Table of contents:
1.) You’ll open your mind
2.) You’ll increase your self-confidence
3.) You’ll question your personal lifestyle
4.) You’ll learn to deal with problems
5.) You’ll appreciate others
Everyday we learn something new, however when traveling it helps you learn faster while improving your personality. Let’s be honest, life comes with lots of challenges but being abroad means to deal with a couple of them at the same time such as language barriers, culture clashes, health & safety, food etc… This leads automatically to a so called “transformation process” and that makes you to a different person. Here is why:
1.) You’ll open your mind
We all have our own ideas about a country or people based on our education, our experiences and the media mainstream we are exposed to. But does that mean it’s all true? Full of prejudices, immerse yourself in the lifestyle of another nation with all its cultural diversity. Talk to locals and gain insight into their history and values to broaden your horizons. This will help you develop your social and intercultural skills, which will make you more empathetic and change your mindset.
2.) You’ll increase your self-confidence
First things first: you must force yourself to step out of your comfort zone in order to complete challenges. When managing your trip, you need to meet other people for a variety of reasons. This can be the start of new friendships and you will feel more comfortable communicating with others. It takes away your shyness of speaking and even though you don’t understand each other you will find ways to express yourself. But you’ll also have to contend with annoying street vendors, weird taxi drivers, and tons of “new friends” who are behind your money. Believe me, you will improve your self-confidence.
3.) You’ll question your personal lifestyle
Do we really need a bigger house than the neighbor or the newest car to show off? When you see how other people live, you will also understand what really matters in life. While these people work to survive, we work to meet the consumption demands of the media stream. Isn’t there more to life? Basically, you become more rooted and humble, and that’s where you start questioning your lifestyle while kids are picking plastic bottles out of trash cans.
4.) You’ll learn to deal with problems
What may be normal for you may not work for others. Being in another country means being confronted with a different system, verbal and non-verbal laws, infrastructure, etc. This can indeed be frustrating because of your natural habits. However, solving problems requires patience (it sounds easier than it is) because you rely on others. The way locals solve problems can also be very different for you, which definitely enhances your personality. At the end of the day you will also understand that anger never leads to success. As the Moroccans say: “You have the clock, but we have the time.”
5.) You’ll appreciate others
Packed with many new experiences, it will also change the way you view your society and the strangers who live with you. You see more the values from different countries trying to see the story behind each one. As you traveled around, people respected you and were hospitable, just like you. Even if we have different political views, beliefs or sexual orientation, it doesn’t matter because we respect each other for who we are.
