Why Travel Is So Significant In Self-Development

by Eliza Wasilik

Travel and self-development… you might be wondering what is she on about? I get it. But let’s start at the beginning. Travel has been a ‘thing’ for quite a while now, we all know it and see it. It’s apparent that more people see travelling as either an interesting opportunity or for some an escape from everyday reality.

Saying that I genuinely believe there is great importance when it comes to travel and the experience. It can be some of the best education for our souls & mind. And not only it can teach us about different ways of life, cultures, people and of course the destinations which might or might not be as they seem. Most importantly, travel teaches us about ourselves.

To be clear, when I mention travel, I mean the kind of travel that allows you to completely indulge yourself in new experiences. Experiences that you would not necessarily come across in your everyday life. Not a planned one week holiday with your close ones. I don’t have anything against that of course, but they’re extremely different experiences.

“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you travelled.”

Personally, I’m obsessed with how true this is. Here are six points on why travel is SO significant in self-development:

 

Self-development

Travel shows you that kindness exists

Travel allows us to meet many people – from different cultures, backgrounds. But you’ll most likely realise, that when genuinely allowing yourself to experience the above – you will be shown how open others can be. No matter if they know you or not, so often the kindness you’ll receive will leave you speechless. It shows how simple acts of kindness can be free and open, and it opens you up too.

 

Travel teaches you how to fail and get up gracefully (or not)

Failures have been and will be there during your life journey, but going through them while travelling (usually without having the close ones to rely on with you) will not only prepare you for all those future failures. If you allow it to – it will make you realise that failures lead to something new. Something that you were most probably scared of in the first place but you had no choice this time. It makes you slightly fragile but then more confident also.

Allowing that will show you that failures are important in life and they happen for a reason, a reason which most likely, later on, will become clear.

 

Self-development

Travel prepares you for all the goodbyes in your lifetime

Travelling means meeting new people all the time, and at the same time saying many goodbyes. Some are easier than others, but some are extremely difficult.

This is usually thanks to permitting yourself to be you – as in not having those walls in front of you, the ones that might have been too frightening to take down back home, around everyone you’re familiar with. Thanks to that, you tend to meet people that truly reflect your personality, you open up to them more, and you feel much more connected. But then, the time will come, and sooner or later you’ll have to say the goodbyes, trust me – often they’ll be ‘see you later’s’.

Anyway, saying hellos and goodbyes is an integral part of our self-development. Usually, the hard goodbyes make you feel too fragile at the time but also help to appreciate the people that mean a lot to you.

 

Travel makes you the Yes person

When travelling, we tend to drop our guard quite a bit. We don’t have to worry as much about what will she, or he say as many of us seem to at home. That’s because we know our friends accept and not accept certain things – and it often affects us and the things we do.

When travelling, nobody knows you. You don’t need to pretend or worry about what will someone say because guess what? If you don’t want to see someone again, you don’t have to my friend.

Travel is about being free; it teaches you about you. And to be honest, if you feel like pretending to test what you like and don’t like – well you can do just that. And who knows, maybe, later on, you’ll realise that you weren’t pretending at all.  So, become the yes person, with no worries. If there is something you’d like to do – do it! (well, as long as it’s safe-ish…ha) It will change the way you see life and the way you approach it!

 

self-development

Travel will help you appreciate all of the moments

Because travelling doesn’t mean staying in one place – the moments come and go, just like the people. Now, in the beginning, it feels like it’s all a dream. Then we tend to get used to it and go with the flow, and it’s not until some of the favourite moments start disappearing into the past when we begin to understand how incredible they were.

We start appreciating them even more – because we were so freaking lucky to have to go through them. We realise that those moments were the reason why we wanted to travel so freaking badly.

 

And finally, travel will make you realise – all those changes within you

Many of us want to go travelling to ‘find yourself’.. and guess what? There is seriously nothing wrong with that. I think travel is one of the best ways to do that. Because as mentioned previously, it allows you to be you. To learn about yourself, to learn about what you like/don’t like, what places, food or type of people you prefer.

Without the opinions of someone that means a lot to you, you get a fresh perspective. This, plus all of the points above, start to develop huge changes within you. Changes that might be difficult to make in the day to day reality. All the kindness, failures, goodbyes and good & bad moments create their little place in your heart and teach you a lot about the world and yourself.

You realise that you seriously are a cool human being just as you freaking are. And if you don’t like certain things? Well, you can go and change them just as you want, because guess what?

 

It’s you, your life and you.You are allowed to do what makes you happy. Just like we think travel can.

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