Staying in one place and sticking to your roots can be dull. When you feel the restlessness of everyday life set in, it’s time for a new travel experience. There are so many life lessons to learn by travelling the world.
There’s a reason why everyone, at some point or another, calls everyday life “the daily grind.” Your safe, predictable routine can start sapping your motivation and dulling your zest for life. Sure, everyone needs structure, but there’s a difference between following a schedule and getting stuck in a rut.
We humans are complex beings, who need to grow and stretch in new directions. And there’s no better way to do that than to literally head in a different direction by visiting new parts of the world. Here are some of the things you’ll discover when you decide to see the world.
How to act on curiosity
Why do we stick to routines? Because in our everyday life, we have to aim to find the winning formula. Mistakes can cost us time and money, and can have consequences on our careers, businesses and our reputations. While all of those things are important—aren’t we ultimately aiming for self-growth and to always be open to learning? That’s when travel comes into the equation: being a tourist opens up our childlike mind, as you look at a corner of the world you know nothing about, it gives a new perspective and the chance to be amazed. Curiosity is an attitude easily lost in adulthood, but it’s something we need for a full and rich life.
The art of appreciating people
As we interact with our loved ones, if we stick to the same script we can start to get bored. While you can pick your friends (and you can’t change your family), it’s still possible to take them for granted and forget the things that make them awesome. Trips with the family or your friends helps you remember why you’re so close—strengthening that emotional glue that binds you together through thick and thin. Travelling alone? Here’s your chance to meet new people and form new connections. They don’t have to evolve into lifelong friendships: there’s merit in talking with strangers, even if it’s just to ask for directions or advice. Travel is an amazing opportunity to strengthen your faith in humanity.
How to cherish the moment (however long it takes)
When you’re constantly rushing to meet deadlines and be places on time, you forget what it’s like to live in the moment. The truth is, there’s a lot to be said for living slow, and many great things take time. A good slow-cooked meal takes hours to cook. A good book can take a whole day to read. Just how long do you need to stand in front of a painting in a museum or lap up a sunset before you appreciate its true beauty? There’s so much beauty all around us, sometimes you have to travel to stop, breath and notice it.
The courage to commandeer your life
The beaten path keeps you in your comfort zone. At the end of the day, your life and your destiny are yours alone. As a traveller, it’s important to experience a few uncomfortable situations: you might butcher a foreign language or struggle with chopsticks and get frustratingly lost, but that’s what exploration is all about. You’ll make wrong turns and learn from your mistakes—the most important part is that you decide to move on your own.
The beauty of diversity
When you get all your information from the internet and mass media, you tend to get very broad brushstroke of life in foreign countries. News segments and movies don’t always encapsulate what people from a certain country are like, and you rarely see the whole story. If you find yourself, even unknowingly, with certain biases, it’s probably because you haven’t been given the opportunity to see more and understand. Going to a different part of the world allows you to expose yourself to history, tradition and culture. Here’s your chance to meet the locals—taste their food and listen to their stories and opinions. Travelling helps shift our perspectives and gain new understanding.
Healthier places than home
Travel is good for you both spiritually and socially—there’s plenty of studies out there on the health benefits of communing with nature. If you’re spending too much time in the concrete jungle, consider travelling to a destination that fosters a more stress-free lifestyle, or someplace the weather is warmer for a dose of vitamin D during winter.
Who you really are
Schedules offer us valuable structure, but can also become a security blanket. When you shake up your routine you can open yourself up to a whole new world. When you travel, you can switch off from emails and forget that morning alarm clock—jumping out of bed eager to adventure instead. Travel is a chance to start listening to your own thoughts again. Tune into your own inner voice and get inspiration from a new environment—perhaps you’ll discover what really matters to you.
How to count (and protect) your blessings
Believe it or not, if you live in the Western world, it’s highly likely that you’re already living a pretty good life with loads of opportunities. Stay long enough in a foreign country, and you’ll start to miss the familiar luxuries of home. You also appreciate our planet’s natural resources—all the pristine beaches, forests and mountains—and you’ll feel more passionate about how to preserve them. Travelling gives you a valuable lesson in appreciating what you have and how to make the world a better place for everyone.
What a time to be alive! Technology has made it that much easier (and affordable) for us to fly overseas and explore off the beaten track. So if you’re in need of a break from the daily grind, why not explore the wide world of opportunities at your feet?
And there’s a way to travel more and spend less with StudentUniverse—check out our exclusive cheap flight deals that give every student the opportunity to get out there and see the world.
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