Don’t let fear stop you

A lot of people have called me tough, brave or cool for biking by myself from Stockholm back to the Netherlands. And I also think it’s a pretty cool thing to do. However it’s not that I feel tough all the times, on the contrary, I’m also scared and worried a lot!

The first day I was even scared to bike, or more precisely to fall with the bike, despite the fact that I have been biking all my life. I was scared to find a suitable sleeping place as you can camp anywhere in Sweden, scared that my phone battery would die and I would get lost, scared to sleep at the house of a stranger, or somewhere all by myself and when there was a man hanging around the tent in a public area, again all the horror scenarios spooked my mind. Before I left for Stockholm I was even scared for the whole adventure, that my bike would be stolen from the FlixBus, that I wouldn’t make my transfer in Hamburg, etc. etc. You get the point right?

When you travel you get out of your normal routine and you have to make more choices than you normally do, choices about things you often don’t know anything about and I noticed last week it creates a restless mind.

However, I’m still doing it, every time I’m in doubt about something I decide to do it anyways. The fears at the beginning of this trip feel foolish by now, although at the time they felt reel. The cool thing is because you have overcome your first worry or fear you can build upon it and level up.

My point is, we all have to start somewhere don’t let fear make you stop moving forward.

Yeah yeah, but how?A few things helped me:

1. Make it smaller

I’m biking on my own but I deliberately chose Sweden, a very safe country. I started in Stockholm where I stayed with very close friends to adapt a bit. I know I’m not far away from home and I can always take a bus back home. I see this trip as an experiment. If this goes well and I like the biking lifestyle I will continue to Greece. If not then I’m back home and had an awesome adventure.

2. Find people that support you

The first week I texted my location to my friends here in Sweden every night, and when I’m afraid I call them or my boyfriend. So I’m building this safety net around me. By doing so I’m able to do a ‘tough’ thing. Surround yourself with people that support you, your dreams and who are there to help you when needed! I might be biking by myself, but I’m not making this journey alone.

3. Don’t fight it, embrace it

When my mind becomes restless and worries, I don’t fight it. I give it some space. Sometimes I write, other times I wonder where it comes from and what it says about me. It also helps me to put it into perspective, or my favourite; relating it back to a fear I have already overcome. I don’t dwell on it either, I try not to judge the worry or fear, just move through it. The latter is a lot easier one a bike! So another reason to just do it 😜!