It is not my fault – it is in my genes
But aren’t you happy with where you live?
Yes I am happy, and trust me, I really thought about it a lot. Self-finding books, meditation and other means to find my inner happiness are no strangers to me. And I truly think that I am on the right way, with ups and downs, towards plenitude. To put it less pompous, let’s say I am rather satisfied with who I am, where I am and whom I am surrounded with.
However I still get this itching regularly, the wanderlust attack, the wanting to book a plane ticket right away to no matter where. I just can’t seem to get enough. It is even worse these days, where I am trying to hold my travel bug under control – heavy travel addict, as I’ve always admitted. I am extremely thankful to my family to give me reasons to still plan trips to Holland, Portugal, Poland and Spain, albeit self-imposed travel restrictions. After all, one cannot say no to your sister’s birthday, a family reunion, a mother in law not being well or your brother’s cross-border wedding (I wish my family was bigger).
Any travel documentary makes me want to book a flight straight away and I can spend hours planning trips without actually doing them (yet)! To the desperation of my surrounding. Even the news provoke this kind of reaction in me and I am also attracted by places which are not on the “most beautiful beaches/cities in the world” lists. I feel like visiting new places and I am curious about other people’s life style, their experiences, I want to learn as much as possible from them.
So how relieved did I feel when I lately finally realized that this restlessness is due to my genes. It is like a kid that gets scolded for bringing back bad grades from school until the parents realize, with a very bad conscience, that the child cannot see what the teacher writes on the black board and needs glasses. It is not the kid’s fault, neither is it mine:
DRD4 and its 7R variant –>
the wanderlust gene!!!
Quotes:
- People who carry this variant gene, seem to be more motivated to pursue social, intellectual and physical activities
- A slightly different – or more curiously suited – limb and brain composition, which could be the reason these people feel a greater urge to travel
- Carriers of this genetic variant might be “incredibly resourceful, pioneering, creative,” and more predisposed for wanderlust.
Not too bad, right? Furthermore this gene will supposedly make me live longer, which will leave me more time to explore the other, not family related, destinations high up on my bucket list like India, Cuba, China and South America.
I will purposely ignore the less positive side effects which seem to come with the gene variant, so they say: The variant is also linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and addictive and risky behaviors. Carriers might be “utterly out of control”.
The only moment I get out of control is when it comes to decorating my 20-year-old bike…
Sources:
National Geographics
Medical News
Dan Scotti – Elite Daily
Psychology Blog Aimee
Quora