How I Stopped Caring About Stupid Sh*t (And Started Living)

Escape the noise and find what matters.

When I’m not travelling, I waste so much time worrying about things that don’t actually matter.

• Have I lost 2lbs this week?

• Did I upset that random, nameless person on Facebook with my comment?

• Shouldn’t I be further along in my life compared to others my age?

But the moment I step on the road, all of that disappears. My only focus becomes what’s in front of me - where I’ll sleep, what I’ll eat, and what there is to discover.

The Moment That Changed Everything

When I first visited Cambodia in 2017, I was ashamed to realise how little I knew about its history.

I’d heard of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge as a kid, but until I visited this beautiful country and heard the stories firsthand, I had no real understanding of the horrors that had unfolded in my own lifetime.

Our guide, who looked about my age, had no idea how old he actually was. His birth records were destroyed, along with his entire family. He only knew he had a sister somewhere.

Then there were the landmines. The staggering number of amputees we met along the way was a reminder that war doesn’t just end when the fighting stops. Even today, unexploded landmines still claim lives.

And lastly, there was the visit to the Killing Fields. A memorial displaying glass showcases filled with skulls, shoes, combs; silent artifacts of lives erased. A reminder of what happens when power and greed overshadow basic humanity.

(I couldn’t bring myself to take any photos of the display cases - so I took photos of the informational boards instead)

That visit sent me down a rabbit hole. I learned not just about Cambodia, but about all the other countries supporting the regime, and how entire nations are shaped by the ambitions of a few, while everyday people bear the cost.

Perspective Shift: What Actually Matters?

It was then that it hit me.

The things I obsessed over in my over-privileged life didn’t mean a thing.

Here I was, standing in a country where an entire generation had been erased. Where people my age didn’t even know when they were born. Where survival wasn’t about diets, social media likes, or job promotions, it was about making it through the day.

And yet, the Cambodian people I met weren’t bitter. They weren’t glued to the news, raging about things they couldn’t control.

They were living. Moving forward. Finding joy in the present, despite everything.

That’s when I started asking myself:

👉 How much of my life have I wasted worrying about things that, in the grand scheme of the world, don’t mean a damn thing?

Now, let me be clear, I’m not saying your struggles aren’t real. Everything is relative to our own lives, experiences, and pain. But that trip flipped a switch in me.

I realised how easy it is to get caught in the noise - scrolling, stressing, chasing things that don’t even matter.

And that’s the beauty of travel. It strips all that away. It forces you to see the world, not just your own tiny bubble.

The Rule That Changed Everything

Since then, I’ve made a rule for myself:

If it won’t matter five years from now, I try not to give it energy. (I’m not always successful.)

But I don’t waste my time arguing with strangers online.
I try not to stress over meaningless milestones.

Instead, I focus on what makes life richer, such as adventure, discovery, learning, and the people I meet along the way.

The World Is Always Going to Be a Mess - But You Don’t Have to Be

Right now, the world is in turmoil.

Online debates, outrage cycles, politics, war, fear. There’s always something demanding our emotional energy.

And if you’re not careful, you’ll give it all away to things you can’t control.

But the world has always been messy, chaotic, and loud. And it always will be.

You don’t have to be caught in the storm.

• Step away.

• Go somewhere new.

• Remind yourself what actually matters.

Because at the end of your life, you won’t care about social media debates, the latest scandal, or how many likes you got.

You’ll care about the experiences you had, the people you loved, and whether you actually lived.

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