Article #1
Article #2
Aug 30, 2021
Article #1: Why Wouldn’t You Travel More When There Are So Many Benefits of Traveling?!
By Thomas Busson
Why should you travel more? Because the benefits of traveling affect your whole life. Check out what those benefits are exactly and get traveling now!
1. Traveling Improves Your Health
From cutting down on stress, to lowering your chances of developing a heart disease, the health benefits of traveling are huge.
You may stay sitting on a chair all day long at the workplace; including some walking to your trip is sure to make your body feel better. For some people, wandering abroad is even a cure for depression and anxiety. Of course, it’s not a foolproof cure, but it might help you feel better, both physically and psychologically.
Traveling more is likely to have a tremendous impact on your mental well-being, especially if you’re not used to going out of your comfort zone.
Trust me, travel more and your doctor will be happy.
2. Traveling Lets You Disconnect from Your Daily Life
This is closely related to my previous point. We tend to get so caught up in our daily lives that sometimes, by simply sticking around, we may do ourselves more harm than good.
Your boss is taking over your life?
Kids are driving you mad?
Your parents are trying to make you live the life they want? How long do you think you can handle this pressure before you burst and everything falls apart?
Sometimes it is best to take a step back, take a deep breath and take that Tower Bridge selfie. In all seriousness, travel is not a bad option – it is the most natural way of inducing the feeling you miss someone or that you are missed.
The trick is to leave with a bit of preparation to avoid making a mistake during your journey. Plus, if you’re flying, you better start thinking about booking your tickets sooner than later.
3. Traveling Makes You Smarter
Get used to picking up new words in a different language every time you travel and you will see improvements in your brain capacities, as Dan Roitman wrote in the Huffington Post. If only this, start getting familiar with travel jargon.
Even more than “just” languages, traveling helps you learn about yourself. You might run into challenging situations where you need to be resourceful and think differently. I’m sure that you will develop a new set of skills that you didn’t suspect you had within you.
4. Traveling Improves Your Understanding of Other Cultures
Why we travel may differ from one person to another, but people traveling always develop empathy and a deeper understanding of other cultures.
Being more understanding and tolerant about a culture different than ours is part of being smarter, but I consider it a benefit of traveling in itself.
There is a quote by Saint Augustine, which goes “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”
You could think of it this way: if you read what’s in the news or watch the news on TV and don’t question it, you’re missing on a ton of information. You might think that it makes you smarter and more aware of the world, but it’s the exact opposite; it narrows your mind to a unique and biased perspective.
Sure, you probably feel comfortable where you are, but that is just a fraction of the world! If you are traveling as a student, take advantage of programs such as Erasmus to get to know more people, experience and understand their culture.
Dare traveling to regions you have a skeptical opinion about. I bet that you will change your mind and realize that everything is not so bad abroad.
5. Traveling Makes You More Interesting
I have no doubt that you’re quite the conversationalist. That being said, including a few stories from abroad is likely to grant you even more attention. Mentioning something that most people aren’t familiar with or bringing up a new perspective is always a good way to shine in a social situation. No need to write a whole travel essay, just discuss what you’ve seen and where you’ve been; people who are accustomed to their daily life will travel with your words.
During my trip to Egypt, my Airbnb host and I went out for dinner. He had been to so many different places. The conversation lasted all night long, and I wasn’t bored for one minute.
Who do you think people want to listen to: the guy who spent his vacations at home doing some gardening and reading the newspaper, or the one who spent a week in Cuba, driving an old American car, swimming with dolphins and tasting deliciously spicy food?
I know which story I want to hear about…
6. Traveling Allows You to Try Amazing Food
Speaking of food, I bet you’re one hell of a chef and your home meals are delicious. But there is no such thing as trying a typical local dish from another country.
Don’t trick yourself into going to the sushi shop next door; you don’t know what sushi tastes like until you’ve been to Japan.
As you travel, you discover the real thing, and discover that it’s usually very different from what you’re used to.
Eating local food in a new country is an entirely new experience. All the flavors are different. Here me out: I’m French and I love our local recipes. You do too. But let’s not kid ourselves; some change would be more than welcome in our daily diet. If only because we’re naturally curious.
Some food bloggers travel thousands of kilometers for a specific dish! The least you can do is travel to the next region and try something new.
7. Traveling Makes You Feel Like an Adventurer
Despite the fact that the world has never been as well connected as today, there are still places that are little known to the average tourist. Setting up a list of places you want to visit is extremely motivating. You have something tangible to go after.
I’m currently working on my own bucket list, and I think I’ll never see the end of it with all these amazing travel destinations.
