Lessons on the road: How travel changed my life

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Why do you love to travel? A simple six - word question that anyone could easily give an answer. Yet, it’s one of the most complex open-ended question that you can ask for a person who loves to travel. For me, traveling made me a better person and gave me lessons that cannot be learned by staying at home. From cliff diving to experiencing other cultures, the memories of my every travel will surely be for the books. Let me share with you on how has traveling taught the best lessons that has changed my perception in life.

Lesson # 1:

T - hrowing away your doubts

You feel like you are ardently craving for something different and exciting. However, you're too afraid of the "what - ifs" that will come your way. Travelling is the ideal litmus test one can get for it pushes you to your limits and discover how you can respond when exposed to new places, people and experiences. You will learn that if you don’t step outside of your comfort zone, you will be stagnant. Overcoming challenges will boost your morale and you will realize how capable you are. It works the same way in life. If you want to make big changes and chase big dreams, you will have to constantly test your limits.

Lesson # 2:

R - ealizing how beautiful life can be when viewed upon others' perspective

Traveling opens your mind and let you realize that there’s no formula on how to live a happy life. Conversing people from different status will help you understand that your perspective isn’t the same as everyone else’s. You experience different cultural norms and you gain an appreciation for what other cultures value most, which is different to what is your beliefs. By being exposed to new people and cultures, you’ll develop a wider view of things and appreciate life even more. You will meet and make friends with people who have so little in their life, but are living their life happily. We live in a world full of abundance and often never fully appreciate what we’ve been given. When you’re entangled with your own way of living, it’s easy to lose sight of what you have. Once you travel and be back to your "real life", you’ll feel lucky to live where you do and you’ll see that there is really something to be grateful for everyday.

Lesson # 3:

A- sk for help. It's for free.

Travel changes your perspective on every factor of your life. It teaches you that you are never truly alone. It is very rare for a stranger not to help you if you needed it, especially when it comes to direction or translation. Even with how good our technology gets, there will come a time that those aren't helping us. People needs people. We are bound to help each other. When you travel, you see that no matter how different people are or the way they live, there is inherent goodness in them. It’s the common thread that ties us all together. After all, asking help from others isn't too much too ask, right?

Lesson # 4:

V- aluing memories, experiences, and friendships over ephemeral things

Traveling changes your perspective on how you appreciate eternal things over ephemeral such as friends and experiences. People come back from their trips with a greater appreciation for life and memories. Travelling is full of so many "postcard moments" where each of them are all unique. You tend to spend time with your friends talking about their families, love ones, and work; and that there is a huge difference between Facebook and Instagram friends over the real ones. You will learn to appreciate that these things tends to be more valuable as it can never be taken from you neither bought. You start to see that you are investing in what’s more important to you— seeing places you haven’t been to yet and immersing yourself in new cultures. Travel doesn’t become something you do —it’s a way of life.

Lesson # 5:

E- mpowers you to be a master of your own self

Travel is all about making decisions. From planning your trip to making a last minute changes, you are in complete control of your journey. You become the leader by planning trips and eventually taking solo journeys to truly make every decision for yourself. When you are traveling, every situation can help strengthen problem-solving skills. Missing a flight, or getting lost on a back road with no cell signal can be quite scary. Learning how to deal with those types of situations as they happen forces you to focus on solutions instead of dwelling on problems. This improves the ability to assess situations, which in turn strengthens the quality of decisions.

Lesson # 6

L - ive for the moment.

You only lived once, so make the best out of it. Travel teaches you to be spontaneous, to be the manager of your own time. It teaches you to let go of those baggage and just live like it's your last day. It teaches you to unplug, explore and discover new parts of ourselves. After all, we travel to enjoy and just live for the moment; to feast your eyes with fascinating fireworks, to soak in the cold waters of the sea or to just simply relax and sleep in the comfort of the environment.