Prepare for your big comeback from the trip of your life!
1 – Choose the right time to share your adventure stories
If in the middle of your chicken-eating crocodile story, your stepdaughter-in-law has to go to work, it’s time for a cuddle with children or the last episode of Game of Throne, your story will sound like a wet firecracker.
2 – Make sure everyone is available and in a good mood
Beforehand, prepare photo albums to be scrolled through as a slide show on a computer on the buffet and a touch pad to be passed around. The youngest ones will rush over and ask you questions. For the older ones too, photos are more fun to look at than long stories to listen to amidst the ambient noise. This requires a lot of patience and concentration. Prepare also some food and drinks.
3 – Don’t pour into the selfie too much: it’s boring for the other : Me at the beach, Me in the mountains, Me on horseback, Me at Machu Picchu…
4 – Avoid putting yourself on stage constantly, the travel isn’t only about you
Select some images representative of your trip, which speak to those you met during your trip: Ethnic groups, travelers, farmers, even food or monument … They will wake up the curiosity of those around you who will certainly want to know more. The journey doesn’t just revolve around you!
5 – Don’t try to get them interested in new ideas
You have made the choice to explore the world (and yourself). Great, this experience has transformed you, you are bubbling with new ideas and opinions about life, society and the system. You talk about the emptiness of possession, of letting go, of time for oneself … Your circles or ranks have not come this way, they are not ready to hear everything!
6 – If you try to “convert” them to a love and share philosophy, it may not go well
7 – Don’t try to convince them to adopt a new lifestyle
Here you are again, full of experiences, image of the world, poverty, elephants, plastic in the oceans. Your loved ones are happy and satisfied with their choices, their paths, their goals. Yes, they consume too much water, eat meat and do not sort their waste, but it is useless to go to war, use diplomacy and patience instead.
8 – Stop running like crazy, take time for yourself… Your friends or family, they haven’t changed their pace!
Take some distance and put yourself, as much as possible, in their shoes. Be as respectful to them as you have been to the Aboriginal people you’ve met on your journey. Your loved ones don’t want to be seen as nerds because they are investing all their time and energy in building a home, a family, a career.
9 – Protect yourself, the human soul is far from easy to understand
Just be aware that not everyone in your circle is as open-minded as you would like. They are like that and it is not for you to change them. Like you, they certainly have a long way to go. Protect yourself from their jealousy or contempt and stay focused on what you have accomplished.
10 – You only really share with others what they already know
Don’t try to captivate your loved ones with exciting jungle or desert stories. They don’t know the jungle or the desert. They’ll concentrate a little bit for the first 10 minutes. After that, they’ll get bored and they’ll quit. Don’t take offense, not everyone can be curious about what they don’t know. What hurts is that you might want him to be curious about it for you? Out of affection, out of friendship, out of consideration? See tip 19!
11 – Set the record straight so that you know what to expect
“I’m back, I want to share my experience with you! “or “I’ve got a thousand things to tell yo,u are you going on a travel evening?”. You will see the reactions!
12 – Do not stay alone with your desires to share, to exchange
If no one answers the call, get closer to a group of travelers (there are a lot of them on social media), or a small community interested in travel (a book store, a school, a campus?). They will have a similar experience to yours or they will be curious about your journey and your exchanges will be profitable and fulfilling.
13 – Take the first step! Be curious about what they experienced while you were away, listen to them. Yeah, it’s the world upside down, but it’s a little trick that works
You’ve come back from crazy adventures but be discreet during the first moments of reunion. Open the dialogue, ask them lots of questions and take a sincere interest in what they experienced in your absence. Building your house, raising your children is also a great adventure! If they feel valued too, they will be more curious about what you have to say in return. This is where the bonds are especially strained. Your loved ones may feel that your experience is a “negative” revelation of their lives. In light of your stories, they may feel static, stuck in a routine, with no sparkle.
14 – Be sensitive, diplomatic
Be enthusiastic and attentive to the new tapestry in Lulu’s room and the events that happened while you were fishing for piranhas surrounded by pink dolphins in the Amazon swarming with anacondas.
15 – Keep your adventure stories to yourself
Do not allude to it all the time. Write your best adventures, print a book, create a slideshow! Those who are really interested in it will let you know, as for the others, well, respect their indifference. It’s the best you can do.
16 – Don’t spend your time talking about THE trip
Keep it quiet and only say what you are asked to say. There are few who will lend an attentive and sincere ear. Or they will do it out of interest, because they are fond of advice on how to leave too. Has this trip changed you deeply? Certainly, but you will have to quickly (everything is relative from a few weeks to a few months) get back into the bath and get back to the rhythm.
You come back from a changed trip, your loved ones don’t
17 – You are rich as you are in incredible experiences that have upset you, jostled you, out of phase, you are a new person!
Your family and friends have stayed in the same world. They risk being closed to this transformed person standing in front of them. They will not want to know, they may be jealous, envious or scornful. Don’t overreact, they are doing what they can to bring the stranger you have become back into the circle. Keep in mind: you’ve changed, they haven’t!
18 – Do not underestimate the defensive reactions on the part of certain relatives: they can be violent and destructive
It seems obvious to you that those who are supposed to love you, your great friends, your family are happy for you and show joy and affection when you return. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Never underestimate the destructive power of a personality with a fragile ego who will feel threatened by the return of the hero. Brothers, sisters, friends… Those you love above all else may turn out to be in a very different light when you come back home. These people are toxic. They hide their true feelings and will do their best to avenge themselves for the suffering you overwhelm them, despite yourself, by exacerbating their feeling of insecurity. Understand that they can only defend themselves. Not everyone is as confident and solid as you are. If you spot this type of profile in your surroundings, swallow your disappointment and take some distance. It’s up to them to change, not you.
19 – Don’t expect too much from your loved ones, you might be disappointed
It’s like asking a Stallone fan to enjoy the corean movies. Not only will he suffer during the screening, but he won’t have anything to say about the film. Even if it’s hard for you, be understanding, they are still your loved ones.
Jealousy, that loathsome flaw…
They probably love you, but keep the fierce jealousy option in a corner of your “return plan”.
The hallmark of jealousy is that you don’t recognize it, so expect shrugs, chilly silence, disassembly, contempt, and a whole host of ways to show you that what you’ve done is pointless. They’ll sigh, leave the table leaving you alone with your glass of champagne with a “well, that’s nice, but I have things to do“. Sometimes they will simply refuse to see you, claiming a busy schedule.
From a person I thought he was my friend, I received icy scorn, poisonous spikes that went to the point of pure nastiness. When I asked for explanations I must have heard a “you inferiorize me!” that I will not soon forget.
Do not be alarmed and mourn these relationships. Their reaction should comfort you on one point: their jealousy is proof that what you have achieved is of great value!
It’s not easy to find your loved ones after a long journey. It is preferable to anticipate his return with a little introspection to know what to expect and if things go wrong, to understand them and to console you.
