10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD TRAVEL SOLO
Learn how you can benefit from traveling SOLO and how it will affect your self-confidence. Find out 10 reasons and book your next trip SOLO.
Table of contents:
1.) Force yourself to grow
2.) Learn more about yourself
3.) Get a different view in your life
4.) Develop your intercultural and social competence
5.) Adapt new and creative ways of problem-solving
6.) Boost your self-confidence
7.) It’s all about YOU – just do it
8.) Meet new people – make new friends
9.) Socialize – learn a new language
10.) Collect moments, not things
1.) Force yourself to grow
Stepping out of your comfort zone is the first big step in the right direction. When traveling alone you have to face different kinds of challenges: how to reach the airport, catch a bus, how to deal with canceled flights/buses/hotels or the street vendors? Dealing with it can help you become more focused, sharpen your mind, and increase your problem-solving ability because you have to make decisions. This is how you overcome your fears and let your personality grow.
2.) Learn more about yourself
Reacting on each challenge differently will let you ask yourself: “Am I seeing the problem or the solution?” How will your habits reflect to different countries and cultures? Traveling solo is also an emotional journey where you may reach your physical and psychological limits. You have to deal intensively with yourself and question your previous habits. What can work in your hometown won’t work abroad – are you ready to challenge yourself?
3.) Get a different view in your life
Once you have forced yourself to grow and learn more about yourself, you can also understand the meaning of life from a different perspective. On the other hand, when we see people begging for money trying to survive every day, do we think of a better car, a bigger house? Questioning everyday life and working at home leads to the question: “What is life actually about?” Are you becoming more human or more consumer dependent?
4.) Develop your intercultural and social competence
When traveling abroad, interacting with local people and communities is key. It is up to each individual how far that person can immerse themselves and are willing to explore new cultural perspectives. This is slow progress that doesn’t happen in a day or two – it takes time for us to develop sensitivity and trust. Milton BENNETT’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity describes the process from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism in six stages. In general, it can be described as avoiding cultural differences by denying them or defending oneself against them until accepting their importance and one adjusts their perspectives. And yes, it is useful in every respect to deal with people regardless of their culture, race, origin or attitude to life.
5.) Adapt new and creative ways of problem-solving
Your personality has been shaped throughout your childhood up to the present – your way of thinking has been influenced by your society. Based on this, you set up your personal social tools for your life. But does that mean there aren’t more effective ways to solve problems? By learning from different people with different cultural backgrounds, you can complement your existing approaches and replace them with better ones.
6.) Boost your self-confidence
After learning a lot about yourself and interacting with many local people, you not only have to express your desires, but also make decisions. Even if you fail in one situation or another, this gives you the opportunity to learn from mistakes and to increase your self-confidence. Practice makes perfect and makes you stronger.
7.) It’s all about YOU – just do it
When planning your trip, you can do it without compromising in all aspects such as accommodation, transport, itinerary, food and much more. Without being egotistical, it can be said: “It’s all about you.” If you want to go for a walk or rest, just do it. If you’re in the mood to attend a party or relax by the beach, just do it. You are completely independent, which gives you the freedom to follow your personal intuition and act on it because YOU can.
8.) Meet new people – make new friends
Traveling solo means that you deal with many different people and can decide spontaneously whether you want to meet up for a drink, discover the city together or take similar paths? This can often lead to friendships, even if that wasn’t the purpose of your interaction. Enjoy your limitless chats without any expectations and let yourself be surprised.
9.) Socialize – learn a new language
While you’re on your own, you often meet people who don’t speak a word of English. That’s ok, it offers you to catch words and phrases in another language to express your desires. Moreover, greeting people in their own language is also a sign of respect, making them more willing to help you. Communicating in another language can be fun, and who knows, maybe you understand more than one word?
10.) Collect moments, not things
One of the most important conclusions after experiencing all the previous steps is to enjoy the moment and live in the present. Materialism and hypothetical conversations lead nowhere. So what do you want to remember? Take photos, have fun, make friends, and take notes on your travels. Collect YOUR moments – that’s what solo travel is all about.
Dont worry about traveling SOLO, find out 10 essential tips to travel safe.