In my younger days (pre-30ish), I really didn’t care much for travel. I did an average amount of traveling, but I simply did not find much lasting enjoyment in it.

One day, I was discussing this with a much-traveled friend. We discussed many of my previous trips to determine the cause of my disinterest. After a while of reviewing my travel history, he suggested that my problem might be that I never had (or took) the opportunity to do something of my choosing on the excursions.

In my youth, my parents set the itinerary, and my sisters and I went along. We went to a lot of places and saw many things, but none created great memories. In my early business life, I went on some trips, but they were almost exclusively business with no diversions. Even on early trips with my friends, I was mostly a passive participant. All of the trips were pleasant, but again, none had standout moments.

ID 39733160 © Stephen Kinosh | Dreamstime.com

I decided to take the advice on my next trip, a three-day trip to Cleveland. One night I called my nearby cousin and we went to a Cleveland Indians game. One night I took a long run along Lake Erie. On the last night, I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and then hung out in the flats, an up-and-coming trendy area at the time. I got all of my work done and had a great time. Granted, it wasn’t the time of my life, but I had started to change my mindset on travel. My new thought process has allowed me to run along the Gulf of Mexico, take a haunted tour of historic New Orleans and watch a bocce tournament in St. Petersburg, Fla.

It doesn’t take much to “take control” of a trip. Sometimes, it is just time management. It might mean taking a later or earlier flight and getting less sleep, but that trade-off is well worth it. A great trip moment will be remembered long after the extra sleep. Sports are always an easy option for me, but I try to go beyond just a baseball game. It really doesn’t matter what I pick, just as long as I pick something else to do. This makes it my trip and helps create the kind of happiness and memories I was missing.

— John Wroblewski, distribution specialist