中国有句古话：“读万卷书不如行万里路”. It is an old Chinese saying equivalent to “The most valuable lessons in life can never be expressed in black and white, but must be experienced”
I never thought I could just pick up a bag, take my car and disappear. But now looking back, I couldn’t have been more thankful as it was probably one of the best decisions I made in recent years.
life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all–Helen Keller
In university, you get a false perception that everything of importance can be found in books. But actually, many things in life are very hard to put in black and white. There is a reason why many agree that experience is the greatest teacher of all.
I was lucky enough that when I quit my old job, the lease was also about to expire so I took advantage of the situation at the time; hired a storage unit and moved my man cave into it within a day, booked a ferry ticket the same night, took my car and disappear from the city the next day. From then on, for a period of three months I was constantly on the move, from one backpacker to another, one camp to the next, one city to a new one…….This traveling/backpacking experience opened up my eyes and had me lived in a different world that forced me to think and reevaluate what’s important,what to value more and how to live the life I wanted to live. It was a priceless lesson that I think every individual with the opportunity should attend. As Buddha saids: “There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.”
Here are the vital lessons traveling taught me:
1.Be courageous and take risk
Trust me, there are no mistakes when it comes to traveling. Ok maybe a few and it may means you are leaving behind your comfort zone, but you are pretty much in a “sandpit” environment where you can have fun and learn to overcome fear. Take risk does not mean you need to jump off the cliff or drink/eat things that have not been cooked. Traveling forces you to take on unfamiliar territory and make it familiar, you repeat this process every day interacting with the world in a different way than you used to. Because of this it instills new level of confidence in you, and overtime, you will become courageous and stop letting fear of failure hold you back.
Whether is climbing up the waterfall, walking through a forest full of swamps or doing the glacier track, you are playing in a “sandpit” in which you can learn to take risk and enjoy the opportunities it bring.Try make the most out of it, it may not always be a fun and rewarding outcome, but you will come to an understanding that what makes a person strong is how they identify, face,learn from and overcome their vulnerability. And failure or being unsuccessful are part of such process. Consequently, one should value failure as much as success.
Taking such mindset into other disciplinary areas, whether is entrepreneurship, picking up a new skill or seeking a career change, be brave to leave your comfort zone and remember,
life is not a dress rehearsal–Rose Tremain
2.Be an open book. Have an open heart
When traveling you can mingle with people. I LEARNT to mingle with people.
Before I started my trip, I was a topical office worker who sits in front of the computer 8-14 hours a day hardly interacts with others. This isn’t unconventional in today’s socialization standards.While we shouldn’t discredit the fact that technology and the Internet have improved our life and made this world more connected , but by the same token, one shouldn’t attempt to replace his/her social live with that online.
Fine, traveling didn’t help me befriend with everybody I come across during my travel, in fact you often see some travelers tend to stick with their own group. However, I did find myself initiating conversations more frequent than I used to. I did it with strangers; local, fellow travelers or whoever,not only to learn about the destination, but to truly experience a place.
Traveling taught me to be the first one to be an open book, and it always worked. I made friends, met unforgettable people who changed my life, received the kindness of strangers. All of these taught me people are our most treasured gifts here in this life,so be open and don’t be guarded against them.
Of all the amazing individuals I met, from high school graduates, religious folk, hackers, doctors, astrologists, conservatives to cool twins, everyone is like a book, everyone taught me something. We discussed things such as current affairs, German parenting, the French’s education system etc, I even picked up some French, German and Swedish. Without doubts my life and personal experiences are enriched substantially because I had the opportunity absorb and compare these new information with that of my background. You know what they say,spending time exclusively with people who are of a similar background and who agree with you all the time would never challenge you or allow you to learn.
Be an open book, have an open heart, you can seriously build a global network.
3.To be more curious
The world is big, you will see things you don’t normally see. You get to try new things.You have to try new things. It is all about getting yourself into situations and turning them into amazing experiences.
