The beach has been calling my name for months. The thought of laying on the warm sand and reading a book has been soothing my frazzled nerves during frantic weeks at work. Tomorrow I finally get my just reward as I head out for a four day trip with my girlfriends to Corpus Christi, Texas.
Making preparations for the trip, figuring out logistics and picking out things to pack have brought much joy to my usual routine. Knowing I’ll be traveling soon injects a degree of excitement to my daily life.
The quote at the top of this post says “Travel is the only thing you spend your money on that will make you richer’. I get a great deal more out of experiences than I could ever get purchasing material things. But I wanted to define exactly how traveling makes you richer.
If the word ‘travel’ conjures up images of vacations abroad or flying somewhere on an airplane, let me clarify what it means to me. Travel is a mindset. You don’t have to go far to ‘travel’. It’s one of adventure and looking for new things to experience. You could actually find this in the next town over from your own.
Make Gains by Improving Your Overall Health
Traveling disconnects your from your daily life. It causes you to slow down as you discover new people and places, which in turn, cuts down on stress. Inevitably travelers get more exercise and walk more than they do in their day-to-day routine.
Create a Wealth of Memories
Traveling creates special bonds with those that travel with you. You’ll return home with new stories to share with others.
Grow Your Creativity
Where at home you may be on auto pilot because you tend to come in contact with the same situations day in and day out, while traveling you sharpen your mind by making decisions and finding yourself in situations outside of your comfort zone. When you return home, your mind will still be working overtime from the excitement experienced on your trip and you can focus that renewed energy into your job or a creative hobby.
Strengthen Social Communication Skills
While traveling you are meeting new people everywhere you go. At home, this doesn’t happen as often. It also seems to be much easier to strike up conversations with people when you are traveling because you are more relaxed and feel more friendly. When you are more open to other people you create stronger bonds and end up gaining new friends.
Find Unknown Treasures Within Yourself
Putting yourself in different circumstances allows you new insights into yourself. You can discover new foods or activities that you enjoy. Witnessing other cultures can make you appreciate things that you may have taken for granted. People you meet can display qualities that you would like to exemplify in your own life. You may even feel like a completely different person once your surrounding are changed.
Get a More Substantial Education
There is no substitute for the real thing. You can read all you want about a place, but actually being there gives you a tangible and emotional experience with it.
Confidence Will Skyrocket
Traveling to new cities or experiencing new situations gives a boost to your confidence in facing other things that are new to you. Learning a new skill at work or diving into a new hobby are less daunting because you know good things come from exposing yourself to things outside of what you already know.
Home Becomes More Precious
When our daily routine becomes so boring, we tend to start seeing everything in a negative light. Travel provides adventure and excitement for a short time, but then it is always comforting to come back to what is familiar. There is a renewed appreciation for what you have, especially your bed.
If you haven’t been anywhere in a while, I hope this post inspires you to start planning a trip. At least once a year go somewhere, but more ideally, every chance you get.
To the beach!
Traci
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