The Importance of Travel: Reasons You Should Travel More Often!
Travel is the biggest hobby in the world. People often travel for recreation and leisure. But what if I tell you that it can be much more than that? Read on to know how travel has changed my life and how it can change your life too!
Since a young age, I have been quite fascinated by maps and geographies. I would study the world map every morning while eating breakfast, selecting cities of the world to visit andtravel the world. The idea of new cultures, cuisines, societies, and habits always excited me. The sites to visits and the places to explore kept me longing for more. However, only a few people realize the immense benefits travel has to offer, which are many, from mental wellness to positive self-esteem, to self-exploration. It changes your perception of the world, shapes your personality, and helps you enjoy your me-time. But the importance of travel goes far beyond that. The article explores why travel is important and why you should travel more often.
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So here is my story. Growing up, I was fortunate enough to travel a lot, and traveling was always in my blood. My family loved traveling, and we traveled across the length and breadth of our country, seizing every possible opportunity. My father, by virtue of his job, traveled across the country and the continent. And so did we. We had the opportunity to live in the rural hinterlands, the urban conglomerations, and the foreign countries, spending our lives living in different towns, districts, and cities, settling and shifting like nomads. During my early years, we mostly traveled domestically, and that is how I developed this knack for traveling and realized the importance of travel. Then came international travels that made me more hungry to explore the unseen. And since then, there is no looking back!
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If you ask me why travel is important, I can give so many reasons. The importance of travel, foremost, lies in the fact that it helps you grow as a person. It not only changes your life perspective and broaden your horizon but also teaches you to manage your own finances, accommodations, and the ability to coexist with your fellow travelers. Traveling has taught me how to survive with the least clothes, food, and luxuries of life. It also gave me a good enough reason to save money and travel the world. As I traveled more, I realized that to travel is to live. Travel allowed me to spend quality time with myself, introspect, and navigate my emotions, helping me grow as a person.
While the idea of traveling the world is a dream for many, and unfortunately, for some, it never becomes a reality. It was never easy to travel the world previously. But now, travel is easy. Thanks to high disposable income and easy access to travel. So if you are living in this generation, you should consider yourself lucky, to begin with. The importance of travel is realized if you make the most of your travel and see them translate into valuable experiences. Thinking about that, I have compiled a list of reasons for the importance of travel, why travel is important, and why you should travel more often.
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The importance of travel: 8 reasons why travel is important!
Travel has really changed my life and there are countless reasons why travel is important and why travel is good for you. But here are my eight major reasons for traveling.
1. Travel is freedom
Leaving home for the first time is absolute freedom as you can decide the course of your life for the period of your vacation. It gives you more confidence and freedom to conduct life without any boundaries set by others.
The thrill and adventure of my trip to Hong Kong and Macau is still fresh in my mind where we were on our own, creating our own itineraries, marauding the cities, exploring the night markets, and hitting the buzzing clubs. The trip was an adventure, it was fun, and it was thrilling. But all the freedom invariably comes with some responsibility- responsibility towards yourself and fellow travelers. Freedom should give you confidence, a sense of responsibility, and a positive attitude in life.
2. Travel is empowering
Travel is all about making decisions, from planning your trip to making eleventh hours changes while traveling. You are in complete control of your journey and your life.
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I remember my trips to Thailand, Dubai, and France, where we were clueless during the initial few days. But as the days passed, we became more confident and in control. We not only made last-minute changes but also managed our trip quite well. Travel has really been empowering.
3. Travel is making new connections
Meeting new people from different parts of the world is an inevitable part of your travel journey. The random people you meet at the cafes & the bars, your hotel & dorm, or in your group tour may well become a part of your life. Having a conversation with your new friends can make you explore new perspectives in life. You realize how reality is different from what is projected in international news. You may realize that in the end, we all are humans with the same needs, wants, and emotions. Some connections can really change you. I have made friends across the world from Russia to Bali, to Singapore and Europe. And all of them taught me something new. While my friends from abroad are welcome to stay with me during their trip to India, they have extended the same gesture. This bond is beautiful and unconditional. And that is the way life is supposed to be. Travel friendships are some of the strongest and most unique relationships which I forged and cherish.
