Wanderlust–Exploring Your World and Yourself
I love to travel. I’ve done a good bit of it, but I’d like to travel a lot more. What is it about travel that makes people so excited? It can certainly have its share of headaches and hassles. But when people think about or plan their travels, they’re exuberant. They can’t wait to go, hassles and all. The great thing about being on the road (or in the air, or on the water, or on the rails) is the sense of adventure, of exploring something new or unknown. The same feeling can happen when we stretch our boundaries of our experiences, our outlooks, and our thinking. By exposing ourselves to new experiences and new ideas, we can grow in much the same way that we do when we travel. And growth is part of any meaningful life.
Travel the world or your neighborhood
Traveling is one of the very best ways to grow as a person. When you travel, you constantly learn about cultures, languages, and landscapes but also about yourself. You expand your comfort zone in large and small ways during every moment of your travels. Traveling doesn’t have to be expensive or include pricey restaurants and luxury hotels. Many tools and approaches allow you to travel on a reasonable budget and, very likely, have more genuine experiences. Vagabonding by Rolf Potts is one of my favorite resources for meaningful (and inexpensive) travel.
You also don’t need to go thousands of miles away when you travel. The travel mindset is all about awareness of other cultures and perspectives. You can often find those in your own neighborhood. The next time you go for a walk, pay attention to the details and the nuances of the people and the landscape. It is likely you will discover something new and interesting, and you may meet people you’ve never met before and expand your social skills and circle.
Get out of your comfort zone
When traveling in many places, you don’t have to change your language, your activities, or even your diet. Part of catering to “ugly Americans” or “little Englanders” is creating a home away from home—a place where they can go to see some sights without leaving their comfort zone. This is fine if it’s what you like, but to grow as a person, it’s important to get out of your comfort zone and delve into the unknown. It can be hard to interact with people when you don’t know their languages and customs. That can lead to awkward situations and embarrassment. You may run across people who are impatient with your inability to communicate or insulted by a cultural misstep. But in my experience, as long as you are making an effort and are respectful in your approach, most people will be patient and try to help. Also, the more you engage in these kinds of interactions, the better you’ll be at nonverbal communication. Like anything else, the more you do it, the better you’ll get at it.
Exploring and expanding in place
Of course, you don’t have to travel to explore. Exposing yourself to new ideas, opinions, and perspectives can be as rewarding as any travel experience. A big part of personal growth is mental exploration. This can come from reading, the arts, current events, or meaningful conversation. Any time you contemplate something new and consider a perspective that is different from your previous ones, you grow—even if you don’t agree with or adopt that perspective. Meditation and reflection are also approaches that can help you grow. Because it is easy to be mentally occupied in the modern world, the ability to pause and reflect is becoming a rarity. But it is an important part of getting to know your essential self, the part of you that exists underneath your ego and social persona. The more you can do this, the more in sync you will be with the world around you.
Exploration, whether outward or inward, can be the key to discovery—of the world and of yourself.
