Travel Bliss
Travel and new experiences make us happy. Psychologists agree: Studies show that anticipating and preparing for travel, the experiences and adventures we have while away from home, and even the return trip to home can improve our moods, and the improved happiness can last for weeks. But what are the factors that make travel so good for our dispositions? Here are a few ways in which travel can make us happier:
- Travel can improve your self-confidence
Inevitably, there comes a time when everyone must deal with an unexpected situation when they’re on the road. Even in a perfectly planned excursion, things can take a surprise turn. Finding solutions to unexpected situations, and knowing that you can handle these situations can be a big boost to self-confidence.
- Travel can help you appreciate family and home
Being away from things we often take for granted — family, close friends, home — makes us appreciate them more.
- Travel can lead to new friendships
When people are away from home, there seem to be fewer boundaries to cross and making friends becomes easier. New friendships help you broaden your horizons, and perhaps adopt a more global view of the world. As you travel, you start to see how interconnected we all are as humans.
- Travel can help you detox from the online world
It’s healthy to have a break from the Internet every once in a while. Turn it off. Be present in the here and now, savor the current moment.
- Travel is education
Travel presents ways in which we can further our knowledge and education. Learning makes our brains more active, which psychologists have found increases our level of happiness.
- Travel will give you moments to remember
Recalling memories of happiness can sustain a feeling of contentment long after the moment has passed. New experiences are memories that can stick with you forever.
Aside from making you happier in the short-term, traveling can make you a much more contented, happy and relaxed person in your life at home too. Past travels leave us with the memories and personal skills – such as confidence, gratefulness, broad-mindedness, friends and a more global, worldly perspective — that make people happy.
