I have always believed that travel teaches you without a scorecard. It enriches you gently. When you step out to see the world – meet people, get acquainted with different cultures, taste new cuisines or simply breathe in an unfamiliar city – you learn a lot!
Learning through travel happens naturally – you don’t have to try too hard. It’s all about losing yourself into the arms of a new environment.
You have to first shrug off the ‘safe’ and ‘tried and tested’ syndrome and delve into the unexplored with a free spirit.
Lessons Travel Taught Me
Travel has taught me a lot.
It has taught me so much that I am even keener to learn more through it. Let me share 10 things that I have learned from my travels so far.
Value little things
Travel has opened my eyes to small, ordinary things of life- things that are undervalued, but have great significance.
Now I am more conscious towards waiters, chauffeurs, florists, vendors and any random person whom I come across on my vacations.
I have a deeper sense of respect for them, because they are the ones who make our travels smooth for us.
I often make it a point to interact with people, and that makes my travel experience even more rewarding.
Travel Broadened my perspective
Now I have a much better perspective of life. I have come out of my shell where all I knew was my family, my relationships, my job, my struggles and my life.
Travel has opened new doors for me – I can see different aspects of life.
I can understand what is important and what can be sidelined. It has helped me think beyond the traditional mindset that there is more to life than the usual.
Travel helped me open up
I have learned to interact with people.
I am an introvert – I don’t speak much when I am around people I don’t know. But now because of travel I have started interacting with people on my travels.
I am not saying that I instantly become friends anybody and everybody, but I do initiate conversations with random fellow travelers.
I believe if you don’t interact with your fellow travelers and the locals of your destination, you barely experience a place.
Travel Boosted my confidence
I have always been as confident or as nervous as any other person, but travelling has instilled a new level of confidence in me.
I am certainly more confident of myself as a person today than I ever was.
When you travel, you have to manage so many things on your own – from booking accommodation to deciding where to eat and lots of other things that you do independently.
At the end of the day, there is a sense of achievement that you have explored a destination on your own and that’s a big deal!
I know my priorities in life – I’m more confident of myself now.
Travel Gave Me Purpose
Ever since I have started travelling, I know my priorities very well. I
know that I want to travel as much as possible. I know what I have to save for, what makes me happy and what I have to seek in life.
When I was not travelling, life was a usual rat-race and my priorities were work and money.
I didn’t know where I was going. I was clueless about my own ambition in life.
Travel has given me a clear direction and purpose.
Travel Made Me Less-Selfish
It may sound funny, but travel has helped me shed my selfish side.
I have always considered myself a sel- centered person. But travel has nudged me to look around and see life.
Now I am able to view life in all its hues.
I am able to relate to all kinds of people. I can think beyond my own challenges and realize the adversities faced by others. I’m able to look at others with compassion – everybody has challenges to deal with.
Travel Has Given me variety
Travel has introduced me to try new things and to be open to new cultures, people, food, architecture, landscape and so much more.
I have learned to appreciate the variety that life offers.
We don’t understand it till the time we begin to travel.
Now I wonder how some people get bored in their lives, when life has such wonderful things to enjoy. We just need to step out of our homes and discover the immense beauty out there.
Travel Sparked my Creativity
Through travel I am a more creative as a person.
By creativity, I don’t mean that I have learned a new skill. I simply mean that I have become more creative in my day-to-day living.
Travel opens our minds so much that we begin to see something interesting in everything – it could be something as simple as preparing a meal or arranging books on the shelf.
Travel Made Me More Grateful
It’s human nature to grumble about things.
But when we travel, we are able to negate such things with ease. I have realized that I have developed an attitude of gratitude.
I am more excited and thankful about life than I ever was because of my travels.
Made me more knowledgeable
Ever since I have started travelling and mainly started writing about my experiences, I have also been able to improve my world-wide knowledge.
As they say, travel is the best education.
Now I read a lot about destinations, different cultures, traditions, cuisines and other things. I look forward to learning about new things.
Now I find myself more equipped with knowledge, which has eventually made me a wiser person.
So that was my ode to travel. But that’s not all – I am sure there is much more that I must have learnt! And I will continue to learn throughout my life.
How has travel changed you?
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