This post is all about how travel changes you when you least expect it.
I’m sure you’ve heard the story. Someone leaves to go travel for a couple of days, weeks, months, however long they do, and they come back like a completely different person. Why is that?
I am a victim of this event and I wonder why not everyone wants to travel. Traveling is so addicting and fun. Of course, I know there are lots of homebodies out there or people who are too paranoid to travel. But for those of you who are like me and want to know why traveling is so great, this post is for you.
This post is all about how travel changes you.
Disclaimer
I am not an expert or professional in how travel changes you. I speak purely from experiences alone and how travel has changed me as an individual. You, the reader, will read at your own risk and I will not be held liable or responsible for anything that happens if you wish to take the advice or tips listed in this post. The contents of this post should be used for informational purposes only. Anything in this post is not meant to be offensive to anyone and should not be taken seriously.
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Let’s begin.
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How Travel Changes You When You Least Expect It
1. You’ll Feel More Goal-Oriented
When you travel, there is something about it that makes you crave more. You’ll want to see more new places and you’ll want to feel luxurious again and again. Because of all this sudden craving for traveling that you’ve developed, you’ll start setting goals for yourself.
Where do you want to go next? How much money do you need to save up to go on these trips?
You’re going to want to travel so much that everything you do in your life will ultimately lead to you traveling more. All your financial decisions and all of your career goals will change.
I remember my first trip abroad back in 2017 and how it was life-changing for me. Before I left for this trip, I was just living day to day, turning in assignments, and doing the bare minimum. I didn’t have a future plan for myself. Then, I spent 10 days in Europe and realized that I wanted to go again.
But how? How can I go without relying on my distant relatives to invite me on their vacations again?
I would have to get a good job and make money to take myself.
That was the moment I started making goals for myself. I had to set a goal of getting better grades in school. I had the goal of getting a good college degree so I can work a high-income job.
Traveling abroad for 10 days showed me what I wanted my future to be and motivated me to make a plan for it.
Years later, here I am still following my planned path to getting to where I want to be. Traveling does wonders for you and your mind. You’re going to want more and you’ll do anything to get yourself there.
2. You’ll Realize What’s Important To You
Now that you have become more goal-oriented, you’ll start realizing what is important to you.
Do you need all these designer handbags that sit in your closet? Do you need all of these subscriptions at once? Is it necessary to eat out as often as you do instead of having home-cooked meals? How much money do you actually need to be spending when you are home?
These are thoughts going through your mind as you are trying to find ways to travel more. All that money that you spent unnecessarily could’ve been used to fund your next trip abroad and you realize that now.
My trip abroad made me realize that social media wasn’t important to me and neither were the several collected items that I had in my room. When I can back from that trip, I purged my phone and my bedroom.
All the unnecessary apps were gone. I got rid of books, toys, clothes, past school assignments, and anything else that wouldn’t help me get to my desired future.
I also took up some tips from Marie Kondo and deciding on which items “brought me joy” was a really good way to start my decluttering journey.
Traveling made me realize that my future was important to me. It was important that I do anything and everything that is necessary to get me to where I wanted to be. Decluttering was the first step to clearing my mind and making it easier for me to get on my path. Therefore, keeping my area clean, organized, and decluttered was important to me.
Traveling will show you what is most important to you and cause you to make dramatic life changes.
Health Became Important To Me Too
I changed my eating habits. I did loads of research on how to naturally get healthier. My priority was to figure out what habits I had that were hurting my overall health and how I could fix it.
Since my trip abroad, I have lost about 10-15 Ibs and my mental health towards life has never been better. My goals have not changed since this trip back in 2017.
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3. You’ll Realize Your Capabilities
Traveling can be a scary thing. I’ll say this plenty of times but traveling is you going to new unknown places.
Good things could happen such as meeting new people and learning about new cultures. But bad things could also happen such as becoming more vulnerable to becoming a victim of crime.
The point is that you’re putting yourself out of your comfort zone.
As humans, we love what is familiar and we love feeling secure. Traveling is the complete opposite of familiarity (unless you’re traveling to a location that you know well too.)
When you are traveling, you’ll get nervous about what could possibly happen. You will be thinking about what if you get pickpocketed or what if you get lost, and so many other questions.
Once your trip is over and you survived it well enough with little to no complications, then you’ll realize that putting yourself out of your comfort zone isn’t so bad. You are strong and you can handle it.
Traveling will teach you and show you what you are capable of what you weren’t aware of or were scared of before.
4. You’ll Become More Understanding
When you travel, you are surrounded by foreigners whether it be in the US or somewhere abroad. You are around different kinds of people with different behaviors and grew up differently than you did.
For example, the people in Florida are probably different than the people in California. They both have different political views, different surroundings, and much more.
When you are going to new areas and experiencing these new places and new people, you become more understanding and more open-minded. Since you didn’t grow up in this new area, your only option is to understand how other people live and why they behave the way they do. You don’t much about the area so all you really can do is learn from what you are seeing.
Obviously, there are exceptions to ill behavior but most of the time, you’ll become more understanding of the different cultures.
Whenever you come back home, you’ll start making comparisons between what you were newly exposed to and the area you’ve been living in all along.
Becoming more understanding in foreign areas and in your hometown is a natural thing to happen.
5. You’ll Look Forward To Life
We all know that going on vacation makes us all happy. Going on vacation is a nice break from all our stressors and responsibilities at home. Traveling is no different. (I guess they are the same thing, technically.)
So whenever you travel and are vacationing, your break from all of life’s responsibilities will help you see life in a brighter light. If you were to never take a vacation, you’d be living a miserable life and not look forward to anything anymore. When you are on vacation and enjoying yourself, you’ll get a reminder that life is more than just work and bills.
Do keep in mind that you still need to travel responsibly. Make sure you are budgeting and can afford these vacations while also being able to put food on the table for your family.
Now that I have a goal and plan for how I want my future to be (full of travels, obviously) it is much easier for me to look forward to life. The future that I see for myself is full of light and adventure. I am going to make my life what I want it to be.
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Ending Note
Overall, traveling is one of the best things to do in the world. You’ll get new experiences, see new places, meet new people, try new foods. Everything is new! Something about trying new things is always so refreshing. Don’t you agree?
Thank you so much for reading this far.
How has traveling changed you? Were your experiences similar to mine?
Let me know in the comments below and have a great day. Happy traveling!
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