How Traveling Can Help You Find and Understand Yourself Better
iStockphoto by lechatnoir
An outstanding benefit of traveling is its ability to detach you from the routines of life. The absence of normalcy coupled with new experiences while traveling allows you to change perspective in the way you think and process situations.
Traveling gives you room to build confidence in yourself while subtly teaching you compassion and various ways to express love. It gently taps into your emotions - the feelings you are familiar with and aware of as well as the unfamiliar and the apparently non-existent feelings - and magnifies it to help you know yourself better. Every trip is an opportunity to learn something new or accept something already known.
Learn to deal with change and uncertainty
The most powerful gift of travel is that it teaches you how to deal with change and uncertainty and there is nothing in life that forces you to deal with that on a daily basis like travel does. You get to discover how strong and powerful you really are. You grow in confidence. Your skills develop. You become very swift at solving problems and making decisions. And you learn the very important lesson of adaptability.
Break from familiar faces
Taking a break allows you the space to be yourself without fear of upsetting those you love. Getting to know yourself and accepting the real you will allow you to be a better person for your loved ones. So don’t fear this possible change and help your family and friends not to fear this either. Changing yourself does not mean your love for others has to change.
Figure out your likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses
Travel helps you learn more about what you like and don’t like. As you explore more towns and cities and participate in different cultures, you learn about more things than your culture or familiar environment permitted. As your knowledge boundaries stretch, you experience more emotions which would guide you to understanding what you like and do not like. Likewise your strengths and weaknesses. If you’re not testing out new and different parts of yourself, how can you know what you really excel in and what’s really not for you.
Pursue your passions wholeheartedly
Travel is liberating. It gives you space to focus on your journey, to follow your interests and take your own path to self discovery. When you travel, all obligations fall away. You are left to do what you want with your life. What better time than to pursue your passions with reckless abandonment? This can also be a chance to find your passion - if you don't already know what it is. You can try out different outdoor activities like rock climbing, snorkeling or surfboarding or volunteering to charity. Living passionately only puts loving happy vibes into the world, which does more good than you can see or realize. You can dedicate your entire travel experience to just living and experiencing your passions.
Traveling, whether solo or in a group can be a time for reflection and introspection. If you loved reading this, drop a comment for us below about how travel has helped you get to know yourself or which of these resonates with you the most. We would love to hear from you.
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