I thought this was pretty awesome.
BLOG
Recollections, reviews, discoveries, and future plans.
When You Start to Enjoy Being Alone, These 10 Things Will Happen
1. You’ll get to recharge.
Often times when we’re surrounded by other people, we’re expending a lot of energy. Trying to keep others happy, make them laugh, soothe their egos, read their emotions, and all of the other rigors that come along with regular interaction.
It can be mentally draining if you’re constantly connected to other people. A little alone time lets you recharge and take a break from the emotionally and mentally taxing job of constant interaction.
2. You’ll reflect more often.
Your life is always moving at a crazy fast pace. So fast in fact, that it’s probably rare when you have a moment alone to sit and reflect on your life.
Being alone gives you the perfect opportunity for a little self reflection. Since you aren’t spending so much time processing the thoughts and feelings of others, it’s the best time to turn your focus inwards.
Solitude provides the perfect environment for reflection.
3. You’ll get in touch with your own emotions.
Again, when you’re surrounded by other people all the time, you’re constantly trying to read, and cater to, the other persons’s emotions. So much so, that you could end up losing touch with your own.
When you start to enjoy being alone, you’ll gain a greater perspective for your own emotions. You’ll create a deeper understanding of what makes you happy, what upsets you, and what saddens you.
With that knowledge, it’s then easier to regulate your emotions. But it all starts with understanding how you feel, and that comes from a little bit of solitude.
4. You’ll start doing things you actually enjoy.
When you’re constantly in the company of other people, you’re always making compromises in order to find solutions that the entire group can enjoy. And unfortunately, the things you want most, may not always line up with what the group wants.
So it’s easy to enjoy being alone once you realize that doing so gives you more freedom to do the things you actually want to do.
5. You’ll become more productive.
Being in the company of other people can be fun and entertaining, but it can also seriously affect your productivity. There are times when the company of other people acts as nothing more than a distraction from getting your work done.
Time spent alone can be some of the most productive time in your life—mostly because there are less distractions, and you can just put your head down and get to work.
6. You’ll enjoy your relationships even more.
When you spend time alone on a regular basis, and eventually start to enjoy being alone, you’ll come to find that you also enjoy your relationships with other people even more.
And that’s because the time spent alone gives you a greater appreciation for yourself.
But it also let’s you appreciate all the great things that come from your relationships with other people, most of which you were oblivious to before.
7. You’ll feel more independent.
Once you enjoy being alone, you’ll feel more confident in your ability to actually be alone. And that naturally leads to you feeling more independent.
You’ll no longer feel that anxiety, or burning desire for company, once you learn to enjoy being alone. You won’t feel the need for constant interaction with other people, or the anxiety associated with looking around and seeing no one but yourself.
8. You’ll get a break from constantly trying to keep other people happy.
Life is filled with relationships, and most relationships only last when both people are kept happy. And that can turn into a draining job depending who that relationship is with. Now, this does’t only apply to personal relationships, but every kind of relationship.
Once you’re alone, the only person’s happiness you have to worry about in that moment, is your own. You can treat yourself to thing that makes you happy, but may have upset someone else.
9. You won’t have to apologize for anything.
When you start to enjoy being alone, you’ll quickly see that solitude means you don’t have to keep apologizing for what you’ve done. So often, we do things that end up upsetting other people, or hurting someone else’s feelings, and then have to quickly apologize for it.
But when you’re alone, you don’t have to apologize for anything. And that takes a lot of pressure out of most situations. You get to stop second guessing everything you say, or every move you make because you’re afraid someone is going to be offended, or saddened, and angered.
10. You’ll stop looking for validation.
So often we feel we the need to get the “OK” from our friends and family before we take action. We constantly look to other people for advice on what we should do next.
Of course, there are times where it’s not only perfectly acceptable to ask for advice, but downright necessary. But there are also times where we’re perfectly capable of acting on our own, be we instead of looking to others for an answer.
When you start to spend more time alone, you’ll learn to trust your instincts and make decisions without any third party validation.
Urquhart Castle | Loch Ness, Scotland
This was taken about two weeks ago while I was traveling through the highlands of Scotland. I stopped at Loch Ness for the night and took this photo just after the sun had fallen behind the hills to the southwest. Urquhart Castle was built in the 1100s and changed hands many times through out its history.
Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness in Scotland
10 Hotel Secrets from Behind the Front Desk
1. HOTELS ARE RAKING IT IN.
The fact that a hotel could fail to be profitable astounds me. Why? The average cost to turn over a room, to keep it operational per day, is between $30 and $40. If you’re paying less than $30 dollars a night at a hotel/motel, I’d wager the cost to flip that room runs close to $5. Which makes me want to take a shower. At home. That $40 turnover cost includes cleaning supplies, electricity, and hourly wages for housekeepers, minibar attendants, front desk agents, and all other employees needed to operate a room as well as the cost of laundering the sheets. Everything. Compare that with an average room rate, and you can see why it’s a profitable business.
2. STAYING FOR JUST ONE NIGHT? YOU MIGHT GET “WALKED.”
The term “walking a guest” sends shivers down any manager’s spine. Since the average no-show rate is 10 percent daily, hotels will overbook whenever possible. The sales and reservations departments are encouraged to book the property to 110 percent capacity, in the hopes that with cancellations and no-shows they will fill every room. What happens when the numbers game doesn’t play in the hotel’s favor? Someone gets walked. The hotel will now pay for the entire night’s room and tax (plus one phone call—how cute is that?) at another comparable hotel in the area.
A guest is more likely to get walked if:
1. He booked using Expedia, hence he has a deeply discounted rate and is less important.
2. He never stayed here before and may never visit the city again.
3. He’s a one-nighter.
4. And this one is so much more important than all the others: He is acting like a jerk.
Behind the Image - The Ghost Road of Iceland
This is a photo of the Kjalvegur Road / Kjölur Route in Iceland which I shot using my Nikon D7000 a few weeks ago while my buddy Chris (@chrislovesadventure) and I were exploring the interior of the country. This route, sometimes referred to as the "Ghost Road," used to be the main road used by vikings to travel between the north and south of Iceland. Some legends say the Knights Templar hid the holy grail somewhere along the route . . . Before embarking on this journey it was highly recommend that we rent a vehicle with 4 wheel drive so we opted for a Toyota Land Cruiser which we picked up from Hertz Iceland. With a trusty map and compass in hand, we set out to circle the island. Once we made it back to Reykjavik we still had a bit of time left on the rental so we decided to check out this highland road through the interior. The route starts just after the massive Gullfoss waterfall and continues on to the Ringroad near Varmahliöand and passes between the Hofsjökull and Langjökull Glaciers (Temple Glacier and Long Glacier).
Some other sites to see along the way are Þingvellir, Gullfoss, Geysir, and Hvítárvatn.
The Global Society
I had the good fortune of being exposed to numerous cultures and countless history lessons while growing up, and because of this, I think I was given the opportunity to see the world from many different perspectives. Now in my 30s, I continue to travel and expose myself to as much of the world as I can. Whether it's close to home or in the middle of nowhere in a remote corner of the planet, there are cultures and traditions worth experiencing and memories waiting to be born.
Colonia, Uruguay
When you first embark on a quest, whether it's one of curiosity or one of travel, you start to notice that there are two different breeds of people. The first of the two consists of those that like to stay close to home and are either afraid of or have no desire to experience the world beyond what they've become accustomed to. They stay within their bubble and if they do happen to venture out, they appear uncomfortable and remain tethered to home in one form or another. If and when they travel, they tend to stick to all the typical sites found in a travel guide and never venture out to experience real local culture. If they're in New York they'll visit the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Big Ben in London, etc . . . and they'll eat at major chain restaurants which they probably frequent back home. This is an extremely boring way to travel and see the world, yet when these people return to their homes they will speak of their experience as if it were really exciting, while recommending the same trip to everyone they talk to. The reality behind this kind of travel and this breed of individual is that they really aren't trying to learn anything new because they lack true curiosity and have no interest in experiencing local life. They enjoy telling people where they've been, even though in most cases they know nothing about those places. Instead of exposing themselves to new experiences, they bring what they know with them on their journey and return home as the same uninteresting person they were when they first set out.
