*books next trip immediately *
Nothing quite beats the experience of seeing a place for the first time or returning to a favorite one. People of all ages, from all around the world, go to foreign places for different reasons; to get away from the mundane routine of life for a little while, to
It’s no news that travel is good for your physical wellbeing, but it does wonders for your mental health too.
- It helps you become more creative and allows you to look at things with a different perspective
Being on a vacation for a substantial amount of time opens your mind and gives you exposure to different stimuli, all of which increase your cognitive flexibility. And the more cognitively flexible you are, the more creative you will be.
- It helps manage stress and negative emotions.
Plane rides, walking through the streets of a new city or somewhere in the suburbs, all of these activities relax you, help you find personal time without any of the back-home obligations. It also makes us more grateful and humble in life, I mean, how could you not be in awe of the world when you’re standing in front of the Niagara Falls in Canada?
- Taking a trip makes you happier.
And it’s not just because you don’t have to study/work and can have ice cream for breakfast. When you think about an experience (such as a vacation) before it happens, it makes you happier than if you’re waiting for something tactile, such as a new t-shirt. Think about it, if you were stuck waiting in a line, wouldn’t you be happier if that was a line for a concert than for grocery shopping?
- It makes you more patient and helps you better control your life.
Planning for a trip may seem daunting at first but it has its benefits. Overcoming challenges outside your comfort zone helps you build resilience, gain confidence and better-coping skills. Also remember that never ending line for security check, the way you had to walk through practically the whole airport just to get a better Wi-Fi signal? All of it helps build your character and makes you more patient in the long run.
- It helps you build and strengthens relationships.
It is much easier to approach strangers in a new environment, mainly because there are so many things to talk about. Be it with locals or in a tour group, engaging with other people can lead to meaningful friendships. And if you’re traveling with people, it can help strengthen the bond you already have. Research has proved that experiencing anything with a person
- You fall back in love with life and become more grateful
You know how you seem to want to do everything on a trip, even though some of them may be outside your comfort zone? That’s what traveling does, it pushes you to be adventurous, to live life to the fullest, to make the most of this precious gift and use the time they have to discover new things, and meet new people. This is similar to what people experience when reading a fictional story. They get to become whoever they are reading about, just like when traveling, they get to become the citizens of the country they are visiting, even if it is only for a short time.
If this doesn’t validate your can’t-afford-but-bought-anyway tickets, then what does?
By Ishita Sharma
Feature image courtesy of Unsplash