Why you should travel

"Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer."

I strongly believe that this is true. Reasons:

1.) Travel opens your eyes

First of all, going abroad helps you build up cultural sensitivity. How often did you say “Aww yeah, that’s exactly what those people do”? These are classic prejudices which we come across when growing up. But are those prejudices true? Some of them may are, but some of them are clearly not. Believe me! Travelling helps you understanding foreign cultures. Being aware of cultural values and norms is not only fascinating, but can help us understanding how partnerships and contracts work in a globalized world. In addition, you see behind the curtain and not only what you read in newspapers. Suddenly you value what you have at home. You appreciate your home more. You realize that life is a wonderful gift.

2.) Travel gives you perspective

Travelling around and meeting people will teach you that there are other points than yours when regarding at a problem to be solved. You might see things from different point of views later.

3.) Travel challenges you

Flexible working hours are great! But how often do you really use it? Often your daily routine is the same. Of course this brings steadiness into your life. But sometimes all you need is changing your environment to grow personally, to challenge yourself and to become a greater performer in the end. Travel is full of joy and challenges. Communicating with people who do not speak English at all, not knowing what to eat instead your ordinary fruit salad in the morning and not having to do anything you not want to… Those are challenges to master when travelling.

4.) Travel is education

Like already mentioned above, travelling helps you to increase your communication skills and to learn new languages. But it teaches you a lot more:  economy, history, geography and sociology. It might be true that you learn this during your studies, but you’ve never learned it in that awesome, intense and hands-on way!

5.) Travel can make you a cool story-teller

Experiencing a natural phenomenon like a hurricane, an earthquake or heavy rains with flash flood warnings in the desert are not the things “normal” people usually came across during their life. Even if you are not good at telling stories, starting a conversation with “last year when I was in the rain forest of Costa Rica…” or “last time I was surfing in Hawaii…” is an instant ice-breaker and folks want you to tell them more about.

“Traveling — it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”
– Ibn Battuta