Traveling is a constant learning process. Nobody is born with an inherent ability to manage logistics, stick to a budget, or navigate unfamiliar countries.
At the same time, traveling also exposes you to some of life’s greatest lessons.
When I think back to my travel experiences, I often attribute these lessons to the diverse people that I met along the way. It could be the budget traveler from Sweden or the adventure lover from Australia, the hippie from Russia or the musician from Germany.
No matter who they are or where they came from, they all influenced my life in some way.
In this article we’re going to look at 5 impactful lessons that I learned while traveling.
1. The World Is Not As Dangerous As You Think
Let me be clear about something. American news sensationalizes violence in many countries.
If you’re wondering why, just think about the type of articles that you’re most likely to read. Are you going to click on an article that says “Tourists generally untouched by cartel violence in Mexico” or one that says “Murder rate in Mexico surges to record highs”?
Probably the latter!
Now I’m not saying that Mexico doesn’t have a problem with violent crime. It does. What I’m saying, however, is that Mexico is a huge country and not every city and not every state is dangerous.
It’s easy to be scared of traveling. It’s easy to think that bad people are plotting bad things against you because you’re a foreigner.
In reality, even countries such as Mexico are perfectly safe if you avoid specific areas and use common sense daily.
This is what experienced travelers know. It’s all a balancing act.
Be cautious but don’t be unnecessarily paranoid.
2. You Can Do Anything You Want At Any Time
Get good grades, land a high paying job, buy a nice home, we’ve all heard it.
If you want that stuff, good for you. However, don’t ever let anyone tell you that that’s what you want.
Throughout life it’s incredibly easy to be influenced by other people’s goals, dreams, wishes, etc.
We’re constantly comparing ourselves and being compared to other people. This is an unfortunate aspect of society as variations in lifestyle can cause friction with those around us.
Maybe you want to be a ballerina, maybe you want to be a hand model, or maybe you want to be a long-haired nomadic traveler who doesn’t conform to capitalism! Ok that last one might just be a description of me.
The point is that other people shouldn’t decide these things for you, society shouldn’t decide for you.
Aside from practical limitations like money or health, you can do anything you want.
When I meet other travelers, they’re just bumming around a country and they’re as happy as can be!
Why are they so happy? You might ask.
It’s because they know that they have total control of their lives and they’ll never let anyone take that from them.
3. Money Buys You More Experiences
Ah yes, money. If you don’t have it, you need some. If you do have it, you need more.
Although I like money just as much as anybody else, I’ve come to look at it as a way of buying more travel, more adventures, more experiences.
Let me elaborate.
Have you ever seen those studies that say people are happier when they spend money on experiences instead of physical items? Well it’s no joke.
So many people are looking for the new electronics, the fancy clothing, or the luxurious car that’ll make others jealous of their perceived success. However, these things don’t make you happy in the long run!
Now I’m not saying that you shouldn’t ever spend money on material items. I’m saying that you should divert a higher percentage of your disposable income towards travel and memorable experiences.
When you’re old and fragile, are you going to remember the clothing that you wore or the adventures that you had with friends and family?
Exactly.
4. There Are Kind People All Across The World Waiting To Meet You
This one may be the hardest to imagine but I can assure you that it’s true.
Regardless of where you go, there will always be nice people who would love to meet you and become your friend. It doesn’t matter how old you are or what your gender is.
You’ll meet a ton of genuine friends when you travel and actually open yourself up to new people. It’s kind of like one of those “build it and they will come” type things.
This plays back into my first point about the world not being as dangerous as you think. Well it’s also much kinder than you think!
Remember those groups that were too cool to associate with you in high school? They don’t exist when you’re traveling.
The person who would be annoyed if you walked up and introduced yourself? Doesn’t exist.
My point is that if you adopt this mindset you’ll see incredible results.
Take me for example. I’m not really an introvert or an extrovert, just somewhere in the middle. Even though I’m far from being the most social person in every room, I was still able to meet so many awesome people while I was traveling.
I really can’t stress enough how easy it is to form friendships with other people while you’re traveling! Just strike up a simple conversation and see for yourself.
5. You Have To Live In The Moment
It’s crazy how fast an individual experience can pass you by. In fact, it’s crazy how fast life as a whole can pass you by (says a 25 year old)!