The Narrows | Zion National Park
The other breed consists of the more adventurous types. This doesn't mean they're roaming around the globe seeking near death experiences, this just means they're comfortable being uncomfortable and willing to immerse themselves in whatever it is they're doing. If they travel somewhere new, even if only for a day, they live there for that day. They don't visit a place, they make it their home for the duration. People of this breed make new lifelong friends wherever they go. When I cross paths with one of these individuals I immediately notice something different, yet familiar. It's as if we both were part of the same fraternity or grew up in the same town. Although we may have never met before, we feel an instant connection. The reason for this is because we're both part of what I'll call the Global Society. People that are members instantly recognize each other without saying a word. Even though we may have spawned from different corners of the globe, our roots are embedded everywhere. Some people that are part of this worldwide club may have never traveled a day in their life, but they possess an inquisitive nature and desire that expands their horizon beyond where the sun sets. It's always refreshing to stumble upon such individuals and share stories while at the same time adding another chapter to your own captivating autobiography. When parting ways you both feel like you've learned something new and know that you've made a friend for life, a friend that will most likely relate to you more than most of the friends you grew up with. The Global Society is the closest thing you'll find to a utopia, it's a place where race, religion, and politics have no relevance.
Mendenhall Glacier | Alaska
Members of the Global Society are some of the wealthiest people you'll ever meet, regardless of the monetary value of all their assets or what they have in the bank. These individuals are a wealth of knowledge and experience. These people keep you humble and modest and constantly remind you to ditch the blinders and look at the world with eyes wide open.
Border Relations
Awhile back I rode my bike down to the beach where the U.S./Mexico border fence runs into the Pacific Ocean. I was hanging out at Border Field State Park when I noticed this kid going back and forth between the two countries as he squeezed through the fence.
Alaskan Holiday
This was a fun travel documentary to watch, now I want to go find some snow.
ISENSEVEN presents "Alaskan Holiday" - A Story by Stolen Paradise "Tobi, Fips and me spent the last twelve months traveling around the world and one of many highlights was our roadtrip from Seattle to Alaska. In Alaska we spent three unforgettable weeks at Tailgate AK: camping on a glacier 20 miles away from the road, riding our first steep AK lines, seeing northern lights and just hanging out with friends. In the end we met up with Elias Elhardt and went Heliskiing in Haines. For me personally this was the last trip of my professional snowboard career and I couldn't ask for a better final. Alaskan Holiday. That's what it felt like." - Marco Smolla Supported by Nitro Snowboards, Chiemsee, Planet-Sports.com and Tailgate Alaska Cinematography by Julian Pintarelli Edited by Alex Schiller & Max Neumeier / Hey You! Films Additional Cinematography: Fips Strauss & Callum Swift Aerial Cinematography: Christoph Thoresen Photography: Fips Strauss Check out the teaser here: https://vimeo.com/114295490 Music: Wake Owl - "Gold" www.wakeowl.com Daniel Norgren - "Whatever Turns You On" www.myspace.com/danielnorgren The Walking Who - "With Roses" www.thewalkingwho.com Jon And Roy - "Every Night" www.jonandroy.ca Filmed on Sony FS700. Edited with Adobe CC. Graded with Magic Bullet Looks. www.stolenparadise.net www.isenseven.tv
Moments in Asia by Markus Kontiainen
I stumbled upon this great travel video on Vimeo last night, it was shot entirely on an iPhone 5S by Markus Kontiainen.
Spring 2014 was the best time of my life. I spent 35 days exploring 11 different cities in Japan, China and Southeast Asia as a work assignment. I had chance to see new places, meet new people and experience new things I had never done before. This is my visual diary of the journey shot entirely on iPhone 5s. Cities featured in film: Tokyo Nikko Osaka Ise Nagoya Kyoto Beijing Singapore Bangkok Hanoi Hongkong Helsinki Music: Agnes Obel - Dorian
Food Find - Makers & Finders
Makers & Finders
1120 South Main Street
Las Vegas, NV 89104
makersandfinderslv.com
Makers & Finders is an awesome coffee shop and restaurant located in the Art District of Las Vegas. After working in Vegas for almost 3 months I thought I was going to lose my mind because it really isn't my scene and definitely is not a destination I would choose to go for fun. However, toward the end of my stay I discovered Makers & Finders and really liked it and actually miss it now that I'm not there. I'm not really a big coffee drinker, but all the coffee there tasted as good as the presentation looked. Since I don't normally order coffee my typical drink of choice was always the chai tea latte and I've been craving it everyday since leaving Vegas. I was just in San Francisco and couldn't find anything there that was even close to being in the same league as that chai tea. I know that I'll have to go back to work in Vegas at some point in the near future and I'm excited to head back to Makers & Finders as soon as I get there. Aside from great coffee and tea, they also serve some amazing food. If you happen to stop by there get a shot (or two) of the new espresso from Honduras that they're experimenting with. The last time I was there Josh Molina, one of the owners, gave me the very first sample and it was surprisingly good, better than any other espresso I've tried during my short espresso drinking history.