Being in new territory will probe new ideas and curiosities. You will become more curious; you will be more inclined to find out things such as local food and people’s cultural background.And it makes you hungry to learn more, during and post travel. For me, I learnt stand up paddle-boarding, how to fall from a canoe, and I even learnt to build this site(based on Linux Apache Mysql Php) while on the move.
4.Take the time to think and reflect
I’m sure every traveler already carries a pretty packed daily schedule. Depends on the type of traveling that you do, from personal experience I find that when you are an independent traveler who aren’t in a rush,you’ll have more time to think and reflect. And when you take the time to think and do self-reflective exercise, you learn a lot about life.
Sitting on top of the mountain or beside a beautiful lake, think about who you are, what you are passionate about, what do you value the most and what do you truly want in life, is really a privilege. Try finding that sweet spot,I gained so much valuable insights from these moments that when I returned from my trip. I’m no longer the same person as when I left; just someone who understands himself much better.
5.To be grateful and appreciate what you have
This is probably the most valuable thing I picked up from traveling.
Hum…..perhaps it is human nature to grumble about things. But traveling taught me to embrace an attitude of gratitude.
You hear,see and do things on the move, and sometimes you traveled somewhere and faced with abject poverty, or maybe you hear from fellow travelers who don’t have the same freedoms in their home countries. You may feel thankful about life than you ever were.
When you lived in a country for more than a decade, you start getting used to its surrounding, the climate,the atmosphere, the food, the freedom etc. Everything feels so given that you start to take them for granted. Traveling made me realize how lucky I am to be able to truly purely connect with the world. Be in a beautiful place with opportunity, and the ability to get to know interesting people from around the world, to pursuit things I’m interested in, to really embrace the notion of freedom……….. I feel truly grateful and appreciate about the things I have.
Traveling helps one come to such realization.
6.To live simply
Believe it or not, traveling will show you that you can survive with very little, a lot less than you think and get by just fine.
When you are on the road, not everything is comfortable and smooth like home sweet home. Sleeping in a rundown backpackers/hostels with flees, or camp anywhere you can find space may not be ideal, but you’ll learn to live with it.
For those who don’t know what WWOOFing is, it is basically just free room and/or board in exchange for 2-3 hours labor per day on site. I done some WWOOFing while traveling and were able to get by with just the necessity(by which I mean food). You know what, I enjoyed every moment of it, from being the cleaner, making beds, to a pick up driver who were assigned a task to pick up two customers on his first shift but end up hading to do two loads due to unexpected turnout. Nonetheless, it’s a great way to meet people and it helps in terms of budgeting…You know, the budget permit extra weeks of travel really means a lot. Well, provided you wish to travel longer of course.
Anyhow, I loved it, not just the above-mentioned benefit but the fact that I now know that one doesn’t need anything more than the essentials to survive.
Personally I believe this is an important mindset when it comes to entrepreneurship, or just going through a period of difficulties dealing with hard times…..
7.To value little things
When traveling you understand a different way of life, and you start to find beauty in small things and realize how much these ordinary stuff are undervalued. The bus drivers, waiters, flowers, host, a Kea…..you developed a deeper sense of respect for the people, the environment and what is given to you.
A very simple WOOFER’s group dinner will mean so much more to you. That comfort bed back home becomes you best friend upon your return because you missed it for so long. Seeing a sunset in your hometown will remind you of the one you saw when you were traveling.
Franktly, quite often it’s the small things that give us joy in life. We should cherish them.
8.It’s never too late to change
Traveling is an introspective process that you learn so much about yourself while on the road. You may suddenly realized something you’d like to do differently now or in the near future. Want to pursuit new personal endeavor? Learn new skills? Regardless what it is, it is never too late to do them. Go for it.
“If you haven’t found what you love,keep looking, don’t settle”|”stay hungry, stay foolish”
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