Living in the moment is hard. It’s easy to live in the past or to worry about the future.
However, eventually you’ll realize that you can’t stop time and you can’t predict the future. The only thing you can do is appreciate everything around you right now.
This is especially true while you’re traveling. Each experience and each friendship that starts on the road is painfully temporary.
Hopefully you’ll remember the experience for the rest of your life and keep in contact with those friends but the actual moment only happens once. No matter how hard you try, you never really get that back.
For example, I’ll probably never go to a nightclub in Guatemala City with two locals and a Swede ever again. Or will I?
I often reminisce about all of the cool people that I met on the road and how much I enjoyed their company. Then I tend to think about how brief our time together was; sometimes I only knew them for a day or two before one of us moved on to a different location.
It’s sad to say goodbye to genuine friends no matter what the circumstances are. All you can do is try to live in the moment and hope that life won’t pass you by.
Great words and sooooo much truth in it. Fully agree with you in all points. Travelling teaches you a lot and shows you what you are able to archive. I’m writing on something similar as travelling turned me around completely. It just gives so much back.
I couldn’t agree with you more and I’m looking forward to seeing your piece once it’s published!
Great article and all is so true and spot on! I agree with the friendship I’m having a hard time saying goodbyes to our friends we made. As we tend to move every year… It wasn’t easy being in elementary year’s but as I get older I realized that everything we experienced is training.
You’re a great writer and wise beyond your age! Happy travels!
I appreciate your thoughtful comment April! Happy travels to you as well!
I absolutely love this post, it’s so true. I went solo travelling to South America as a 22 year old and so many people told me something awful would happen and I was so vulnerable. But you’re absolutely right the world isn’t always a dangerous place unless you’re unlucky or you put yourself in a sketchy situation. The people I met and the wonderful experiences I had totally outweighed anything else.
Thank you so much for the comment Hannah! It’s great to know that we’re on the same page about this stuff! People are so paranoid about solo traveling or just traveling in general and it’s really very safe in most countries as long as you don’t make yourself a target.
Great article. Lessons learned from traveling are priceless! I have to keep reminding myself of the first one – the world is not as dangerous as you think. The media runs with the extreme stories. I have to think of our experiences so far which have been wonderful! Thanks for the reminders to keep traveling and exploring!
You’re very welcome Jamie, thanks for leaving a thoughtful comment!
These are wonderful lessons to live by! Especially the lesson you have learned about being able to do anything, at any time! This rings so true with me as I often tell myself to just give up because it will never work out (mostly with blogging)!
Thank you for sharing this!
– Nyxie
No problem Nyxie, I appreciate the thoughtful comment!
Amazing post! This has incredible eased my nerves for my first solo travel adventure coming soon. Some new lessons learned from this and also a reminder of my favourite, that money spent on experiences/travel is far more rewarding than spending it on material things.
Thanks for such a great post!
You’re very welcome Daisy! I’m happy to hear that you found this article helpful and that you’re planning your first solo travel adventure, best of luck with that!
I can relate to everything you mentioned here. Growing up every year we move we have to say hi and make new friends again and again… Honestly, I find it daunting and frustrating as time goes by too fast! But on the other hand, that’s how we know a lot of people.
Good point April, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
I think I do have a fear of traveling, partly because I have bought into a lot of the news stories that are sensationalized. I really do hope, though, that I can travel in the near future. I like the points you made about it.
Thanks for the comment Tamra! I also hope that you’re able to travel soon.
Great post. I too enjoy making new friends where ever we go!
Thanks Kristina! That’s one of the best parts of traveling 🙂
This is a great post and I agree with everything you’ve said! It’s so true that the world is not as dangerous as people think – the media is to blame here!
Yes the media is definitely to blame. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
I appreciate the insight I just got from your post about traveling! I love traveling! My Husband and I haven’t been out of the country yet because we’re afraid that something might happen when we go! We watch too many crazy movies 😂🤦🏽♀️ Great post!
https://jessierenea.com/a-tough-lesson-im-currently-learning-on-a-tough-journey/
Thanks Jessica! You should consider leaving the country sometime! 🙂
Nicely put together, some great views here. Fully agree with you on these points. Thanks for sharing🙏🏻
You’re very welcome, glad to know that you enjoyed the article!
