Travel is a catalyst for personal development. It radically alters your external conditions and breaks familiar patterns. Any time you travel to a new place, you expose yourself to the possibility of transformation. This doesn’t mean that you will be transformed, just that the possibility is there.
photo: Laris.Sa*
If personal development is your primary goal in life, however, not all types of travel are as effective. For example, the type of travel most people do in their lifetimes is vacation. I do enjoy a vacation from time to time, and some of my vacations have turned out to be mind-blowing, helping me grow in ways I never expected. But in general, vacation is not the best model to create lasting personal transformation.
Why vacation isn’t the best model for personal development
photo: D Sharon Pruitt
Rushed.
Usually a vacation has some kind of contrived schedule. You have to be certain places at specific times, you have to rendezvous with your friends or family, and most importantly of all, you have to return to the “real world” by a certain date. You might not have time to internalize what you’ve experienced or learned.
Fun.
Vacations are typically focused on entertainment. For some, entertainment equates unwholesome activities, such as drinking to excess or having steamy sex with glamorous strangers. While these activities may be initially pleasurable, their effect on your long-term personal development is neutral or negative.
Mind-block.
All too often vacations are intended to block out ordinary life. You go on vacation so you don’t have to think about your soul-sucking job, your dead-end relationship, or your mountain of financial debt. You’re putting a lot of energy into distracting yourself from your problems, which makes it impossible to confront and transcend them. Distraction is not a useful tool for personal development.
Disconnected.
Vacation by its very nature is disconnected from “real” life. Have you ever said to yourself, “I’m going to do this every day?” while on vacation? For example: enjoying a leisurely brekkie with a newspaper, going for a morning jog, doing yoga, giving your spouse a massage, making fresh smoothies for breakfast. These are pleasant activities that you easily could make time to do in your “real” life, but when you return home, you inexplicably don’t. Or maybe you feel adventurous and energetic on vacation, and wonder why you can’t seem to manifest those qualities when the vacation is over. It’s just really hard to take positive experiences from vacation and bring them into ordinary life. You fall into familiar patterns as soon as you are back in the familiar environment.
The nomadic lifestyle as a path for personal development
In contrast to vacation, a nomadic lifestyle can be an excellent catalyst for conscious personal development.
photo: linh.ngân
Productive.
Working nomads generate income rather than degenerating it. That is, you’re making money, not just spending it. It’s a lifestyle of production and creation, in contrast to vacation, which is all about taking, using, spending.
Of course you are spending some money too, in order to support your lifestyle. To make a nomadic lifestyle succeed, you may have to work harder and be more creative at first. If a habit or routine doesn’t serve you, you’ll notice very quickly because you’ll start running out of money!
I don’t mean to imply that money is the only indicator of health or happiness or even that it’s the most important. It’s not. However, money is a really useful benchmark because if you’re earning at a decent rate and are able to financially support your lifestyle, chances are that you’re practicing good habits such as self-discipline, motivation, patience, diligence–and those are habits that will serve you well in other aspects of your life.
Fluid.
Working nomads don’t have to follow anyone else’s travel itineraries. Your schedule is your own. If a place resonates with you, stay there for a while. If you start to experience negative patterns in your life, go somewhere else. Unlike static dwellers, you have the entire planet to choose from and can deliberately seek out locations that support and nurture your inner and outer goals.
This doesn’t mean that you should run away from challenging situations or people. Sometimes you will feel drawn to the very spot on the planet that demands the most courage and honesty from you. Listen to your intuition.
Connected.
The nomadic lifestyle isn’t a distraction from your real life–it is your real life. You’re less prone to blocking out unpleasant experiences or delaying important realizations.The relationships you form with people along the way are genuine and potentially long-term, in contrast to short-lived vacation friendships. Everything that you learn during your travels is woven into the fabric of your daily routine.
5 ways to lay the foundation for personal development during travel
If you’re already living the nomadic lifestyle and want to make personal development a higher priority in your life, form an intention to practice these five foundational skills. These are simply some of the qualities I am working on in my own life, so it’s by no means an authoritative list. If you have anything to add, please do so in the comments!
- Adapt to your environment. Every time you embark on a new chapter, evaluate your habits and routines. Modify or discard behaviors that aren’t appropriate for the new situation.
- Let go of control. Accept that a nomad’s life is unpredictable. You don’t need to know everything in advance. Important realizations and discoveries often arise from seeming chaos.
- Follow your own star. Other people may try to involve you in their hobbies or passions. Don’t get sucked into helping someone else start their small business, volunteering for a cause that doesn’t speak to you, or staying in a place that you don’t like.
- Meet your needs. According to Maslow‘s hierarchy of needs, basic needs such as food, water, and financial security are at the bottom of the pyramid. It’s not true that such must be met before advancing up the pyramid (the word hierarchy is a bit misleading here), but you might find it difficult to progress further along your personal path if you feel unsafe or if you’re stressed about money.
- Stay connected. If you don’t interact or socialize with other people, you will turn inward too much. You may feel unstable or lonely. Make friends in your physical location and give back to the community in some way. At the same time, stay in touch with friends and family in other parts of the world. When you have strong personal relationships, everything else in life feels a lot easier.
photo: h.koppdelaney
I hope this post has given you some food for thought. I’ll end with a quote from author Miriam Beard.
“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”
I want to help you find your calm center and experience travel with courage, curiosity and compassion. 
[...] a recent post, I wrote that the nomadic lifestyle is one of production and creativity. I’ve been thinking about this, and I’d like to give these qualities a higher priority [...]
[...] A number of people have asked me where I find the beautiful photos I publish with posts. A few of them are mine, but most of them (the best ones!) are found on Flickr. I am deeply grateful to the generous and talented souls who share their work under the Creative Commons license, and I hope that you occasionally click on their bylines to view the rest of their portfolios. Some of my favorite photos so far are here and here. [...]