What comes first to mind when you say the word “journey”? Buying profitable plane tickets? Unforgettable Instagram sunsets? Mountain crossings with heavy backpacks? Any journey can be wonderful, exciting and adventurous and much more than just sip Margarita on the sun-drenched beach.
It is not a surprise that traveling is good for physical fitness, but according to psychological researches, exploring new places is very beneficial for mental and emotional health too.
In other words, traveling makes us happier!
And here are nine reasons why:
1. We become more confident in ourselves
A business trip to New York, a family holiday in Morocco, or a decision to quit (and sell) everything and live for months on wheels – when we set off on a long journey, we leave our comfort zone. Plunging into another culture and lifestyle, we learn to solve problems getting in an unfamiliar situations, which makes us more flexible, patient, and emotionally strong, as a result, we increase our self-esteem.
2. We make new friends
It’s much easier to make new friends on a journey than follow the usual work-home route daily. Your airplane neighbor on the way to London may become your husband, a fellow traveler on an excursion tour to McChu Picchu may become your future employer, and the sweet girl, with whom you shared a couple of cocktails at a Chicago bar, can become your lifelong friend. All of these are real stories that can happen to you.
3. We get positive emotions
Sincere friendliness does not depend on the level of well-being and easily evokes mutual feeling. Looking at the broad smiles on the faces of residents of Laotian or Filipino villages, it is impossible not to smile back. Well, if this habit becomes a faithful companion then the world deserves the spread of a positive epidemic.
4. We start to appreciate those, with whom we are apart
Leaving familiar surroundings and our close people for a long time or not we learn to appreciate them even much more. No one will listen to your stories about adventures to distant countries with such attention as friends and relatives. Moreover, an amazing moment of meeting after long separation always gives special emotions.
5. We learn something new
Regardless of what we do on the journey, it fills our life with experience and knowledge. It can be Taiwanese cooking classes, Spanish lessons in Colombia, diving in the Maldives or yoga in Goa. The brains work more actively, adrenaline rages in the blood, every day makes us happier. According to psychologists, this is a natural process when we learn what we find pleasant.
6. We take a break from social networks addiction
Not everyone takes advantage of this chance, but, nevertheless, there are still amazingly beautiful places on the planet without Wi-Fi and mobile communications. Traveling without access to the network is good because it allows you to enjoy the moment “here and now”, forgetting about annoying messages and distracting likes in social networks. Just try it yourself! It helps listen to your true feelings and desires.
7. We Enjoy the time for OURSELVES
Although this item is related to the previous one, it is not necessary to disconnect from communication in order to restore inner harmony. Traveling gives you the opportunity to restore balance, to relieve stress, to feed on the energy of the sun, to find time to be alone with yourself and your thoughts – even if it is a large company tour. For lovers it is a good chance to test their relationships for strength or a real “tale of wandering”, full of romance and discoveries.
8. We get impressions for the whole life
From travelings we always bring a lot of impressions that remain forever – in our memory, in our posts in social networks, in videos and in numerous photos.
9. We elevate our mood with memories
Most of traveling enthusiasts continuously plan their next trips, but even they gladly recall the pleasant moments already accomplished trips. Actually, such thoughts call you back to the road again in search for new impressions.
We hope that everyone wants to be happy. So, as you see, it’s quite easy to do this. All you need is an interesting destination, just two (or more) tickets, a suitcase and a good travel mate with whom you will share all that joy of traveling. And remember our world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page!
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