The benefit of traveling to a new place here is that it forces you to face the unknown and think differently. You don’t need to go spend a month in the jungle! If you live in a large city, just going on a hike over the weekend will make you feel different.
Adventures require novelty, so get out of your comfort zone. It might be scary, but in retrospect, you’ll see it as the best decision you ever made!
8. Traveling Expands Your (Real) Social Network
Believe it or not, social networks were once like a real thing – in real life. Crazy, I know. One of the main reasons why I love traveling is that I believe that establishing connections and building a network abroad is one of the smartest things you can do in today’s world.
It is sometimes hard to build long-lasting relationships with the people you meet abroad, but it doesn’t mean it’s not worth meeting new people!
Take this example: a few years ago, I spent New Year’s Eve in Tanzania. I slept for two days at the flat of an Egyptian expat. I met him on Couchsurfing, which was once one of the best ways to find cheap accommodation when you travel. A year later, this guy invited me to his wedding in Egypt! How amazing is that?!
(It truly was, by the way.)
Some connections you make over your travels are surprisingly strong.
9. Traveling Lets You Create Lifetime Memories
My grandfather was an amazing story-teller, and he used to tell me stories of the trips he made when he was younger.
One of my favorites is how he tried eating with chopsticks in China for the first time. He regretted not traveling more as a young man. Years later, he still remembered everything in details because traveling made a real impression on him. And it probably will on you too.
No matter how insignificant it may seem, the fact that you’ve had an experience abroad, something that was out of the ordinary, creates a memory that you will remember for a long time.
I think that creating those memories is why many people keep traveling.
10. Traveling Makes You Love Your Home Even More
“The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave, and it feels even better to come back”. You will truly understand the meaning of those words by Wendy Wunder, only upon your return home.
On the one hand, it would seem that you’re back where you started, same setting, same people, same problems. Yet you’re not the same – you’re new, full of new knowledge and ideas!
I know that I was getting bored after living my whole life in the same place. I needed to get out, and I needed a change of scenery. I was focusing on only the negative: how there wasn’t much to do, how I always met the same people, how nothing changes.
Now, when I come home, I appreciate it, and I see only the positive.
Final Words on the Benefits of Traveling
I hope that this travel article makes you want to travel more in 2021 (and beyond!). As you travel, you realize that the world is a much better place than what you can see on TV when watching the news.
There is a quote by Mark Twain that I love: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” Cliché as this may sound, the money that you spend on travel is actually an investment in yourself.
Last Updated on December 17, 2020
Article #2: Why Staycation Is the New Vacation for Every Travel Lover
Brian Lee
Chief of Product Management at Lifehack
Everyone loves a vacation. I get it. But have you noticed that vacations aren’t always the most rejuvenating experiences?
We usually go on vacation to relax and experience something new and fresh. And sometimes we choose to have a fun-filled trip – perhaps packed with adventures.
However, if your main purpose for taking a vacation is to get some well-deserved rest, then you may be disappointed. Just think of all the preparation and planning that must go into every trip. As an example, here’s what most people would need to do to organize a typical 7-day trip:
1 month preparation – consisting of planning/arranging the trip. 2 days of long driving, bus, boat, train or air traveling. 1 day to tackle jet lag caused by the trip. Several hours within the trip packing and unpacking stuff. 4 days where you can really enjoy your vacation.
After returning home, you may need several hours to unpack your stuff. And… another day to deal with jet lag. Then a few days later (or immediately after), you go to work, feeling even more exhausted than before the holidays.
What’s abundantly clear, is that the time spent on planning and traveling drains your personal energy. Booking flights and hotels, packing, unpacking, traveling time, etc, all deplete your mental and physical energies.
Vacations are nice, but if they can also be an energy-killer, is there an alternative way to spend our spare time?
Yes, there is. It’s called staycations.
The Oxford Dictionary describes staycations as,[1]
“A holiday spent in one’s home country rather than abroad, or one spent at home and involving day trips to local attractions.”
Staycations offer similar things to what vacations do (e.g., relaxation, refreshment, experiencing new things), but because they don’t involve long traveling, they cost you a lot less. It’s not just financial savings, you’ll also cut out the time and stress of planning, that typically make up the preparations for a vacation.
Let’s take a look at the great things about taking a staycation.
Give you almost 100% of restful time with little to no prep
Stop to consider the following: the ratio of quality time that’s spent on relaxation is more important than the number of days for holidays.
If you give this some thought, you’ll realize that it’s true. For instance, a weekend break that consists of long travel on either side is no recipe for relaxation.