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4. Travel is knowledge
Travel is all about exploring the cities, the people, the culture, the food, the art, the architecture, the history, the landscapes, the society, and much more. As you travel, you see new cultures, meet new people, relish local food, and explore local transport networks. You also experience how different your culture is from the one you are currently experiencing in a new country. It makes you more sensitive to cross-cultural issues and widens your perspective. While traveling to Russia, I was mesmerized to see their metro system-the oldest in the world and their grandiose architecture. I also had the opportunity to see the world’s most authentic and classical ballet, notably ‘ la bayadere’ and ‘ swan lake ‘. Travel to Russia was a piece of true knowledge. After my travel to Russia, my entire perspective changed towards that country. I now have friends from Russia, and we keep exchanging our wisdom from time to time. Negative stereotypes disappear when people are exposed to new cultures and places. As the knowledge sets in, the acceptability seeps in.
5.Travel is minimalism
Travel is all about self-realization. It is all about surviving only with the essentials and doing away with excess. As you travel, you realize how bare minimum you need to survive yet still be happy and content. As they say, the more you own, the more it owns you. Travel teaches you minimalism and doing away with the clutter.
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6. Travelling is tasting yummy cuisines
Traveling is mostly about tasting amazing cuisines and food from around the world. There is no such thing as better than trying a typical local dish from a foreign country served classically and authentically. Eating local food is more than satisfying your hunger pangs. Local food fresh, unique, tasty, and has a history behind it. It is an experience in itself. People like me travel to places like Thailand and Europe again and again to relish their local dishes and delicacies.
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7. Travel is Creating Memories
The importance of travel lies in the fact that travel helps you create memories that you may cherish for the rest of your life. This is true for me, as well. No matter how insignificant it may seem, the fact that you have had an experience abroad, something that was not ordinary, creates a memory you will remember for a long time. In fact, creating those memories is why many people keep traveling.
8. Travel is Mental Peace
Finding mental peace in the hustle-bustle of our exhausting, tiring urban life where every day is a conquest with ourselves is rare. We try many things to attain peace and tranquility like yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and gratitude. We also try to de-stress by watching movies or by working out or indulging in outdoor activities. But nothing beats the benefits of traveling. This is where travel has proven to be a sure shot stress buster and helps you in your quest for inner peace.
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The importance of travel in helping you attain mental peace
1.Travel helps you stop looking around for inner peace while encouraging you to create inner peace within. Travel helps you unwind from the everyday monotonous routine and helps clear your mind. It helps you clean your rusted lens and helps you breathe.
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2. If frustration has been killing you, and you cease to see the road ahead, traveling or wandering can lead you through the dark tunnel.
You can expect to see a considerable change in your attitude by being more positive both physically and spiritually if you take up travel as a hobby.
3. Exploring, wandering, and traveling helps you with productive engagement in life. It helps you overcome your past, bad memories and keeps you away from brooding over your past. It helps you forget and move on in life.
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4. In this fast-paced life, we tend to lose ourselves. We become too busy to attend to our own needs, our interests, likes, and dislikes. Travel helps us rediscover ourselves and helps us understand who we really are. The importance of travel is realized foremost when we find time for ourselves, traveling away from our daily boring lives. It expands our boundaries and acceptance of others. You will start loving not only yourself but also the people around you.
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5. When we are too busy in our daily monotonous lives, we tend to overlook the most important priorities in life while chasing things that are unreal and meaningless. Traveling helps you clear your mind and indirectly helps you segregate vital few from trivial many. The importance of travel is that it gives you a reason for setting your priorities in order.
To conclude I would like to say that travel, not for anybody else but for yourself foremost. Let the journey fulfill your inner void and help you heal from past traumas. The importance of travel also lies in the fact that it helps you forgive and accept yourself, broadens your horizon, and move ahead in life. Travel makes us happy and stronger in all aspects of life.
There is no reason as to why you should not be planning your next adventure when the pandemic is over and travel is safe again- whether undertaking international travel or road-tripping for a short, two-week vacation nearby.
I hope you realize the real importance of travel after reading this post and are already contemplating to travel more often. Happy unwinding and happy traveling! If you have some more points to add to our blog on importance of travel, please share your inputs in the comment section below.
Originally published at https://theeasywisdom.com on April 7, 2020.