Travel is many things to different people. It could be an opportunity to learn about another culture or language. A chance to explore new places and try different foods. Or simply a means of escaping those deadlines and day to day stresses for a while. But there’s one thing that travel has in common for everyone, it will without a doubt give you a serious self-esteem boost. Here are 5 ways that travel improves your confidence:

1. Travel will push your boundaries

For most of us, routine means comfort! If we’ve carved out a nice little piece of existence for ourselves, for the most part, we probably enjoy floating around in that bubble. But with that safety comes complacency. Whether it’s because you’re holding on for a dear life while the chicken bus you are on rattles down a bumpy Mexican road, or because you are about to try eating a BBQ frog in China for the first time, travel will force you out your comfort zone. And new experiences can only ever be a good thing when it comes to dealing with unexpected adversities in life. Through travel, you’ll learn what it’s like to be independent and self-sufficient when it comes to your own needs.

2. Travel will make you decisive and flexible

The trick to travelling is to roll with the punches. Through allowing yourself to be flexible you’ll learn not to stress over things that don’t matter. Missed the last bus to your next destination? No worries, one more night to party with your new mates. Got lost on your way to the market? You’ll figure it out and have an extra adventure in the meantime. You’ll get really good at making decisions for yourself too. Will I stay here or here? Go to this place or that place? Should I leave tomorrow or stay another day? Having this level of control over your own actions is liberating and you have to decide because no one else is going to do it for you.

3. Travel will enable self-discovery

Society weighs expectation on us, “you should do this”, “you need to achieve that”, “this is the way to do it”. But if you aren’t ‘successful’ at these things, whatever they may be, you start to put certain limits on your own abilities and say things to yourself like “I'd never be able to do that” or “that’s too hard”. Exposing yourself to different ways of life through travel smashes down those barriers. And, it enables you to think that the world is your oyster when it comes to opportunity. Throughout our lives, we attach meaning to learnings from other people, but travel allows you to step back and see what really matters to you. Not your parents, not your teacher, not your boss. You.

4. Travel will teach you to live in the moment

From failed relationships we wish had worked to failed exams we wish we’d passed. Whoever we are, everyone carries around a certain amount of emotional baggage. It’s all too easy to dwell on things that haven’t gone right in the past and hope things go better in the future. But travel lets you let go of these unhealthy focusses and just be happy. Right there in that moment with the sand between your toes and a cold beer in your hand, nothing else matters. You’ll also meet people from all walks of life and see things that you’ve never even dreamt of. Things that will put a bad day at the office or an argument with a friend into complete perspective.

5. Travel will turn you into a risk taker

We’re not talking about skydiving or wakeboarding here! Although both might feature in your travel itinerary if you love extreme sports, but rather the to day to day elements of travel. Striking up a conversation with a fellow traveller, picking a random thing to eat from a menu because you can’t read the language or even just carrying everything that’s important to you around on your back. As human beings, we are preconditioned to avoid risk, which is fine, until inevitably a time comes in your life when you have to make a risky decision. Travel automatically engineers small risks in our lives which make us better equipped to deal with bigger problems as they arise.

So go on, get that ticket booked and do something just for you for a while. Remember to come and visit us at The Whole World or Nothing for more tips and tricks on specific locations.