Travelling is possible in any form, whether it be gliding through the serene blue skies in an airplane, watching the land change its shapes in a train, or lurching back and forwarding in the harmony of the symphonic sea waves on a sailboat. You can be walking up the lush green hills and still call it travelling. So, you see, travelling is merely a synonym for movement between two places. The means of transport or the destination are simply connecting points. Travelling benefits us through simply just the experience itself. The way you transform, adjust, learn, and grow as you reach the plateau point is what makes travelling a life-changing experience for most of us.
Have you ever wondered why an urge for travelling resides in you? Why do you feel exploration is something you must do?
Question yourself whether you are travelling to a specific place because it has something for you? Are you exploring the place or someone else? Think about it. Did the mountains give away a chunk of rocks to you, or the earth unravelled its secrets for you? Perhaps, not.
But, what these places give you was an opportunity to explore yourself. It gives you a chance to glimpse inside and find out your strengths as well as weaknesses. Self-awareness and personal development are the two valuable gifts for travelling.
Well, without further ado, let’s take you into details and help you find out the reasons why travelling benefits your personal development. Let’s dive in!
Travel & Personal Development – What’s the link?
Imagine boarding a plane with a backpack only. You’re going far away from home and all alone. You could be headed to an urgent meeting or doing so, only to visit the place of your dreams.
Either way, it’s going to be thrilling and challenging. First things first, there’s no way you can get around without pushing yourself into things that you previously hesitated or used to shy away from. There’s no way you can get anywhere without learning to befriend strangers. And that’s sure to push you to your limits, especially if you’re an introvert.
But you know what they say,
your life begins beyond the limits.
It is not until you cross them that you discover your true potential, your true self. You will begin to have the actual fun of your life once you cross that limit.
Even if you travel with family, friends, or co-workers, you’ll come to form a different, deeper bond with these people as you experience the struggles of travel together.
And all of this is a mere consequence of self-development: a gift of travel. Yes. That’s right! No matter what trip you’re on too and under what circumstances, it will surely teach you a whole lot about life and your existence, either consciously or sub-consciously. Thus, improving your overall performance as a human being.
Let’s evaluate in detail as to how travelling benefits personal development.
1. Improves Intelligence
Travelling benefits us because it urges exploration. It encourages your mind to engulf the outlook of the surroundings, to understand the mechanism of a different society, to learn about the values of foreign cultures, and at times, even learn a new language. Consequently, it boosts intelligence by expanding your chest of knowledge.
Also, it makes you smarter by increasing your short-term memory and increasing your attention span. How? Well, when you adapt to different ways of doing things, such as ordering food, your brain can function more diversely. Similarly, when you learn newer short phrases and learn about different practices such as not holding a closed as it could mean something offensive, you learn only by surviving.
Even research proved that travelling boosts brainpower. According to this research, 75 percent of retired Americans who travel have great mental stimulation than the rest. And 82% of these individuals possessed a can-do attitude and were more successful in finding out solutions to their problems.
2. Allows Reflection upon Life
Immersed in our daily life routines, we often get muddled up in all details. In a situation of disagreement with someone, we get caught up in what has already happened rather than what’s happening. The negligible acts become the basis of arguments and a source of disruption in relationships. In these times, our little life and problems are all that matters.
For travellers, this is a foreign concept. The experiences and journeys to different places play a vital role in broadening their vision. When visiting places, they develop an audience’s perspective. They can view and analyze things are they really are happening, the acts and the consequences.
Also, when one takes a break from their routine life and explore other places, he/she comes to realize the bigger picture. They possess the ability to put aside the details and examine the situation practically.
Consequently, using the audience’s perspective, travelling benefits and helps an individual to reflect back on their life and realizes their role. And, it ultimately brings in them a positive and better change, even if it’s unnoticeable for some.
3. Increases Adaptability
Going away from home means leaving all your preferences behind. In a foreign land, it may even mean getting used to the unacceptable.
More often than not, our comfy and luxurious life at home leaves us with a very rigid behaviour towards life. It limits us our potential, keeping us functional only in ideal circumstances. Travelling, on the contrary, is an absolute anti-dote of this. It teaches an individual how to function to your full in an alien setup. It makes you truly independent of all your materialistic needs. Consequently, it increases your physical and mental adaptability, making you immune to several damages.
Similarly, it teaches you to handles changes and inconveniences without making a big deal out of it. A regular traveller deals with missed buses, delayed flights, hazardous situations, but still makes it out to the top smiling. The traveller can then implements the same approach in their daily life, hence boosting productivity.
4. Boosts Confidence
Exploring areas you have never been to and trying to adjust to an unfamiliar atmosphere is a challenging situation for many travellers. And, the attempts to conquer this challenge establishes a sense of unshakable confidence in us. Fundamentally, it is because one has to step out of their comfort zone to discover a foreign place. We have to adjust, change, and form quick decisions in these situations. Even if we fail at doing so, it develops in us the confidence to deal with difficulties and challenging scenarios. We know that when a problem bangs on the door, we will make it through.
5. Gives Exposure
Travellers do not only tend to be self-aware but also aware of the world. Journeying to places gives them exposure the countless possibilities and opportunities. They get to relieve various cultures and societies. Hence, allowing them an opportunity to tame their life and make better decisions. These decisions can be relevant to professional life, careers, goals, relationships, and whatnot. For example, a youngster travelling to Europe may get influenced by the food culture and direct his career path from being a doctor to a food explorer.
Final Thoughts
Travelling is undeniably a life-altering experience that teaches you several lessons and moulds you accordingly. Travelling benefits and can help you grow the easier way. However, if you’re still doubtful, then you should conduct a thorough comparison of yourself before travelling and after travelling. Happy Exploring!
