The Actual Leap: From Thinking About It to Doing It

You've been thinking about going nomadic for how long now? One year? Three years? Five?

You follow digital nomads on Instagram. You bookmark articles about visa requirements. You calculate minimum income needs. You research co-living spaces and imagine what it would be like.

But you haven't actually gone.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: thinking about something and doing it are separated by a chasm most people never cross. The difference isn't more planning, more savings, or more preparation.

It's reaching the point where staying becomes more painful than leaving.

The Tipping Point

People who successfully make the leap don't do it because they feel ready. They do it because staying in their current situation becomes unbearable.

Not dramatic unbearable. Quiet unbearable. The kind where you wake up another Tuesday morning and think "I can't do this for another year."

The boredom of routine. The predictability of the next five years. The slow erosion of the person you wanted to be. The gap between the life you're living and the one you keep imagining.

That pain accumulates. Slowly. Until one day it tips.

Tracy Bellevue spent years thinking about leaving. Then within a few weeks, she quit her job, sold her car, broke her lease, and moved to Switzerland. What changed? Not her finances. Not her plan. The pain of staying, working 75-hour weeks in an empty house, exceeded her fear of the unknown.

The leap happened when NOT going felt impossible.

Why "Readiness" Is a Trap

You're waiting to feel ready. That's the problem.

Ready means having enough savings (but how much is enough?). Ready means having a solid plan (but plans change). Ready means feeling confident (but confidence comes from doing, not thinking).

If you wait until you feel ready, you'll wait forever. There's always one more thing to research, one more month to save, one more skill to learn.

Readiness is a moving target designed to keep you comfortable.

The people who actually go aren't more prepared than you. They're just more willing to be uncomfortable. They've reached the point where the discomfort of staying outweighs the discomfort of going.

What's Your Pain of Staying?

Forget what you think you SHOULD want. What actually hurts?

Is it the commute you've done a thousand times? The meetings that could be emails? The weekend routine that never varies? The holiday allowance that's never enough? The feeling that life is happening somewhere else whilst you're stuck here?

Is it knowing you're capable of more but the structure you're in doesn't allow it? Is it watching others live the life you want whilst you stay safe?

Be honest about what staying costs you. Not in some distant future. Right now. This year. This month. Today.

Sometimes you don't need more preparation. You need honest assessment of the cost of NOT going.

The Leap Isn't Reckless

There's a difference between reckless and brave.

Reckless is quitting with no savings, no skills, no plan, hoping it works out.

Brave is acknowledging that staying in a situation that's slowly diminishing you is also a risk. Maybe a bigger one.

You've been preparing. You have skills. You have some savings. You have the internet and the ability to figure things out.

The leap isn't about having all the answers. It's about reaching the point where the questions you're avoiding ("What if I regret not trying?") become louder than the ones holding you back ("What if it doesn't work?").

From Thinking to Doing

The shift happens when you stop asking "Am I ready?" and start asking "What am I losing by waiting?"

Maybe it's another year of the same. Maybe it's the energy you had five years ago that's quietly fading. Maybe it's the version of yourself you keep promising you'll become "later."

Later rarely comes. The conditions are never perfect. The timing is never ideal.

But there's a moment when the pain of staying tips the scale. When you realise that the risk of going is actually smaller than the risk of staying put.

That's when thinking becomes doing.

That's when you stop researching and start booking. Stop imagining and start packing. Stop planning and start moving.

The actual leap doesn't require feeling ready. It requires feeling like you can't stay another year pretending this is enough.

And if you're reading this, you might already be closer to that point than you think.

Tracy Bellevue, whose leap is referenced above, shares her complete story including what happened after she arrived in Switzerland. You can hear her full episode in: Tracy's Story

Digital nomads and location-independent professionals featured on Ibi's Digital Nomad Stories podcast share insights into building sustainable remote careers. Listen to all episodes: All Podcasts