One of the great things in life is having that opportunity to satisfy your wanderlust, either by going to the big cities, or just going exploring by yourself to get an understanding of who you really are and what is really out there. And one of the best ways to do this is to get out into the world all by ourselves!

But a lot of people don’t really like the idea of solo traveling, possibly because they don’t feel safe. But the idea of going exploring on your own is something that’s very good for you. Why is this?

You Rely On Your Initiative

By exploring places that you don’t know much about, you naturally have to acquire enough knowledge so you can get by. Like the old saying, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. It’s one of those things that makes you realize how much (or how little) knowledge you really have about somewhere. And by going exploring, or just heading to somewhere new, you have to rely on your smarts to get about. Granted, these days there’s plenty of resources for us to take advantage of online, but even with that, we have still got to speak to the locals if we need directions, or we are just terrible at reading a map!

You Learn To Cope With Stress Better

Stress is one of those things that can really amplify when we’re in an unknown place. And when we feel that we can’t get around, and we are struggling to make any sense of what we doing and where we are, we naturally tend to get very overwhelmed. But, the more we do this, the more we realize how we can cope with these things. It’s not just about relying on our initiative, but it’s about developing a sense of resilience. Problem-solving is one of those things that can seem very difficult, especially when you are used to your comfort zone. As such, getting out of this comfort zone and going to the unknown forces you to confront these stresses face on.

You Learn Thick And Fast

Going to another country, or even just exploring your backyard can mean that you learn a lot in a cultural sense. You can get an appreciation of different people, and it can be a wake-up call, especially when we park up in a place that can seem to be at the dodgy end of town. Granted, there is plenty of modern tech that can help us, like a GPS car tracker, but the frosty reception we get from the locals could tell us all that we need to know! Regardless of where we go, we can learn a lot about how other people operate. It’s important for us to go and spread our wings and find somewhere out of our comfort zone because we will start to learn about other people. Culturally, going anywhere can open your eyes to the abundance of great art and history, but to really get into the underbelly of somewhere, it’s not just about going to the tourist attractions. And when you jump into a place that you know nothing about, and you realize quickly you’ve made a big mistake, you’ve got to rely on your smarts to get out of here! But it’s at this point that you’ve learned a valuable lesson.

The Opportunity To Reinvent You!

For those that are exploring their own country or going abroad, regardless of where you are heading to, you can take the opportunity to try on a new suit as it were. Sometimes we need to get away from our normal day-to-day lives, and when we go exploring we have the opportunity to become someone different. We can try out a new personality, but when we are doing it with people around us we tend to conform to social norms. By going solo, you can be whoever you want. You can try out a new personality and see if it fits you. In many ways, a lot of people move to another country for this very reason. They want to start again, and this means shedding off a layer of their skin so they can embody a new personality. Sometimes we have things in our past that we can’t bear anymore, or there are people in our lives that we can’t really let go. And you could argue that this is running away, but on the other hand, if you have the opportunity to try a new way of thinking and a new way of life, going traveling by yourself gives you that perfect opportunity to give it a go.

There Are Plenty Of Benefits After The Journey

It’s not just about going somewhere and feeling like you’ve escaped life for a few weeks. The benefits could last for the rest of your life. Sometimes when we have that post-vacation feeling, it can be quite depressing, because it’s made us realize that we’ve relaxed and that the person we are normally isn’t really who we want to be. And when we take the initiative to go out by ourselves, to fly by the seat of my pants, to learn about other cultures, we are, in many ways, getting rid of our old personality. And we gain a wider appreciation of things that we can use when we come home. Many people feel bound by their life and who they are, but when you go away and experience other ways of living, you may realize that where you’re from isn’t actually as bad as you thought it was.

As a way to learn about the world and to learn about yourself, going exploring is a shortcut to mental strength, resilience, and really seeing what the world is like. Travel broadens the mind, but it also improves it. And when we don’t have duties in life, like family, and we’ve not ventured far away from our stomping ground, we need to take the opportunities to go and see what the world (and life) has to offer. Not just because of what is really out there, but also what is really in us.

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Thanks for reading, y’all stay dandy. 😎 Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram!
-Diego