Freedom Looks Like This – solo travel back to yourself
Freedom Looks Like This is a podcast for women over 40 who feel restless, disconnected, or tired of waiting for the “right time” to start living differently.
Hosted by Damianne President, the show explores intentional solo travel as a way to rebuild self-trust, stop waiting for permission, and create a life that actually feels like yours again.
Solo travel is just where the story starts. What this show really explores is what happens when women stop waiting, take themselves seriously, and begin making decisions for themselves, without over-explaining or asking for approval.
Episodes dive into topics like:
- solo travel for women over 40
- fear, self-doubt, and the hesitation to go alone
- learning to trust yourself again
- identity shifts in midlife
- choosing what you want and acting on it
Whether you’re planning your first solo trip or simply craving more freedom in your everyday life, Freedom Looks Like This offers real conversations and relateable reframes to help you move forward, whether at home or on the road.
Freedom Looks Like This – solo travel back to yourself
Unexpected Pressures You Take With You When You Travel
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When you travel alone, it’s easy to fall into the habit of accomplishment: the pressure to see more and make the most of every moment.
But what if the real question isn’t where you should go next?
In this episode of Freedom Looks Like This, Damianne shares a moment from Japan that changed the way she thinks about pace, presence, and what it means to truly inhabit a place.
After moving quickly through several countries, she arrives in Wakayama, a destination she first dreamed about more than 15 years ago. Standing on the cliffs at Sandanbeki, something shifts. Instead of moving on like everyone else and hurrying from place to place, she slows down. This turns out to be a moment that shapes the rest of the trip by opening a deeper reflection about slow travel, accomplishment, and the subtle pressure many capable women carry to “use time well.”
As she considers two possible next destinations (Kobe or Awaji Island) another realization begins to surface: sometimes the question behind our travel decisions isn’t about curiosity at all.
Through experiences in Japanese ryokan, public onsen baths, and the rhythm of Wakayama, this episode explores:
• how the pace of travel reveals more about us than the destination
• the difference between accomplishing a trip and inhabiting it
• why structure can sometimes create freedom while traveling
• how to recognize the habitual voice that asks if you’re “using the moment well”
• what happens when you choose presence instead of optimization
If you’re a woman over 40 who is exploring solo travel, intentional travel, or the idea of slowing down while traveling, this episode invites you to reconsider how you choose your next destination and how you show up once you land.
Damianne is currently deciding between two very different next destinations in Japan: Kobe or Awaji Island.
She shares the dilemma in this episode and will reveal the decision in the next one.
Email: contact@changesbigandsmall.com
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