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Travel has the power to profoundly change your life, but only if you’re open to the possibility of stepping outside your comfort zone.
Most of us have big expectations of travel based on Hollywood films and Instagram captions, where influencers claim that a weekend yoga retreat or a few days in Bali completely changed their outlook on life, but the down-to-earth reality when you strip away the marketing mumbo-jumbo is that the experiences you have while traveling are completely dependent on your own mindset and willingness to take your travels beyond the confines of just a vacation.
A lot of people head off on a big trip with the idea that they’re going to return from it wiser, more worldly, and speaking fluently in a dozen languages. This scenario works well in daydreams, but usually plays out a little differently in real life. Because everyone travels so differently, your experiences will be wildly different from someone else going on the same trip as you. I’ve personally met so many travelers who loved places I disliked and hated places that I loved. Some travelers were bored to death by the experiences I found the most incredible, while others were amazed by things I found to be pretty mundane. They’re not wrong, and I’m not right — we’re all just different, with our own individual expectations, needs, personalities, and perspectives.
Travel might have the ability to shift and expand your perspectives, increase your confidence, but your current perspective can be the most limiting factor of all when it comes to getting the most out of travel. For travel to really change your life and broaden your perspectives, you need to be open to change. You’ll need to be ready and willing to shake things up a bit and go beyond your comfort zone and experience things that will broaden your current perspectives and teach you new things — about the world and about yourself.
Will travel change my life?
Travel can change your life…but you need to be willing to let these changes happen on their own terms. Regardless of what the social media captions might say, you probably won’t wake up on the morning after your trip feeling like a changed person. The changes travel makes in a person are slow and subtle, but if you allow travel to expand your horizons, it will reward you in so many ways.
Here are 7 ways to make the most of your travel adventure:
- Be willing to talk to new people…even if they don’t speak the same language you do. You’d be amazed at how much you can communicate with gestures, facial expressions, and a little bit of Google Translate. Learn a few words in the local language. Even if you butcher the pronunciation, there’s nothing like some shared laughter to connect people.
- Be willing to try new things…even if you think you might not really enjoy them. Lean into experiences and don’t always take the easiest route. Sometimes it’s the bumpy roads that lead us to the most incredible destinations.
- Give walking a try. Taxis are easy, but you’ll get to know the heart and soul of a place by exploring on foot. Even in the big cities like Paris and New York City, you’ll see a different side to things when you’re a pedestrian – a rhythm and beauty that you might miss if you’re buckled into the back seat.
- Be aware that not every experience you have will be a positive one. You can’t love everything you see and do, and that’s ok – it’s the neutral and negative experiences that help make the positive ones even sweeter. Don’t let the tough travel days where everything seems to go wrong get you down – tomorrow is a new day.
- It’s OK to feel lonely, homesick, and tired of traveling. Humans are social creatures of habit and these are normal emotions to feel when we venture beyond our comfort zones.
- Don’t expect to see immediate changes in yourself. It’s pretty normal to get back from a long trip and think, “I don’t feel any different.” Travel can change us, but those changes are often subtle and don’t happen right away or in ways we notice.
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