Rethink Travelling is the First Step to Create Your International Life
[London skyline before a storm - Taken on top of Stratford One building, 2013]
“ The limit is not the sky. The limit is the mind. “
~ commonly attributed to Wim Hof (The Iceman)
The world is a limitless globe of opportunities and we could travel to almost anywhere to explore infinite new experiences. But for most people, at the back of their minds, they already believe they are meant to stay in a foreign land for only a limited time. They believe every trip has an “expiry date” before moving back to our homeland.
That mindset bound their sight to an enclosed circle of opportunities. That perception keeps they in the comfort zone.
When we believe we can’t do something, we will never be able to do it because subconsciously we have already given up before we even begin. That’s just how our minds work.
You see, many of us were taught to chase the same societal life that comprises a happy family, career success, money and so on. While there is nothing wrong with wanting these, unconsciously we forego the better life we could potentially have by following a path that is not similar to everyone else's.
To break these patterns is where conscious travelling comes in. Not the kind of travelling we have known all our lives, but the kind that opens our horizons to a realm of possibilities we never knew existed.
It’s time to rethink it all!
The next time you plan a trip to another country, don’t just pick a place that looks great for you to unwind, or to escape your mundane life. Try this:
See your next trip as a chance for you to learn and grow personally
Write down your inspirations or the things that drive you to travel
Understand how they contribute to satisfying your inner goals
Then set out on a journey to fulfill them. You will begin to see how one thing leads to another, adding diversity to your travel inspirations and expanding the list of opportunities you could avail.
Let me give you some quick examples too:
If you’re inspired to use technology to change the world, perhaps an internship in Silicon Valley would help you with your startup?
If you’re inspired to be the best Italian chef in your city, perhaps a working holiday in Italy would equip you with the skills you need?
If you’re inspired by education or working with kids, perhaps teaching English in Asia would offer you an opportunity to explore a new continent?
(Need more inspiration? You can also read my full travel & transformation story here.)
There is never right or wrong when it comes to travelling—only an open mind.
In my book, Travel to Transform, I also introduced this very subtle, yet significant concept called “travel-spiration”. (Yes, for lack of a better word, I created the word myself to best encapsulate this concept. It refers to our inspiration to keep travelling.)
Travel-spiration determines the extent of our inner desire (or intention) to go outside our comfort zone. It’s a powerful tool to help consciously incorporate travel into a person’s lifestyle.
Embracing this different perspective when travelling again, one can end up creating an endless loop of travel-spiration–your inspirations fuel your travel, your travel fuels your inspirations!
Even better, when that happens to you–you are essentially on the ultimate fast-track of personal growth! How? Here are some of the advantages of rethinking travelling that can contribute to your personal mastery:
Helps understand yourself better.
When you get the chance to travel and experience life outside the usual expectations, you always feel different when you return home. Travelling alone is extremely beneficial for this sort of transformational growth (that is–to go beyond your current formation).
The people and institutions with whom we interact locally, as well as their expectations of how we should think, dress, behave–shapes who we are. They form the systems of living for us and over time, they become our model of “reality”.
So, taking a break from the norms can help rediscover yourself in a different light than the one you are used to. It allows you to cultivate a new sense of self-awareness.
Boost self-confidence.
Travel is no piece of cake; it tests us in ways we may not be used to being tested by bringing us out of our comfort zones. It could be terrifying to miss a flight, get lost in a strange city, or not able to speak the local language to communicate. Regardless, you can always make things right by using your street smarts and intuition. When you rise above the challenges, it increases your self-assurance and belief in your abilities, boosting your self-confidence.
Increase your capacity for empathy.
Living in the same area all our life narrows our perspective of how the world actually is.
But you can expand your worldview when extricating yourself from the landscapes of your own culture. It is eye-opening to witness how others live and function with entirely different functions from yours. It also reveals despite people’s differences on the exterior, we are all really the same on the inside. Hearing the experiences of people from different cultures is often inspiring, and this personal connection makes you more empathetic and comprehensive, which is one of the keys of becoming more emotional intelligence in this modern world.
A great source of creativity, plus stretching your mind!
High school Biology 101: we learned the human brain stops developing around the age of 25. We now know that’s far from the truth! Instead, science has discovered “neuroplasticity,” also referred to as “brain plasticity,” which shows that every time we learn something new, our brain makes a new synaptic connection.
The minds capacity to switch between several ideas is a crucial element of creativity. Travelling exposes you to new sights, flavors, scents, languages, feelings, experiences, and noises that all stimulate various neurotransmitters in your brain, rewiring it and forming new connections. You grow more inventive the farther away from home you are!
Ultimately, the key is intentionally incorporating travel into your lifestyle in whatever way that works for you. Prior to seeking what the outside world may provide, we have to be clear about what we are searching for within. Let's approach travel in a reimagined way, shall we?
While you’re already on the journey to breaking free from these mental boundaries and cultural conditioning, also check out this blog on What is Global Citizenship and How Can It Change Your Life to find out how to expand your horizons even further, as a global citizen!
Note: the quote above has several attributions on the internet. Most popular are Wim Hof and Marilyn Monroe. I used it because it shares the message and I wanted to give credit as best I could.