When you travel, what do you get from it? Relaxation? The chance to practise your language skills? The thrill of discovering new places and things to do? We’ll take a bet that wherever you go on holiday, you usually return feeling a lot better about yourself and your life than when you went away.
Because travel has an incredible ability to make us happier. Whether it’s a prolonged backpacking trip around the world, a fantastic family holiday, an idyllic honeymoon or just a long weekend in a city near home, just the act of getting away for a while boosts our endorphins. Even when travel is less than perfect – and let’s face it, who hasn’t experienced a missed connection, a hotel that doesn’t resemble the one in the brochure, or heavy rain instead of sunshine – when we look back on it, we tend to remember only the good stuff.
Here’s 7 reasons why travel makes you happy…
-
Travel increases Self-Confidence
When you’re travelling you will often be put into unexpected situations where you are forced to rely on your own knowledge, skills and intuition. That might mean finding an alternative way of getting somewhere when your flight is cancelled, it might mean navigating a city’s complex public transport system by yourself, it might mean getting used to a type of cuisine that is completely alien to you. By learning to trust your own capabilities, you earn confidence in yourself that will then transfer to your daily life back home.
-
Travel is made for Socialising
Socialising while travelling is practically inescapable. You get talking to the person in the next seat on the plane, you share a dorm room in a hostel with fellow adventurers, you pass the time with locals. Travel forces you into the company of people from all walks of life, from different countries. A brief chat with a stranger can make your day, a chance encounter can lead to a friendship for life.
-
Travel gives you plenty of Me-Time
When you step outside of your normal, often stressful, day-to-day routine, put on your out-of-office and switch off your smartphone for a while, you can focus on what’s really important to you. The great thing about travel is that you can shape it to meet your needs. So if you feel you need to de-stress, you can take a holiday full of yoga retreats, healthy eating and meditation. If you feel like your life needs a little excitement, you can fill your trip with adventurous activities to push your boundaries. You can make it as much about you as you want.
-
Travel is all about Anticipation and Memories
When you book a holiday, it might be months until you actually depart, but if it’s a trip you’ve been planning for a long time then those months will zip by. The anticipation of travel, and the memories associated with it afterwards, can often be just as pleasant as the trip itself. It’s the same principle as behind our own worldwide activity gift vouchers – the thought of an upcoming experience provides far more satisfaction than a material item. It’s why Tinggly is such a great gift idea for friends who love to travel.
-
Travel broadens the mind
When we travel to far-flung places, we quickly realise that people the world over tend to share the same hopes and dreams as us. What might seem foreign at first becomes recognisable. We develop new knowledge about destinations and activities too, but we can also discover a great deal about ourselves, and how to know ourselves better. Travel leads to self-actualization, which is at the very pinnacle of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
-
Travel makes the heart grow fonder
There’s a lot of truth behind the saying that goes “absence makes the heart grows fonder”. When you’ve been away from home for a while, it lets you get things into perspective and really appreciate what you’ve got all the more. You realise what’s so great about your hometown, your family and friends, your job (maybe) and before you know it, you’re looking forward to the trip being over and returning.
-
Travel lets you make a positive difference
One thing we really love about travel is that it offers an opportunity to help make the world a better place. Voluntourism has seen amazing growth in recent years, but you don’t need to sign up to an organised program to make a difference. It could be something as simple as aiming for meaningful travel experience that allow you to connect with locals, avoiding chain restaurants and all-inclusive resorts, getting around on foot or by public transport, or carrying a bag with you to collect some plastic litter from the beach.