I have maps full of places that I want to go.
I have photobooks full of places that I have been.
And yet I hadn't been able to answer why these places were on my list.
"I just want to say that I've been there.”
This haphazard response tends to come across like there's no intrinsic value in the act. It sounds like I'm squandering my life for social status. Here I am insensitively picking destinations like throwing darts at a board.
What they see is a purposeless position, and—believe me—this perspective has the power to irk.
It's so bewildering to them! Frustrating! Wasteful!
Of all the things I could be spending my money, time, and attention on, I'm taking these trips just to ‘say’ that I've done it? To treat a 'once-in-a-lifetime' opportunity as a tick-box exercise? To regale the town with my tales of travel?
How petty, joyless, and boring!
I can understand their lack of enthusiasm and willingness to join. They want to share an adventure with someone. To feel like a globe-trotting partner, not a piece of luggage being tagged at the airport.
That makes sense. But it's not what I mean.
"Memory Dividends" are the words that had escaped me. The true goal behind it all.
What I'm doing is banking experiences. I'm becoming an enriched portfolio of compounding cultures. I'm collecting cherished scenes to cash-in whenever someone mentions their breakfast Melbourne or their layover in London.
"Aw! I've been there too!"
This isn't swapping stories for status. This is reliving the best of my days.
What I'm accumulating are non-depreciating assets ready to drawdown whenever my emotional coffers run bare. I've got a free, round-trip ticket to wherever I've been, and the flight is always ready. These moments don't expire, and they can't be stolen.
I'm investing where it matters. Creating the conditions necessary for monthly, quarterly, and annual returns. A yield surpassed by little else.
So, while my answers to "Why?" may sound like I'm ticking off To-Do's or seeking social acceptance, what I'm gaining is a wealth that cannot be measured. The more I collect now, the more I can redeem.
Perhaps it's time to pencil in that next trip.
