To travel is to Learn & Live

“A?journey of a?thousand miles begins with a single step” – Lao Tzu

I absolutely love to travel! After travelling to 18 countries and exploring beautiful places in India, I can definitely say ‘Travelling and Exploring’ is very close to my heart and is something I encourage my kids to learn and take up as they grow up!

One thing I know for sure is Travelling has changed me for better as a person! Surrounding myself with different cultures and different people has given me different outlook and perspectives in life. That is one of the greatest things about travelling, apart from tasting the different cuisines of course while travelling, I feel I have always been on constant learning curve as I ventured out of my comfort zone. Travelling will be one of the best things I have ever done for myself. That’s because travelling has not only broadened my mind but has also expanded my worldly wisdom.

Here are a few must-know important benefits of traveling:

1.?????Travelling makes one happier

2.?????Travelling lets you disconnect and refresh

3.?????Traveling relieves stress and anxiety

4.?????Travel exposes one to new things and new learnings

5.?????Traveling can boost our creativity

Let me share a few important lessons that I have learnt from travelling. Travelling has helped me to evolve as a person and do better at the work front especially after those short and long breaks:

1.?????To leave my comfort zone behind

If you always stay at home and simply flit between work and home, you are not really leaving your comfort zone. You have found a comfortable routine in your life where?your heart doesn’t need to skip a beat all that often. Travelling brings about the opposite effect. You have no choice but to leave your comfort zone?whether you like it or not, because you are in a new place with a new culture and things are different. You are leaving behind friends, familiar foods, and often a familiar language. Entering a new territory, however, is exhilarating. There is no better feeling than expanding your horizons and coming home with endless stories.

2.?????To appreciate different cultures

The best thing about travelling is to experience new cultures. We all learned about cultures back at school, but it’s not the same. Experiencing a culture and living in it for a few days is totally worth an experience. From visiting museums, admiring landmarks to eating out in a local restaurant, you are exposing yourself to people and lifestyles that are usually totally different to what you find back home.

3.?????To be patient

Travelling teaches not to sweat the small stuff. Whether facing long lines at the airport or having trouble communicating in a foreign language, one likely encounters many small frustrations on the journey. These little obstacles are a valuable lesson to teach patience!

4.?????To make new friends

When you are learning through travel, you open yourself up to a world of human interaction. Whether you are meeting fellow travelers on the road or swapping stories over a glass of wine with a local, you will find plenty of people are open to chatting. Strike up a conversation, and you might just make a new friend!

5.?????To be spontaneous

We may be rigid planners back home but travelling teaches how to go with the flow. Our travel journey won’t always go according to the plan and when obstacles arise, one must embrace our impulsive side. Sometimes it’s better to let go of the schedule and take a spontaneous adventure. You never know what you may find, and that’s the beauty of it!

6.?????To think outside the box

When you travel, there will always be bumps in the road. Anything can happen, from getting lost or getting sick, to dealing with lost luggage or flight delays. You will often need to deal with problems without getting completely stressed out. Travel teaches you how to think creatively and adapt to all sorts of situations.

In hindsight if I think about my past travelling and explorations, I can surely say following are a few career skills that travelling has taught me:

·???????Time management

·???????Communication skills

·???????Visualization and planning

·???????Stress management

·???????Teamwork

·???????Adaptability

After all the travel breaks refresh and re-energizes me to come back to work with full of enthusiasm. Solo traveling or in group or with families help you to imbibe different skills and make you a better person over the period.

Good to see that long time wait due to pandemic is over and happy travel days are back. Keep traveling and keep learning from your experiences!