Some people never feel the need to travel anywhere. It is true that if you live within the same ten-mile radius your whole life, you’re not liable to live any longer or shorter than if you’re a world traveler. However, ample evidence shows that people who travel get more out of their existence.
You might even say that travel cleanses the soul. We’ll talk about some reasons why in the following article.
1. You Can See Places You’ve Never Experienced Before
If you go to any travel website, you’ll see places and events advertised, some of which you probably never even knew existed. For instance, the Vacationsmadeeasy.com site says, “there are plenty of things to do in Pigeon Forge.” They go on to talk about the many shows, dinner theaters, rides, and other attractions you can check out at this popular tourist destination.
If you never travel anywhere, it’s easy to think that nothing exists beyond your surroundings. The world can begin to seem like a tiny, boring place if you never bother to explore beyond the horizon.
Venturing outside of your comfort zone is a way you can show yourself that the world is much larger and more varied than your experience leads you to believe. If you travel, you can see places you’ve never visited before. When you return home, you’ll understand that there’s a big, wide world out there that’s always waiting to welcome you if you ever decide to drop what you’re doing and engage with it.
2. You Can Meet People from Other Cultures
If you stay in the same place your whole life, it’s also easy to believe that everybody looks, thinks, and acts just like you. If everyone has the same opinions, life becomes an echo chamber.
You might start to think that no one does things differently from you, your friends, and your relatives. You might begin to believe that there aren’t many interesting foods to eat, drinks to sample, or clothes to wear. You might think everyone does the same thing on a Saturday night or that everyone believes in the same things that make up your core values.
If you travel, you’ll quickly see that’s not the case. If you go to a hotel bar hundreds or even thousands of miles from home, you might talk to a person who believes exactly the opposite of what you do regarding a number of different subjects.
Maybe you’ll find common ground with this individual, or perhaps you won’t. As long as you keep an open mind, though, it’s never a bad idea to hear what someone with different beliefs has to say to you.
It reminds you that though we’re all global citizens, we don’t all share the same values, ideas, and beliefs. You’ll understand that true diversity exists, even if it doesn’t always seem that way if you never bother to explore.
3. You Can Analyze Your Current State
It’s hard sometimes to know how you’re doing if you never deviate from the routine. You might get up and go to work Monday through Friday. You watch the same TV shows in the evenings or have the identical conversations with the same people. You might do the same things for recreation every weekend.
That might satisfy you, but it can also numb you. When you go on a vacation or travel, you break up the routine, and that’s sometimes the best time to take your metaphysical temperature.
You can take a deep breath while looking out over a strange and unknown landscape and ask yourself if you are content in your life. You can ask if you like your job and whether your relationships satisfy you. You can ask yourself whether you like things just as they are or whether you’d want to make any changes.
You might realize that you’re perfectly happy and that you wouldn’t change a thing. You may also learn that you’d like to make a couple of small changes, and you can go about that once you return.
You might even determine that you want to make major, wholesale changes and reconstruct your life from the ground up. Some time away from the routine might make you understand that your whole existence needs a reset button. Maybe, when you come home, you’ll get out of a relationship, go back to college, resign from your job, or move to a new city.
4. You Can Reconnect with Those Close to You
You might travel with your family, or perhaps you go on a trip with just your spouse or partner. While you’re in new places trying new things, you might examine your relationship to see whether it’s strong or whether it needs a tune-up.
Traveling can make you see your significant other or family members in a new light. You might enjoy spending time with them and realize they’re still as important to you as ever. You might like sharing your life with them, whether in an exciting new vacation setting or at home in a more mundane one.
On the other hand, maybe now that you’re in a new setting and looking at the world through fresh eyes, you understand that the magic isn’t there anymore. You might choose this time to speak to your partner or spouse about changes you want to make in your relationship. It might surprise you how much clarity a new setting can bring.
When you come back from vacation, you might feel more in love with your spouse or partner than ever before. You may feel like you need to reestablish communication through couples counseling. Maybe you even think it’s time to end the relationship and go your separate ways.
Traveling can enrich your life and cleanse your spirit, and it can bring about catharsis. It might also bring up strong feelings you did not necessarily expect. Be ready for either possibility. No matter what it brings, it could be just the shakeup you need.
