There are so many reasons to travel, whether it’s for a long weekend, a week, a month, a year, or a lifetime. Here is part six in a seven post series on why you should travel.
Discover What You Really Need
Traveling can allow us to realize what it is we really need, what it is we want and what are just extra things weighing us down. Travel can help to simplify one’s life – separate needs from wants. When you travel, how do you like to spend most of your money? On souvenirs, tours, food, accommodation? What are the things you really need to enjoy yourself?
For many people, traveling is about experiencing new places by getting out mingling with locals, eating new and authentic foods and having adventures in a new place. Not much is needed to do this. A lot of times it is the simpler things that are the most pleasurable. Things such as sharing a meal with good company, having meaningful interaction with locals and learning something about them and their culture, seeing beautiful art, architecture and nature.
Here are several tips to helping you find what it is you need when traveling.
Only pack versatile clothing: Pack clothing that you can wear in more than way, either by layering or by function (such as long pants that convert into shorts). This will save a lot of room in your backpack or suitcase. Many people are surprised by how far a few pieces of versatile clothing can go.
Make a list: Make a list of the only the things you’ll need on a daily basis – your toothbrush, your phone charger, medicines, camera, etc. Pack only the things on this list and resist sneaking in anything else.
Travel smarter Traveling smarter means you’ll better be able to discover the difference between what you need and everything else. Keep things simple and basic. Here’s a good article on how to pack smarter.
Buy meaningful souvenirs: It can be tempting to buy a lot of souvenirs when traveling, especially telling yourself, “I need to buy this because I might not be back”. Rather than picking up a lot of trinkets whose novelty will wear off in a few months, really thinking about what is meaningful to you or whoever you are buying it for.
