5 Ways Travel Helps Personal Development

Learn and grow while you travel 

I have always loved to travel. There’s something about seeing new places, experiencing new cultures and tasting different food that really excites me. 

Sometimes there are a lot of excuses not to travel. For instance, getting time off from work, having the money to travel and even finding travel companions can make planning a trip difficult. Yet, it’s so important for personal growth and development to continue broadening your horizons through new experiences.

The best part is that you don’t have to go to exotic places, spend a lot of money or even rely on others to plan a trip. Even just exploring new places in your own state can count if you make the effort. Think about going to a new city – I bet there’s a few near you (within driving distance or public transit) that you’ve never explored. Doesn’t that still count?

If you looked at my passport or travel blogs, you’ll see that I don’t have a wide portfolio of places checked off. I still haven’t even see half the United States (I’m up to 22 states, if you’re keeping track), but I don’t feel like I’ve missed out because I make every experience count. 

And outside the U.S., I’ve only visited three other countries (soon to be 4 in September), yet again, I’m happy with the travel I have done.

Why? Because I use every experience to grow as a person. Whether from learning something new, discovering something about myself or experiencing a new perspective on life, there’s always something valuable to gain in our travel adventures.

5 Ways Travel Helps Your Personal Development

Builds Confidence

As an introvert, going outside my comfort zone has always been a bit difficult. I’m not the best in social situations, especially around new people. I also tend to like my alone time, often preferring a quiet night at home to going out.

I do find, though, that traveling has gotten me out of my comfort zone and forced me to build confidence in social situations. Whether you’re traveling with a partner, group or going solo, you need to interact with people, for instance when flying or taking public transportation or at the hotel.

I’ve also found talking to locals (or forcing myself to talk to locals) has led to some of the best discoveries. Some of our favorite adventures from our honeymoon were taken from the advice of our Uber drivers. 

In this case, my husband is much more outgoing than me and I learned from his interactions how to strike up conversations and ask folks their favorite places to eat, drink or hang out. It’s an opportunity for a local to show off their knowledge and a chance for you to get an inside look at a new city or town.

All in all, you need to build a bit of confidence when traveling to a new place because you do need to rely on others to make your experience the best it can be. 

Furthers Education

Every place you visit has a history, cultural reference and cuisine that speaks to learning something new. I always make an effort when I’m in a new city or town to find something about it I didn’t know before. 

The best part is, a lot of times you can do this for free or for very cheap. Local museums, gardens and city tours are almost everywhere and you can usually get passes for less than $20. Or you can give yourself a guided tour and simply wander through downtown to see the sights, sounds, history, architecture, flora and fauna of a new location.

Sometimes doing “touristy” things can distract us from the understated adventures of simply exploring. On most of our recent trips, Cody and I have had so much fun simply getting lost walking around and discovering things by accident. 

For instance, in Utah we found a really neat little town called Ogden, simply because we set out for a ride and got a little lost. It has an interesting history, beautiful views and delightful shops and restaurants. 

Helps Financial Planning

While I mentioned you can travel no matter your budget, it’s still an important point to remember that travel can help with financial planning. If travel is a top priority for you, it will be important to incorporate saving for travel into your monthly budget.

It’s also a good way to see how you spend and save your money. For instance, do you need to stay in a luxury hotel or are you okay sharing a space at a hostel or AirBnB? Do you like to eat fancy meals or are you one to pack food/cook on vacation? All of these factors really help your development of budget planning and tracking spending.

Another thing to consider is how you would like to travel in the future. Would you prefer to see the same location over and over again? Maybe saving for a vacation home or timeshare is right for you. Or do you enjoy traveling throughout the U.S.? Have you considered purchasing an RV or camping gear? Or do you like big exotic vacations around the world? Does this mean you save money all year to afford an all-in trip?

At any rate, travel, whether near or far, requires some amount of financial planning and it’s a good way to learn the skill in order to set yourself up for stress-free trips in the future.

Develops Interpersonal Relationships

Many times travel allows us to spend time with family, friends or even co-workers. Whether you take multiple trips a year or prefer one big one, it’s a great opportunity to develop interpersonal relationships.

There are several things to consider here, such as how much time you spend together, what types of activities you like to do, who will plan what and how much money you’re willing to spend.

When traveling with a companion, it’s always important to set expectations before you go. If you like to plan everything down to the minute and your companion is more spontaneous, how will you work through that? If you like luxury hotels and your partner would prefer staying in a hostel, what will you do?

Further, spending long periods of time together in close proximity can also build your interpersonal relationships. It’s important to make compromises to ensure that everyone is able to do what they want while on vacation. But this also allows for the opportunity to try new things you might not normally try yourself.

At the end of the day, spending time with close companions is a great way to reconnect and learn more about each other while also discovering new places.

Relieves Stress

We all travel for different reasons. Some of us like to explore and be active, others like to relax and do nothing. There are certainly different occasions for everything.

At the end of the day, though, I think it’s important to find time to relieve stress when traveling. Think about it, you’re in a new place away from your normal day to day. Live in the moment and let everything else go.

It’s sometimes easier said than done, but certainly important to remember that travel is a fun and rewarding experience that shouldn’t carry stress. 

Sure, there are exceptions. Like dealing with the airport, losing luggage or figuring out how to drive a rental car, but for the most part, there should be minimal stress.

It’s also a time when you reconnect with yourself. Travel should be about letting go of what’s at home – work, chores, dirty laundry – and focusing on you living out a bucket list item or experiencing a new culture. Leave the stress for real life.

Final Thoughts

As a big advocate for travel, I encourage you to find ways to make travel work for you. There are many ways that travel helps build personal development.

Travel can mean something different for everyone, so I hope you will make time for whatever travel means to you. Road trip to a national park? Cool, go visit it. International flight to the desert? Awesome, go for it. Walking tour of a new city? Fantastic, check it out.

There are so many wonderful places to visit, both near and far. If you take time for yourself to discover these places, you may also discover some new things about yourself, too. Personal development can be subtle, but it’s so important for your growth. 

If you have a personal development plan or want to work on certain areas of your life, see how travel can fit in to your work. Are you looking to develop a stronger connection to your husband? Is there an itch to continue learning? Do you have room to build your budget? These are all areas that can improve through travel.

Lastly, try to ditch the excuses when it comes to travel. Work will still be there if you take some time off. Don’t take for granted your paid time off – you earned it, now go use it! If money is a concern, look for free or cheap things to do nearby. If your husband doesn’t want to go to a certain place, ask your mom or best friend or try going solo. There are always a million excuses not to go, try to think of a million and one excuses why you should go.  

Have you felt travel has helped with your personal development? What are some ways you’ve grown as a result of travel?