You ever notice that when you come back to work after a nice vacation you are calmer, more focused and even happier? There is a reason for that – travel is good for your mental health. While you may think that putting off your use of those vacation days may help you look good at work, chances are you would be better off using them and reaping the benefits of a better work performance spurred by your good mood.
Travel Gets You Out of Your Head
One of the ways travel helps with mental health is through its endless distractions. When you get too caught up in the one or more of the many traps of negative thinking, the result is often disappointment or anxiety. We aren’t supposed to constantly ponder ourselves, our choices and our status in the world. Learning to let these thoughts and judgments go as soon as they appear is a cornerstone of meditation. However, it can be helpful to just live your life to avoid overthinking and travel is just that – life lived at its fullest!
Travel Boosts Your Confidence
When we get stuck in a rut, it is easy to start doubting yourself. You lose your enthusiasm for the things you do throughout the day and things can start to feel hopeless. Shaking things up by going on a vacation can help give your confidence the boost it needs if you’re feeling weighed down by your routine. Traveling allows you to get to know yourself again in an unfamiliar environment.
You can celebrate your small victories while on vacation, whether they are making your flight on time or effectively communicating your needs in another language. Travel is a great way to remind yourself about the limitless potential of the world and yourself. This can be especially helpful for people who are in recovery for addiction. As a supplement to clinical treatment, a journey of self-discovery can be a great way to start out a new, sober life.
Travel Improves Your Communication Skills
So much of the conflict we have to deal with in life is a direct result of poor communication. People tend to be bad communicators when they are unable to see past their own point of view and speak beyond their own personal language. Traveling helps you to see the world from several points of view. Furthermore, breaking out of your comfort zone and having to communicate with strangers when you are on vacation is a great way to reduce anxiety when it comes to dealing with people at home and work. Travel more and watch your relationships in all areas of life improve thanks to your well-rounded communication skills.
Travel Makes You Adaptable
Adaptability may be the key to happiness missing from your life. When we fail to adapt, we fail to live in the present. When we don’t live in the present, we get bogged down by the “shoulds” and “coulds” and fail to appreciate what is happening right in front of us. Traveling instills adaptability at every twist and turn of the journey. From rolling with a departure time change to having to figure out what to do when a plan in the itinerary falls through, you have to take those setbacks and work to not let them ruin your entire trip. When you know that things don’t always go as planned and sometimes a complication can lead to something better, you are less likely to unnecessarily stress out and stew in negative feelings. Instead, you learn to live in the moment and appreciate what you have for increased overall happiness.
Don’t hoard your vacation days. Taking the time to travel can be seriously beneficial for your mental health. Hitting the road helps get you out of your own head and boosts your confidence. Being in a different environment and trying new things can also improve your overall communication skills. Most importantly, travel teaches you to be more adaptable – a key component for a happier life.
Henry Moore is passionate about travel and health, and he writes about how to get the most out of both on his website FitWellTraveler.
Have a look at his page and find more articles with tips and exciting destinations.
Henry believes travel can change you, and good health preserves you.
If you are planning to travel as a vegan / vegetarian follow this link for some great practical tips.