This is one of the reasons that staycations are more refreshing than vacations. They act as genuine breaks from work and life pressures. Instead of losing time and energy preparing for a vacation, a staycation will provide you with high-quality resting time.
Pause for a moment, and just think of all the effort that goes into the typical vacation… long travelling, packing/unpacking, jet lag, etc. As I mentioned earlier, a vacation can leave you more tired than before your trip!
Fortunately, a staycation is not at all like that. You’ll get back to work feeling more refreshed, relaxed and rejuvenated.
A vacation may only offer around 50% of relaxation time, while with a staycation, you can count on almost 100%!
Fresh experience just around the corner
Staycations also tick some of the same boxes as vacations like experiencing new things, you just need to explore nearby things which you have never paid attention to.
Often we over look the attractions that are near to us, choosing instead to spend big amounts of money to visit foreign countries. However, if you make an effort to explore the area close to where you live, you may be pleasantly surprised. There will be cafés and restaurants you’ve never tried, historic buildings you’ve never seen before, and nature parks you’ve never visited.
Notice the phrase “you’ve never” in the above sentence. You may have convinced yourself that to see new things you need to travel overseas. But with a little effort on your part, you’ll be able to experience new and exciting things close to home.
Make old place feels new and amusing
Even for places you’ve been to before, a new mindset will bring you new experiences. A little twist to what you do and how you do it can bring a new experience to the place where you go often.
For instance, you may normally drive past a canal on your way to work and think nothing of it. However, on your day off, why not drive to the canal and take a walk alongside it? You may be amazed by how the sun glistens on the surface of the water, how colorful the canal boats are, and how much beautiful wildlife has made their home by the canal.
It’s the same with local parks. Maybe you usually just walk pass them, why not try taking advantage of their space and greenery? You could picnic there, play with pets there, or just relax and watch the activities of others.
And if your village, town or city has a central square, try grabbing a coffee, sitting in the square and simply watching the world go by…
Different times, days and seasons will have their own unique flavors. For example, Friday evenings may be more of a time for couples, Saturday mornings may be family-orientated.
Whether you choose a park bench, or a seat on the veranda of a café, the fresh air and daylight will be a potent combination in boosting your energy and well-being. You don’t have to spend the time people watching, you could just read a book, listen to music, or simply close your eyes and enjoy an inner peace and quiet.
Ideas to make your staycation exotic
Struggling to think of things to do on staycations? Don’t worry, as the list I’ve put together below will give you plenty of ideas.
Take a different seat when you go to the same old place.
We’re all products of our habits. We get out of bed on the same side, we have the same breakfast, we leave the house at the same time, etc. While habits are useful for getting things done, when it comes to breaking free from our stresses – it’s good to try something different. One of the easiest ways to do this, is to choose a different seat or table when you next go to your regular café, restaurant or bar. You’ll get a different view, and a different experience.
Visit your usual places – but at a different time.
As well as trying out different seats, when not try different times too? For instance, if the only time you ever eat out is in an evening, perhaps it’s time for something new. You could join your work colleagues for lunch, or even arrange to meet some friends for breakfast. And if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you could even organize a midnight feast!
Bring different people with you.
If you love walking to the top of hills and mountains, but you usually choose to do this alone, next time – bring along some friends. Not only will you have good company to talk to during your adventures, but you’ll be able to share your joy of walking through nature with your friends. They’ll benefit, and you will too.
Try something new in the usual place.
It’s easy to get into a routine of doing the same in the same place. But you’ll provide yourself with a welcome boost by trying new stuff. For example you can try this in a restaurant you go usually. If you normally order a coffee, try an iced tea instead.
Book yourself on an “activity day.”
For example, you could book yourself onto an “activity day” at a place local to you. How about a day learning the basics of rock climbing? Or maybe a day experiencing whitewater rafting? And if animals are your thing, you could book a day course on learning how to ride a horse. These are just a few suggestions, and I’m sure, with a bit of research, you’ll be able to find dozens more exciting activities to experience.
Still want to have that vacation?
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still fantastic to travel to exotic places and to experience different cultures. Diving in warm, clear blue seas, or skiing down sun-drenched mountain slopes, may not be adventures that you can do close to home.
However, when your kids, work and financial pressures have left you feeling stressed and exhausted, then a staycation could be just the ticket you need.
You can forget about weeks of preparation, say goodbye to security checks at airports, and instead, say hello to peace and quiet. Ultimately, staycations are the ideal way to restore and revitalize your mind, body and spirit. Try one and see for yourself!
The post Article #1 Article #2 Aug 30, 2021 Article #1: Why Wouldn’t You appeared first on PapersSpot.
