (We had to remain in Colorado to complete some work contracts). In that same month our nearly 14 year old pup reached the end of his life. That first 30 days was most definitely not the life I’d been dreaming of for the five years leading up to them. But something about sitting down and writing out my Why left an imprint on my psyche. I didn’t question our choices during that first month. I didn’t wonder what the hell we were doing leaving a nice house behind for a tiny trailer. My Why kept me connected to the bigger picture.
The comforts of home & what’s familiar can be gripping when you’re feeling low or dealing with unforeseen challenges. However, highs and lows are a part of life no matter where or how you live. On hard days I tend to want to be anywhere rather than where I am and I know that being in a house won’t cure that.
So I encourage you to let that simple one word question take up space in your brain.
Why?
Sit with it and try writing down what comes to mind. Expand on it and see where it leads.
Why do you want to be location independent?
Why don’t you want to live in a home or apartment?
Why are you drawn to travel?
Why are you okay with leaving friends/family behind?
I believe the answers to these questions will bring you closer to the life you actually want to live and will get you further from the life you think you should live. Knowing your Why is creating your own North Star. It will keep you headed in the right direction as you weave your way through all the ups and downs of this rewarding lifestyle that comes with its own unique challenges.
This is in my opinion the most important segment in your A-Z guide so far! As you said, Knowing your why is crucial for those times that this life gets to be a bit of a challenge. I like how you referred to it as a “North Star”, a navigational beacon to keep you centered when you feel like things might be getting off course.
It’s awesome to hear that this topic resonated!