My Top 5 Life Lessons Learned Through Travel

From patience to the art of freedom - and a whole lot of fun! These are some of the most important lessons I've learned along the way.

Exploring the beautiful and chaotic streets of Cairo, Egypt.

Travelling for me has always been more than just some pretty views. I love a great adventure, and with travel comes a world full of experiences and life lessons we just can’t learn from staying put behind our desks, screens, or homes.

I truly believe the best way of learning is by immersing ourselves. Diving full-in and learning from different experiences is rich in valuable lessons. And this is what travel does to us – it exposes us to these new experiences, makes us take action, take a bit of chance, be curious and open to making mistakes along the way.

So with this, I’d like to dedicate my very first post to the 5 most important life lessons I’ve learned through travel!

1. Patience is Everything

This is a powerful one! Life back home in our everyday routines is pretty comfortable - we have our fixed schedules and for the most part, it all goes as planned! But travel is different - it often isn’t glamorous and it most definitely doesn’t go without some curveballs!

From last minute changes to flights, language barriers with locals, or getting completely lost in a strange city because you took the wrong bus! Truth is, there are many little things that can (and will) go wrong in your travels. But that’s just it – they’re little things that don’t deserve all the sweat and anxiety! With each new challenge we face, we learn to take deeper breaths, relax a little bit and fully analyze the situation before reacting. We learn to accept changes or delays to plans because we understand that these are just small bumps on our journey to adventure!

2. Appreciate the Small Things

In our first point, we said not to sweat the small stuff, but likewise, travel can also teach us to appreciate the small, yet valuable everyday things! Again it’s so easy to get caught up in our own matters of life, that we often take our blessings for granted. Even more so, we live in a fast-paced society that constantly pushes us to compete for more – more status, wealth, and assets.

But with travel, none of this matters. The more of the world that we see, the more we realize just how much less many people in different countries live with. Their conditions are often much harder and many don’t have access to even the most basic necessities, yet they live the happiest! Personally, I’m much more happier when I’m travelling. I’m connecting with other beings, sharing laughs, stories, our experiences and helping each other out. Travel truly does reconnect you with the basics and reminds you that these small things – our sense of community, health, family and wellbeing – is much more valuable than trying to impress others or chasing after wealth.

3. Be accepting & Carry an Open Mind

With every new country you visit, you’re going to come into contact with different cultures, customs and ways of thinking. You’re going to meet other fellow travellers from different parts of the world and also engage with locals on a constant basis. And it will change you! You’ll become more curious, more willing to try different foods, learn about their history and beliefs, and also take part in different festivities and customs. Naturally, you’ll see yourself opening up much more and becoming understanding to differences between yourself and the individuals and cultures you meet. At the core, I strongly believe that travel has the power to connect us to one another in the most humane of forms, to embrace differences as an opportunity for learning and to see these differences as the very zest of life! Because after all, we learn that every moment is far too precious to be wasted feeling miserable and alone!

Exploring the historic Khan el-Khalili district of Old Cairo. Home to many traditional artisans, jewellers & goldsmiths.

4. Trust Your Intuition

This one is very important to pick up, especially for all my female solo-travellers like myself. It’s that natural instinct, but it can also be the trickiest and most confusing one to figure out.

Should I go with that guy I just met at the bar? Am I going in the right direction towards my hostel? Do I feel safe in this taxi cab? Something doesn’t feel right here… or the very opposite can also be the case and you have a good feeling about something and are debating whether to go for it! Whatever the case may be, it’s super important to listen to your gut and put your safety first. This will come easier along your travels and you’ll start to understand and make out different feelings. Some destinations just feel much more comfortable than others, and if a place is making you feel like you shouldn’t be there alone, or say you don’t want to take part in something or go somewhere, trust your instinct – it will never fail you! Apply this to all your travels and you’re set for a great time, but also carry this into your everyday life – from choosing between the right career opportunity or whether you’re making a smart investment etc…

5. There's Beauty in Independence

Probably what travel has done the most for me is it taught me to leave my comfort zone and embrace my independence! With each trip you take, whether it’s your first solo experience or a group trip with friends, you’ll quickly realize what your likes and dislikes are. You’ll find out what type of traveller you are and what you want to get out of your trip. These might be different from those of your partner or friends, but you learn to speak up, voice your wants, how to make compromises and maybe spend some time exploring on your own! This also ties into my third point above. Again, you’ll gain curiosity and an open mind, to embrace new possibilities and this in turn will give you the courage to try new things! You’ll gain the confidence to speak with the locals, ask for directions or help, and chase new experiences. You’ll also see this confidence translate into everyday life outside of just travel, from making decisions independently, to better understanding social cues, or taking on projects on your own.

For this reason, I highly encourage everyone to try out solo travelling at least once! Especially as a female solo-traveller, it can truly be one of the most rewarding, eye-opening and confidence-boosting experience ever! As cheesy as it sounds, it really does teach you a lot about yourself and how to tackle the world as the boss babe that you are!!

Costa da Caparica, Portugal. My first solo trip and first Workaway experience at a local surf hostel.

Annnnd that rounds up my top 5 life lessons learned through travel!

I hope you enjoyed my first blog post… I can’t wait to bring out more content and connect with you guys!!

I’d love to hear what your number one life lesson learned through travel is in the comments below!

Happy travels,

Tatiana