In this post, I’m going to share with you the reasons why traveling is good for you – the 7 benefits of traveling the world!
Apart from the beautiful photos and fun memories that travel provides, one of the best souvenirs you can get out of traveling are the life lessons and values it provides that will last a lifetime. These are the gems of life that will stay with you long after the trip has ended.
Listed here are 7 personal core values that traveling has taught me, which you may also agree and resonate with. So let’s begin!
1. Appreciation / Self Love
With all the wonderful sights, beautiful nature, skyscrapers, and awe-inspiring landmarks around the world, anyone would truly be in a state of appreciation when traveling. Travel is one of the easiest ways to tune in to the good things of life, to notice and recognize the abundance that is all around, and to realize all the positive things that are already present in this world.
Traveling allows for a positive shift of focus towards things that feel good and experiences that enliven the spirit. It lets you feel how blessed you are to be alive in this planet at this time. It cultivates the habit of finding the beauty in the present moment, and taking attention away from what is not pleasing.
2. Ease & Relaxation
Travel teaches the value and benefit of taking it easy with life and indulging in relaxation, without the unnecessary stress, struggle, or taking things too seriously. Traveling teaches us that life is supposed to be fun, and that we are at our best when we are easy-going and enjoying ourselves. Traveling is not the time for fussing and fuming about the little details of everyday life as you recognize how puny and unimportant they are in comparison to the benefit of being relaxed and undisturbed by the details.
In relaxation, we are able to make peace with life, let go of unimportant details, not push against anything, and be in a state of calmness, knowing that all is just well. This peaceful and calm state is part of our true essence, just as how the state of appreciation is. Practicing this state or feeling allows for the positive energies of life to flow freely within us and around us, bringing more wonderful circumstances in our lives.
3. Open-Mindedness
With the diversity of cultures, ways of living, experiences, and personalities all over the globe, traveling truly cultivates the value of being open-minded and accepting of the differences in life’s views and preferences of people. Travel teaches the value of looking at diversity in a positive way, as it allows for the expansion of experiences and for new discoveries in varied directions. Being open-minded also promotes lifelong learning and inspires a broader view on things as it opens up possibilities and endless pathways to be more than we already are. It widens our vision, inspires bigger desires, and encourages dreams larger than ourselves.
4. Compassion
Meeting and interacting with different kinds of people who have different views and beliefs from your own allows for the practice of compassion. Understanding where other people are in their respective journeys, recognizing the perfection of where they are and the life they have lived, and respecting the varied opinions and decisions that each one is choosing are all about practicing compassion for other people. This allows you to see the goodness in everyone you meet, regardless of their backgrounds and lifestyle choices, knowing that they’re doing what they think is the best for them from where they are in life.
5. Non-Judgment
When you are able to practice compassion and understand the varying life stories of people all around the planet, you are in a place of cultivating the value of non-judgment. You are letting others be how they are without classifying their ways of living as right or wrong. No nationality or cultural group is inferior or superior to another as you recognize the beauty that is unique to each one of them.
Traveling makes you see and understand that we are all choosing our own paths, our own thoughts, beliefs, perceptions and actions, and you are able to accept how and where others are. You relinquish judgment and criticism, and instead see the freedom of choice that is inherent in everyone in this planet.
6. Playfulness
Travel encourages the value of being playful, carefree, and lighthearted. It allows for our connection to our true nature, our soul, which is pure joy and happiness. When you travel, you develop a childlike wonder as you explore new territories and unseen places. You feel the excitement for new things and positive expectation for more good. The inner child in you comes alive as you let go of rules and responsibilities, and just follow along the positive adventure trail of life.
7. Presence and Joy In The Journey
Traveling teaches the power of being present in the moment, of not being occupied by thoughts of the past or anxieties for the future. It makes you give your full attention to the now, noticing and recognizing the perfection of where you currently stand.
Traveling also lets you realize how happiness is truly found in the journey, and not just in reaching the end destination. Feeling good every step of the way, feeling excited as each day unfolds, savoring the details of every day is where the happiness in traveling comes from, not at the ending destination.
Yout Turn…
Which of these life values resonate with you the most? Share your thoughts in the comment box below! 🙂
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES (Via Amazon):
Destinations of a Lifetime: 225 of the World’s Most Amazing Places (by National Geographic)
Wanderlust: A Traveler’s Guide to the Globe (by Moon Travel)
The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World (by Lonely Planet)