This article explores how travel broadens your mind, and details the lasting benefits of leaving our daily routines behind.
What do people actually mean when they say travel broadens your mind?
For a phrase that is thrown around a fair bit, it can be interpreted in a number of ways. When people start talking about “expanding horizons”, the meaning gets even more confusing.
However, this statement seems like it conveys one key idea – travel improves us as individuals.
But how does travel broaden the mind, and what are the actual benefits to us?
Only when you start to understand why travel has this effect that you can start to appreciate the benefits.
More importantly, that understanding will allow you to consciously focus on that growth and make the most of your experiences abroad.
Learn new skills and perspectives
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”
If you’ve ever tried learning a new language, there is one golden piece of advice that you are guaranteed to repeatedly hear.
In order to reach a high level of proficiency, you must go and live in that country.
Hearing this was part of what made me choose to study languages at university. Fancy spending a year of your course abroad? Sí, por favor.
It was only once arriving in Seville that I realised how terrible my Spanish was, how unbelievably hot Spain could get, and how totally unprepared I was to work abroad.
And I learnt all this in the first 30 seconds after getting off the train. Don’t even get me started on the 6 months I spent in China.
The point of my trip down memory lane is this – you don’t know what you don’t know.
Travelling broadens your mind because the more unfamiliar the experience, the more you are learning. And naturally, this applies to every aspect of life.
Wondering if you can manage the stress and anxiety of travelling alone? Do it a few times and you’ll never question yourself again.
Think your local Chinese takeaway is indicative of food in Shanghai? Plan a trip and find out just how wrong you are.
P.S: This is why travel can also really expand your waistline.
Meet new people
Travel also broadens your mind through the people you meet and interact with.
Many of these friendships will become the fondest memories of your travels, and enrich you in a number of ways.
Firstly, we can only travel as much as our finances or commitments allow. Meeting others on your travels allows you a rare insight into someone else’s first hand knowledge and culture, which is the second best thing to travelling there yourself.
This way of living vicariously through others’ experience is also what makes the best travel blogs so engaging and fun to follow.
You are also able to display the best version of yourself to others, and be whoever you aspire to be outside of your past or any judgement. You can literally reinvent yourself.
Finally, the shared challenge of being outside your comfort zones has an incredible tendency to forge close bonds. Overcoming those challenges together and sharing in awesome experiences can turn a great trip into an unforgettable one.
These experiences can lead to enduring friendships that add value to your life for years.
“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.”
Become a stronger person
The beauty of travel is that it literally takes you far away from your comfort zone. You, and only you, become the master of your own fate.
When you travel, you are no longer told what to think, how to feel, or shown what to do.
The result? If you are anything like me, it will be pure fear, anxiety and uncertainty.
However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel – that light, when you arrive, can be the fuel for some of your most treasured and liberating experiences.
Travel provides the perfect environment to learn many of the core skills essential to a happy life:
- Plan your trip and managing travel logistics = organisation skills
- Make new friends and asking for help = communication skills
- Doing it all yourself = independence and self-assurance
The more you struggle with any aspect, the more progress you’ll be able to make.
The break that travelling provides is also a great way to look after your mental health.
Sure, you’ll learn most from your failures and what not to do. But stick with it, and you’ll find you grow in ways you wouldn’t have imagined.
“What we fear of doing most is usually what we most need to do.”
How you can plan your next trip:
– Visit our Plan your trip page
– Best relaxing beach destinations for every budget
– Find cheap flights with Skyscanner
– Check Booking.com to find your ideal accommodation
- 23 Awesome Travel Games Everyone Will Love Playing - September 3, 2022
- 11 Best Things to Do in Rhodes, Greece - November 6, 2021
- 56 “You Got This” Quotes for Overcoming Obstacles and Finding Inner Toughness - October 7, 2021
