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What do you do when you travel? Do you kick off your shoes, sit in the shade and just relax. Or do you prefer to climb mountains and parachute out of planes? Either way, traveling is fun. But did you know that traveling helps you grow as a person? There are so many reasons to book that flight and get out of town, even if for only a few days. Because when you travel right, you become a better person. Here are seven ways you can improve when you spend time away from home.
Traveling is the quickest way to learn that not everyone is like you and that not everyone thinks and believes the same things you do. When you meet new people, you are allowing yourself to accept that the world is an enormously diverse place and you are just one small person in the grand scheme of things.
In fact, “Social scientists have found that making such connections, whether traveling or not, boosts happiness,” says The New York Times. While you’re making these connections, you’re forced to think less about yourself and more about the other people that share this world with you.
READ MORE: 5 Benefits of Having Global Friendships
You never know as much as you think you do. Every place is unique and every person has a story to tell. Allow yourself to accept and appreciate different cultures and customs without judgement. In this way, you can learn to appreciate the importance of having multiple perspectives, enabling you to become a global citizen who is not confined to the ideas of one tiny place in a vast world.
Take it from Mark Twain. In his book “The Innocents Abroad,” he says, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
You’ve probably already noticed that we live on an incredibly beautiful planet filled with strange plants, odd animals and awe-inspiring natural formations. When we travel, we explore and gain an appreciation for the natural world. And the more we see of this Earth, the more we are willing to play a role in keeping it from healthy for our children and grandchildren.
In fact, some adventurers even choose to be ecotourists. According to the Nature Conservatory, “Ecotourism is distinguished by its emphasis on conservation, education, traveler responsibility and active community participation.” These sustainability enthusiasts choose to visit areas which focus on “the integrity of ecosystems and local cultures.”
READ MORE: 5 Ecotourist Destinations for Green Enthusiasts
The best way to get out of our comfort zones is to travel. You have to get out of the house, navigate airports, find hotels, figure out transportation and explore foreign places. As Viral Travel says, “Comfort zones have a way of holding you back and keeping you stagnant, physically, mentally and emotionally. People were not meant to stay dormant, but to expand their horizons and grow.”
The best way to enjoy your destination is to get out there and talk to people, eat new foods and try new things. This is certain to break you out of the restrictiveness and fear of your comfort zone.
When you’re forced to escape the comfort zone you’ve been hiding in for years, you have to do many things you probably wouldn’t have considered only weeks ago. Like ask for directions in badly spoken German. Or try that scorpion kabob. There’s no way you can navigate foreign environments without growing in self-confidence with the assured knowledge that you can not only survive, but enjoy your time abroad.
Travel Soul Therapy explains, “Conscious travel exposes our hidden thoughts and habits due to the absence of predictable environment and security of established relationships and culture. It presents an opening into unknown — exposes our fear of unknown and a chance to increase our tolerance for risk, making fresh choices relying on faith to increase self-confidence.”
READ MORE: Is Confidence Contagious?
Traveling can be exhausting (ahem, jet lag), but most travelers return home ready to get back into the swing of everyday life with renewed energy and resolve. As Fodors Travel says, even taking a solo trip can leave you reinvorated and ready to take on life at your return.
As the website says, “In our ever-connected world filled with digital distractions, it can be a challenge to take the time that’s necessary to recharge one’s battery.” Even if the trip was only for a few days, travelers return realizing how trivial some problems are and finding themselves ready to tackle the bigger ones with renewed vigor.
When you flip through a photo album of that trip to Cancun, it can bring back all those happy memories of lying by the beach sipping a drink and soaking in the sunshine. Sometimes, those memories are all that sustain you through rough patches in life. And honestly, what would life be like if we didn’t make happy memories of exploring the world around us?
“While seeing the sites and buying souvenirs are great, you also want your travels to enhance your personal and spiritual growth,” says the Huffington Post. “You want to get more from your travels than just a few nice photos you can hang on your wall—you also want photos you can hang on your heart.”
READ MORE: 7 Steps to Becoming a Master at Scrapbooking
