Traveling is one of the most fulfilling (and fun!) experiences that anyone can have. It exposes you to new cultures, cuisines, people, and ways of living that broaden your perspective and deepen your understanding of the world.
In case you need even more excuses to travel, look no further. Here are seven reasons you should travel more.
1. Challenging yourself.
You might feel like you’re stuck in a rut in your daily life. Or you’re yearning for something exciting and different. You’re craving new experiences and new challenges. Travel is the ideal place to test yourself. It pushes people to their limits and gets them outside their comfort zone. You’ll discover how resourceful you are when you’re exposed to new places, people and experiences. Maybe it’s finding your way around a busy city. Or ordering a meal when you don’t speak the language. Or zip-lining. You’ll feel pride when you finish your trip successfully. Overcoming challenges will bring you joy and energy for future tests. You’ll realize how capable you are and build your confidence.
2. To Escape
People seek a trip because of a bad relationship, a demanding job, or a momentary break needed. People need time to forget about jobs, classes, and different kinds of responsibilities. Travel is a good way for them to reduce their stress, find something new and seek new inspiration for life. Also, escape from the commonplace is good for people both mentally and physically. After traveling, you will have had a space to look back at your issues with fresh eyes and an open mind.
3. Try New Foods.
Traveling is hungry work.
You’ll probably be moving around a lot, so finding great restaurants and trying out new dishes will become your favorite pastime. You just can't beat the feeling of finally sinking into a chair after a busy day of exploring, and being served up a big plate of whatever you fancy. Don’t be afraid to give your taste buds a workout too - you might discover foods that you didn’t even know you liked.
Speak to locals to find out how they cook certain dishes, and what ingredients they use.
If you ever want to remember your favourite sights and sounds from travelling, you can use similar ingredients to cook up something new!
Use the tastes and smells to remind you of your travel experiences, and take them with you wherever you go.
4. Learning New Language.
Language is the most powerful tool ever invented - our understanding of the world depends on our ability to describe it. Some languages have words that can not be translated to english.
For example, “Labas” in Lithuanian, “God Kveld” in Norwegian, or “Hvala Vam” in Croatia.
By learning a new language, you could experience a feeling you never knew you existed.
During your travels, you may only learn a few phrases - a simple “please” and “thank you”, or a “where is the bathroom?”.
You might not be fluent, but learning these phrases in the local language are guaranteed to come in handy.
The more you learn, the more you’ll be able to communicate with an entirely new group of people.
5.Expanding Your Perspective.
Another reason why people love to travel: it helps open your mind. You realize that there’s no one way to live life. Meeting people from other places will show you that your world view isn’t the same as everyone else’s.
You can’t imagine how different life is in another place until you see for yourself. Everything from work to family to beliefs to interests is not what you might expect from your own experience. The different setting will also help you discover and consider fresh ideas you hadn’t thought of before. You’ll come home with different notions and possibilities. By being exposed to new places, people and cultures, you’ll develop a wider world view. And that will make you a better-rounded global citizen. It’s a great reward and big reason why people love to travel.
6. Making Memories.
This one is a little cliché, but it’s true: no one looks back on their life and wishes they’d upgraded their iPhones more regularly. They think back on the unforgettable train ride in Europe, the time they got lost in New York and found the best slice of pizza, or how they met their husband at a hostel. Your travel experiences will always be with you, and when you need a pick-me-up, they can be a valuable resource for reminding yourself how good life can be.
7. You Grow and Become a Better You.
I left this reason on purpose for the end as it is the deepest of them all, and describes a change that unfolds over time spent traveling to more and more places. The more you see and experience, the more you realize how big the world is and how much it has to offer, you start to focus on what matters and stop being disappointed by little failures here and there. You begin to look on the bright side of things and cease taking yourself and life too seriously. This is probably the best thing traveling and living abroad has done for me.
All these being said, I will end my top seven reasons to travel with a quote I came across some time ago, which in the meantime has become rather clichéd but that doesn’t make me find it less inspirational and beautiful than I did when I first learned it: “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page”. It’s possible that I will never finish this huge book, but that doesn’t stop me being curious to discover as much as possible of its plot.
So there’s my top 7 reasons why people travel.