7 Important Life Lessons You Learn While Travelling

Travelling is not just a fun activity, it is also an excellent teacher that teaches you many important life lessons that you may not learn otherwise. Travelling helps you get out of your comfort zone and pushes you into doing things that you thought were not possible. It reveals to you a world of new cultures, gives you the opportunity to meet and interact with new people, and get a new worldview. Also, travel helps you develop important virtues like humility and patience.  

With Teachers’ day just around the corner, which is celebrated on 5th September every year, let us look at some of the best lessons that travelling teaches you. 

Life Lessons That Travelling Teaches You 

1.     Experiences matter more than material things
2.     Be more willing to try new things
3.     Appreciate and respect the cultural diversity 
4.     Patience is the key
5.     Respect nature 
6.     Real joy lies in little things of life
7.     Learning must never stop 

Experiences matter more than things 

Perhaps one of the best lessons travelling teaches you is that we don’t need anything fancy to be happy. Happiness is not just about the possessions or the material things/comfort you have. According to a study published in a psychological science journal, adults of different age groups from all over the world corroborated that new and unique experiences give long lasting happiness than possessions.  

So, when you travel, it is not about what car you are driving, the latest phone you are using or the clothes you are wearing, that matters. Rather, the strong bonds you form with the people, the skills you learn, will give you lasting memories.  

Be more willing to try new things 

They say, ‘No Guts, No Glory.’ To flourish in life you must get out of your comfort zone, and try new things even if you feel the fear. Afterall it is worth the try, right? If you always stick to the same old routine, you will never be really able to expand your horizons.  

When you travel, you leave the familiar behind, and venture into the unknown. The more travel experience you get, the more you learn about new places, things, people, food, languages, etc. And, when you look back at all your travel adventures, you may realise it was the most rewarding thing you ever did. 

Appreciate and respect the cultural diversity 

One of the most enriching things about travelling is that with each new destination, you experience cultural diversity. You get to know about the local culture, history, language, cuisine, customs, traditions, etc. As you get more of these experiences, you automatically learn to appreciate and respect the different cultures, and how it plays an important part in making the people, place unique and special as it is.  

Patience is the key 

Your teachers in school may have thought patience is a virtue. Travelling helps you understand its true meaning. It helps you understand, it is futile to sweat over the trivial stuff, and it does more harm than good. Whether it is waiting in long queues at the airport or facing difficulty communicating in a foreign country, you are likely to face many obstacles and small frustrations along the way.  

But, these little obstacles teach you one important thing – be patient. Once you master the art of patience, you will be able to deal with anything and everything life throws at you and remain calm.  

Respect nature 

Many professional travellers worldwide have corroborated that the great lesson about travelling they have had is to respect mother nature and the many mysteries it unfolds. They say, travelling has made them more aware and conscious about how fragile our planet is and that it is paramount the natural resources, and other natural gifts we have.  

If you don’t respect nature, the disappearing forests, the dying coral reefs, melting glaciers will create an imbalance, leading to massive catastrophe. So, when you travel, you learn to appreciate every sip of water, and every bite of food you get. 

Real joy lies in little things 

In your daily busy life, you may often forget to appreciate the little things. However, when you travel, you may have the leisure of time to reflect on your life and experiences. You may realise the importance of the little things around you and how you have been taking for granted. Like your friendship with your neighbour, relationship with your parents, not spending enough time with your kids. Travel makes you appreciate these little things and find joy in them.  

Learning must never travelling 

Just because you have passed your university exam, doesn’t mean you stop learning. Every time you travel, it helps you discover the fact that there is so much to explore, learn, etc. Each time you go to a new restaurant or try a new cuisine, you may feel excited and eager at the same time to know more about that cuisine or try new things. So, every trip is a new lesson learnt, and it teaches you to never stop learning.  

As the Teachers’ day celebrations draw closer, you may teach your child, friend, colleague, the importance of travelling, and how it helps you learn many life lessons. A Chinese proverb says, ‘don’t listen to what they say, go see.’ So, the world is your oyster, go see and enjoy it yourself.