Sometimes taking the big jump to go travelling requires a bit of persuading. Its not just the fact that you will be dropping everything at home to live out of a bag for ‘x’ amount of time but it can also be a scary endeavour to embark on. Travelling is an investment in yourself, yes you will spend a lot of money in this “investment” but skills, experiences and knowledge that you will gain will be far more beneficial to you!
But if you need further persuasion then check out the following skills below that you will enhance when travelling;
1. Planning – first off travelling takes a lot of planning and researching, even if you don’t plan it to a tee, at the minimum there are still flights to be booked, visas to apply for, travel injections to research and a bag to be packed.
2. Organisation – being organised makes travelling go so much smoother, it doesn’t have to be a high level of organisation even just a travel wallet to put documents and your passport in would suffice. Tip: I like to print off important documents such as flight confirmations and visa docs – these help reduce time spent trying to find the document in question amongst a tonne of emails.
3. Communication – whether travelling by yourself or in a group you will have to make conversation with strangers at one point or another. The more you make the effort the easier it becomes, therefore enhancing your interpersonal skills. Tip: Speak to as many people as possible from as many countries as possible.
4. Adventure – whilst not a typical skill it is still key to have a sense of adventure. When travelling you will be forced to try new and different types of foods/accommodation/experiences etc. Indulging yourself in these new experiences with a sense of adventure will only add to your trip!
5. Adaptivity – when travelling through new countries with different cultures you learn to adapt quickly with practice. Adapting also helps to reduce the likelihood of offending the culture in any way. Researching a country’s culture before arriving helps you to adapt.
6. Language – travelling through different cultures you will no doubt pick up bits of different languages. Asking a friendly local generally is the best way to learn, I find knowing the basics ‘hello’, ‘please’, ‘thank you’ ‘goodbye’ helps when getting around.
7. Photography – so you’re in a beautiful country and all you want to do is take it all in and share with others at home – this is where your photography skills will develop. Unless you are a professional photographer there will be no other time you will take as many photos as when travelling and as they say – practice makes perfect!
These are just a few skills that will be enhanced, others include map reading, resourcefulness, budgeting and so many more!! Travelling isnt just a holiday, it can be hard work, testing at times, take you completely out of your comfort zone – but the experiences you will have, people you will meet and sights you will see will always make it worthwhile!!
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