ways that travel makes you a better person, part 1
In life, there are always a few things that you hope that you teach your kids. Being a better person is one of them. I have learned that traveling the world helps to reinforce those things. Sometimes adults need reminders of these lessons that our parents tried to teach us growing up. But, adulting and life tends to get in the way, and we forget some of these important lessons. So travel and see the world so that you can remember how to be a better person and say thank you to your parents.
Parts of this article are from oyster.com.
It teaches you patience and to take things in stride.
Patience is a virtue that, unfortunately, not everyone is born with, my husband and daughter included. But it can be learned -- and let me tell you, travel is one hell of a teacher. Hiccups in your well-prepped travel plans or not being able to understand the language of your destination can truly test your patience. Many times while traveling you don't have the option to walk away, to avoid the 17-hour layover, or book online. Every hiccup, every long line, every miscommunication that you run into while traveling is a lesson in patience. This teaches you to be a better person by taking things in stride when things get frazzled both at home and abroad.
It teaches you tolerance.
Piggybacking on both patience and self-awareness, tolerance is another virtue picked up while traveling. Tolerance also has us become a more patient and more self-aware human. Once people are removed from what they know and become the visitor, the outsider, and the non-native speaker, it changes their perspective of others. Travel also pushes people to be more tolerant with their loved ones as nothing tests a relationship like traveling together.
One of the best gifts that travel can give a person is the gift of being in the present. Sure, it sounds easy, but living in the present can be pretty hard on a day-to-day basis when we've got deadlines and shoulda-woulda-couldas hanging over our heads. People don't tend to go on vacation and cling to the last thing they did or speed through what's happening in anticipation of an activity that's yet to come.In other words, when traveling, we take time to fully enjoy each stage of our vacation. Travel offers a mental escape from daily pressures and responsibilities, and allows us to operate in the present, to experience things as they are happening, enjoy them, and then move forward with excitement about what's next. This allows us to be happier with less stress. In the long run makes us a better person. Especially if we can bring the practice home.
It teaches responsibility.
If you ever want to teach someone about responsibility, send them on a trip. Travel teaches people to be responsible in the sense that you must get to where you need to be on time, you must bring the necessary things with you, and you must follow the laws of where you are going. This is one of the reasons we love to travel with our kids. It teaches them to stay on budget and to be on time for events or activities they want to participate in.Travel also teaches people about their responsibility to the world and to each other. When you visit a beautiful beach that's littered with trash, you're more likely (we hope) to avoid littering, to teach your kids about littering, to recycle, or maybe even to volunteer for beach cleanup back home. This really hit home for our daughter as she became more aware of the dangers to sea turtles and the coral reefs. The more we see of the world, the more ways we should be able to see how we fit into this world and our impact on it. Our family is taking small steps at being better people by limiting our use of single-use plastics.
It encourages you to try new things.
We've already talked about how travel can challenge you, pique your curiosity, and help build confidence. This combination also encourages you to try new things, both at home and while on the road. People who travel know that trying something new is exciting, and we wouldn't be surprised if the curiosity and confidence from challenging yourself on vacation continued long after you returned home. We usually do this on our trips where we pick something that is adventurous and new for everyone. We love to push the boundaries for our kids and for ourselves. I will never forget the time in Las Vegas where Terry and I went on the roller coater off the top of the Stratosphere Hotel. Or, the time when our daughter convinced us to do the longest zip line over water in Labadee, Haiti. Traveling encourages us to broaden our world and grow as a person.It's these lessons that help to make us better people and in a way, make the world a little better for everyone.
click here for more insights on how travel makes you better.
