Traveling is not only a way of exploring the world, is not only a voyage of self-discovery, but also a transformative journey that involves experiencing new cultures in order to better understand oneself.
Unfortunately, most of us simply refuse to step out of our comfort zone and thus lose a golden opportunity to gain an insight on your values, identity, strengths and weaknesses.
This lack of self-examination can result in dissatisfaction in other areas of life such as attending college, getting married and having kids without asking yourselves whether these things were truly needed to lead a fulfilling life.
Here are some compelling reasons why traveling is the best tonic to understand who you are and help you become a better version of yourself and all things important to you.
Opportunity to meet new people
Traveling provides you with an opportunity to meet new people and make friends, explore new destinations, discover a different perspective about your life and also how others live their lives.
So whether you are interacting with fellow travelers when sailing on a Tampa cruise to the heavenly beaches of Eastern Caribbean or swapping stories on a walking tour of the Roman ruins in Italy, these are great ways to acquaint yourself with a new destination and inject a hearty dose of self-awareness.
Freedom and independence
Making decisions, managing your journey and being in charge of your itinerary can explore how your own decision making functions work in different situations. This is an independence building activity as more often than not we rely on others to help us in our day to day affairs.
When we travel, we have to fend for ourselves because we are not aware of the people around us. This improves our problem solving skills and we return home with improved strategies to apply to our everyday routine.
Traveling teaches compassion
Often in a new destination we are astounded how friendly and welcoming the locals are to an unfamiliar face and more than willing to educate visitors about their culture and way of living. Thus teaches us a valuable lesson in compassion and finding it inside ourselves.
Lending a helping hand to a complete stranger in an unfamiliar territory teaches us that our fellow human beings are just like us and is one of the greatest benefits of traveling.
Traveling promotes confidence
First time travelers often find being away from home intimidating, especially in a country where your language is not the primary one spoken or understood there. This courageous step infuses confidence and reflects on our ability to tackle any situation in a foreign land.
When we return home with all these experiences, we immediately realize that we are better prepared for the challenges everyday life brings and prepare us to face them in the future and how much we have gained knowledge on the places we have visited on our travels.
