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Traveling is one of the best ways to grow and change as a person. You get to see different cultures, meet new people, and experience new things. When you’re traveling, you’re given a new perspective on life.
Whether it’s through your surroundings or through your relationships with others, traveling will have an impact on you that lasts long after you’ve returned from your trip.
It can show you new perspectives on life, open up a new world of possibilities for yourself, and make you a better person in the process.
You Start to Think Long-Term
There is something about being away from your regular life that causes a mental shift. Suddenly your life back home belongs to someone else.
You are no longer the person who is responsible for your family and your job, but rather a temporary visitor. Given this, it is easy to question what you really want. It is a relief to be away from all of that, to be able to relax and be yourself.
At the same time, being away from your home country makes you feel vulnerable. You are alone in a foreign land where you don’t know the language or customs. You have no one to rely on but yourself, and you must make decisions that will affect your life. It is scary but exciting at the same time.
It is this feeling of vulnerability that makes travel so important for personal growth. Traveling forces us out of our comfort zone and into situations where we must learn how to fend for ourselves in order to survive.
This can be terrifying at first, but it also gives us an opportunity to learn about ourselves and grow as people. When we return home after a trip abroad we are changed people with new perspectives on life and new skills under our belts.
It Changes Your Perspective on Your Home Country
Traveling can change your perspective on your home country in a number of ways. For some, it might show you the beauty and wonder of the place they call home. For others, it might open their eyes to how much there is to change.
It might be your host country’s investment in public transportation or different social roles. Regardless, you will no doubt come back with a new perspective on your home country.
You might see how other countries have different social norms, or you might see how other countries have different priorities. Other countries may be dealing with the same problems as your own country but in a completely different way.
Upon return, you will have a number of things your home country could improve upon.
Travel Makes You More Open to Diversity
When you’re traveling, you’re given the opportunity to see new cultures and people. One of the best things about traveling is that it can open your eyes to other ways of life.
Traveling makes us more open-minded and understanding of others’ perspectives on life.
Travel Invigorates Your Sense of Adventure
When I lived abroad I became much more willing to take weekend trips. I would wake up on a Saturday morning and decide to go somewhere, pack my bag and head out the door.
Traveling has made me more adventurous in all aspects of my life. It has helped me become more open-minded and willing to try new things.
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You Become More Independent
Now, what exactly causes a person to become more independent when they travel? Simple, you have to do everything yourself. Need to find a grocery store near you but everything is in another language?
You utilize all of your resources to find what you need. There is government paperwork to file, visas to keep track of, accommodation to find.
You can’t rely on your backup systems that are available in your own country. You must navigate a new landscape. Is it difficult at first? Of course! But you realize you are the only one who can make a change in your life happen.
Travel Creates Life-Long Friendships
There is a certain vulnerability you have when you travel that lends itself to the creation of friendships. When in a new place you will laugh, cry, go through frustration, and through some of the best times in your life, and there will be people to go through all of that with you.
Whether it be friendships with other travelers or with locals. There will be people who will stay with you for a long time.
It Breaks up Your Routine
Maybe it’s using a different form of transportation, going to multiple places to find something, or meeting new friends who show you new activities.
You will be exposed to new things daily and may even form your own different routines from what you learn, but every time you are new to a place, you will have to try many new things and you will learn quickly.
You Learn Just How Capable You Are
When you travel, you learn just how capable you are. In the challenges you encounter, you learn how to be organized, how to be dependable, and how to be responsible. You learn that you can do things and you can do them well.
You learn that you can accomplish things on your own, that you are not dependent on others for everything, and that you are a fully capable human being.
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Author Bio: Sandy Page is a life-long adventurer. In her free time, she reads and consumes copious amounts of hot beverages.
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