I asked some of my favourite bloggers, vloggers, writers and entrepreneurs to share the benefits of travel they have experienced. The results were both inspiring and made me want to pack my bags!
Travel continues to blow my mind with the effect it can have on peoples lives. I loved all the responses, keep an eye out for responses from Chris Richardson from The Aussie Nomad, and Robyn Eckhardt & David Hagerman from Eating Asia.
1. Courage. Probably the most important way that travel has impacted my life is that it’s brought me courage.
I’m a worrier by nature, even when things are going well. Through travel, though, I learned that things will usually be okay—and even when they won’t, I can regroup and keep making progress another way. I’ve learned as much from the mistakes and misadventures as I have from the times that everything went as planned. I can’t imagine what I’d be doing if I hadn’t pursued life outside my doors and beyond my comfort zone.
Chris Guillebeau, The Art Of Non-Conformity
2. Made me appreciate all the eccentricities and joyful quirks of my home country.
Abigail King, Inside The Travel Lab
3. Travel has benefited our lives by widening our network of like-minded peoples.
Thanks to our travels — both on assignment, for research for our book, and for our blog — we count among our friends a cheese maker and a fishmonger in Turkey, a medical researcher in Chiang Mai, a Taiwanese chef currently working on Hainan Island, in China and an artist in Penang. The more we travel, the smaller the world becomes for us, and the more sure we are that no matter where one goes one can find someone of a like mind to connect with.
Robyn Eckhardt & David Hagerman, Eating Asia
4. Travel has taught me many lessons over the years. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that I value material possessions far less than in the past.
With nothing but a backpack and day-pack, I’ve learned that I need very little in terms of possessions to keep me satisfied and happy. In fact, whenever I’m able to dump or donate things I no longer am using – on a day to day basis – I feel a sense of relief. Instead of hoarding I like to only keep with me what I absolutely need. I believe in the future when I settle down I’ll be more apt to living in a smaller apartment and filling it with less stuff. It’s been a massive change for me because I used to be an avid collector of sports cards, magazines and comic books as a child. Now I try to collect as many experiences on the road as I possibly can.
Samuel Jeffery, Nomadic Samuel
5. One very personal way in which travel has improved my life:
Even though I’m American, my family is very international. My mother emigrated from Italy just a few months before I was born (my dad still lives in central Europe). My grandparents spoke no English, so I grew up bilingually. After traveling to their home countries, I’ve found that I understand my loved ones a lot better. It’s provided some great insight into who they are (and, in turn, who I am).
Geraldine DeRuiter, The Everywhereist
6. I can think of so many ways travel has benefited my life, but if I had to narrow it down to one I’d have to say it has had the effect of keeping me mindful and in the present moment.
When I travel, I’m constantly seeing and experiencing new places and things, so my senses are totally engaged. And when I’m concentrating on what I’m seeing, tasting, feeling, hearing, and smelling, it is quite impossible to stress over the past or worry about the future, which is mostly a waste of time anyway.
Barbara Weibel, Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel
7. Travel has allowed me the freedom to be me.
My travel experiences forced me to stop running from myself and discover who I really was. I learned not to be afraid of me and discovered there were a lot of good things I could contribute to the world. That, in turn helped me to be less fearful of others. All of this helped me to embrace life and live it to its fullest.
Caz Makepeace, Y Travel Blog
8. Travel has certainly benefited my life in more than one way. It’s part of who I am, and how I think. But if I had to pick the most important contribution, it would be that it has taught me the true meaning of what it means to come home.
How home should be a place that is always great to come back to, and that more than a place it is a state of mind that is constantly evolving. Every time I travel, I come back with more assertions of what I want to include in my daily life, and what I don’t. And that makes home become that much richer.
Sonia Gil, Sonia’s Travels
9. Traveling permanently for the last five years has improved my life in a number of ways, but I think the simplest of those is that I now have a more full understanding that people everywhere are pretty much all alike in the end.
Everyone wants to have a job they love; they want to be able to provide for their families and have their children better off then they were; they want safety and security in the area that they live; they want to have some entertainment in their life that makes them happy; and they want to connect with people around them. There are superficial differences everywhere you go, from the religions people believe in, to the music they listen to, to the food they eat, or obviously to the languages they speak, but when it comes down to the basics in life, almost all of us are looking for roughly the same things. It is reassuring to know that we are much more alike all over this vast planet than we are different.
Michael Hodson, Go See Write
10. Travel has benefited me in so many ways. Most importantly, it has empowered me to listen to and follow my heart, even when circumstances dictate otherwise.
Keith Jenkins, Velvet Escape
11. Travel has completely changed the way we approach our lives. Experiencing the world has given us perspective on what is truly important in life.
It has taught us that we can pursue whatever lifestyle we want and that happiness is achieved by acquiring experiences, not material items.
Nicole and Cameron Wears, Traveling Canucks
12. Traveling has made me more aware and gave me a new perspective on life.
Growing up in a small town and community, I would hear about other places and countries but never fully understood the extent of what they were like since I was mostly influenced by the news and social media. I’d believe what I read on the Internet, magazines and newspapers or see in the movies. Once I actually traveled to a particular country, learned about their culture and customs, my view changed completely and I became more open minded. It’s easy to just believe everything you hear on TV and brush it off but once you are physically there, you learn that things aren’t always one sided and there are so many perspectives on life. What may seem weird or strange to us may be completely normal in another culture and it’s fascinating to see it from a different side. Traveling has shown me a new window to life and that there’s so much we still don’t know yet about the world. I love being able to experience new things first hand and traveling has given me many opportunities to do so!
Samantha and Yeison, My Tan Feet
13. Taking off to travel solo was without a doubt the best thing I’ve done for my own well being.
It forced a shy and quiet guy to come out of his shell and interact with the world. Situations that once scared me or made me shy away are now embraced. I’m a 200% happier person due to having taken off to backpack around Europe and can’t recommend it enough for others looking to grow as a person. Travel should be a compulsory step between school and working, because if you can survive in countries where you don’t speak the language, everyday work life should be a breeze.
Chris Richardson, The Aussie Nomad
What are the benefits of travel for you? Did you resonate with any of the benefits mentioned above?
We would love to hear what you have to say, leave a comment below…
Such great responses. There are so many great benefits to travel, its lovely to have the reminders through posts like these. Thanks for including us!
Hi Caz,
Thanks so much, so happy you were a part of it! Excited about your latest email announcement… congrats!
Fantastic group of bloggers !
There are definitely alot of wisdom from very experienced travellers !
Thanks so much for sharing
Thanks Sam,
It was lot’s of fun to put together and so interesting to read about everyone’s experiences!
Nice collection! Great to see what people had to say, thanks for including us :)
Hi Samantha,
Thanks so much! We were so happy you guys could be a part of it :)
I loved reading all of the responses – definitely some nuggets of wisdom being shared from experienced travelers. Thanks for asking me to participate!
Thanks Sam!
I loved hearing what everyone had to say too.
I love the way travel can open your eyes, and I think travel bloggers are a great source of inspiration!
Great group of bloggers and friends. Proud to have been asked to contribute. Thanks!
Thanks so much Michael!
I’m very grateful to have such fantastic bloggers and people contribute :)
A lot of good statements there. Thanks for letting me be apart of it.
Hi Chris!
Anytime! Thanks so much for being a part of it.
It means a lot and provides a great insight into the benefits of travel :)