Spending money on expensive clothes, dinners, lunches, and brunches can only give you instant pleasure in the moment. What it can’t do is change your perspective of the world. Those who seek to explore their boundaries and broaden their mindset can find the solution in visiting distant and yet unexplored countries. Travel can change the way you think. It can change your very core. 

Whether you are thinking about booking your first airline ticket or you are a seasoned traveler, here’s why you can always learn something new from visiting new places.

Meet unbelievable people with unbelievable stories

The world we create for ourselves is usually influenced by the same people we spend most of our time with. You might feel comfortable and at peace in their presence, but by meeting new people you can learn so much more about the world and yourself. 

Traveling offers a possibility for you to make connections with people from different cultures, as well as economic and educational backgrounds. Hearing their stories and seeing how they live can give you a completely different perspective on your own life.

There is no book or a story you can read that can replace that feeling when you meet someone who amazes you with their life story and beliefs in person. Only through traveling will you get a chance to see how we are all alike (and how we are different) at the same time.

Count your blessings

When you start saving for your next adventure, you quickly learn how lucky you actually are. One of the best things that traveling will teach you is how grateful you should be in life. Not every country you visit will have a successful economy and many of the world’s people live in oppressive poverty. Seeing how some people live but still keep smiling will make you grateful for every little thing you have.

You’ll meet people who went through tough times and who still maintain a positive outlook on life. These strong and inspiring people will motivate you to be happy and thankful for the life you live and the opportunities you have to see the world. 

Break prejudices and stereotypes

Italians are fashionable. Britain has terrible food. Russians love vodka. Germans are distant. You must have heard at least one of these stereotypes and you probably believe in some of them.

“Give the world a chance to open your eyes about your beliefs and prejudices. You might meet people from various countries in your everyday life, but you can’t create a valid opinion based on a few people,” shares a passionate traveler from Pick the Writer. 

What you do need is to meet these people for yourself, and then form opinions. No one should affect your beliefs but you, but you have to make the effort in order to experience these places for yourself before you form your own ideas.

Start to expect the unexpected

Living a routine life makes people more sensitive. When something unplanned happens, such as missing your morning meeting, it can feel like the end of the world. The negativity, the pressure, and the anxiety instantly come rushing in–a small incident seems catastrophic. 

The life of a traveler will teach you that unexpected incidents are a part of life. They aren’t something you should feel overly stressed about. Why? Because it will all pass and you should keep an open mind to the experiences that might come. 

What is a missed meeting compared to a missed flight? What are the missing keys compared to getting utterly lost in a foreign country? This doesn’t mean bad things will necessarily happen to you while you are traveling. It just means that you’ll start to look at life and what happens in it a little differently.

Create great memories

No one can take away the experiences you gain through travel. That is something that you’ll always have to keep and cherish for the rest of your life.

Whenever you feel down, just remember all those places and people you have seen and met. Remember your backpacking adventures, the obstacles you had to overcome, and distant places that have changed you as a person. You might even want to consider writing them down for your children or grandchildren to discover later.

Become a creator

Traveling inspires creativity. That is a fact. 

Meeting new people, seeing new places, exploring new smells and tastes is bound to evoke some new thoughts and feelings that you want to express through different mediums. Whether it’s art, photography, writing, or more, travel inspires the inner creator in almost everyone.

Make the most of your travels by turning what you have learned into something unique and creative. Paint, draw, photograph, write, or learn a new dance. Expressing yourself through art will help you see the world through different eyes all over again.  

How has travel changed your perspective on life?

Header photo by Fredrik Ohlander.