These are all great points. Life is to be lived. Experiences will not find you on the couch!
Thanks for the comment! We should all get up off the couch and go experience things!
I love this article Michael! You’re really on point about the world not being as dangerous as you think. Watching the news can really get you down, but when you get outside your comfort zone and see the world, it’s amazing how friendly people can be!
Very true Matt! The news is all about danger, violence, and controversies because that’s what attracts attention. In reality, the world is not nearly so bad as it’s portrayed in the news.
Loving this post. I love how enlightening and heart warming this post it. I used to not understand why my mom keeps telling me to explore and travel around the world. Having lived in 3 different countries in 3 different continents I thought I have seen enough of the world. However the past 5 years I started getting interested in travelling the world after having visited 6 countries under 10 days. I learned that it is not all about shopping and trying out new cuisine, but being able to appreciate what you have around you and discovering more of what makes you happy as an individual.
Kaye – http://amalog.co
Thanks for the thoughtful comment Kaye, I really couldn’t have said it better myself!
These are wonderful points. I LOVE number 5. I aim to travel more next year. You have given me the travel bug!
Thank you for sharing.
Alyssa
THESACREDSPACEAP.COM
Yes #5 is an important but overlooked one! I’m glad that you have the travel bug now and I hope you reach your travel goals 🙂
I loved everything about this post! You said everything exactly right about traveling! I wish I could just drop everything in my life and go see the world. I’m jealous of the people who can. I don’t travel that often, but when I do, I try to make the most of it. Travel is just one of those experiences that stays with you forever and makes the best kinds of memories.
Amazing post!!
xo Emily
https://www.thatweirdgirllife.com
Thanks for the thoughtful comment Emily! I’m glad to hear that you make the most out of your travels and that you appreciate the memories as well 🙂
Interesting article! Part of what makes traveling so much fun is the people you meet along the way. And I totally agree the world isn’t as dangerous as Americans think it is. I used to live in North Africa and personally had no problems there!
Yeah meeting people is the best part! And that’s so cool that you used to live there, I bet that was fascinating.
Thanks so much for your insights!
I love this post, and I agree with everything you said. I learned so much from my travels. Traveling gives me a new perspective.
Thanks Rosemarie! I couldn’t agree with you more 🙂
I love everything about this article. So many times I say to my friends why not take the money your spending on high end bags/shoes and instead lets book a trip lol they don’t always listen but hey I still go. There’s so much out there to see and your experiences seem so cool. I won’t lie the news does make me a bit weary every time I travel because of everything they say but I don’t let it prevent me from going I’m just very cautious about it. Thanks for sharing 😊
Hi Adrienne, that’s funny about your friends! At least you have the common sense to use yours on travel 🙂
Thanks for commenting!
I love this post. I especially like how you’ve written about how the world is not as dangerous as anticipated. I feel that this is the main reason a lot of people are afraid of going travelling especially solo.
Thanks Connie! You’re totally right and it’s unfortunate that this holds so many people back.
I just went on my first trip leaving the United States to Australia and loved it! I think you have reflected almost all of my thoughts on traveling in your writing.
That’s awesome Jaya, glad to hear that you had a great time in the land down under! I’ve never been but would love to visit sometime.
These are great lessons that you have learned through your journey. I can agree about Mexico – if you’re strategic about where you go, you’ll be fine. I mean, definitely avoid the high drug areas. I agree that money buys you more experience. I’m trying to find a balance between bougie items and trips. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
Exactly, there are safe and dangerous areas in every country and you just have to do a little research before going.
Thanks for the comment and I hope you find your balance!
Loved reading this blog post, so inspiring! Thank you for sharing – you have made me want to go on a holiday. 🌸💜
With love, Alisha Valerie x | http://www.alishavalerie.com
Thanks Alisha, I’m glad that you enjoyed it!
I cannot agree more with you! I was one of those people – dropped everything to go and travel the world. I could barely feed myself, but I’ve seen and experienced great things. Now I’m so much richer for what I had the courage to do 10 years ago. Brilliant post!
I’m so happy to hear that Annelize! The experiences are what really matters 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
I can’t find words to say how much I liked this post! Sometimes I feel like dropping everything and just go see the world, hopefully someday I’ll do it🤞🏼
Thank you for the thoughtful comment Diana! I’m sure you will someday 🙂