Why You Should Prioritise Travel Experiences Over Material Possessions.

Do you prioritise material possessions over travel experiences?

Personally, travel has always been of huge importance to me. I’ve learnt more while travelling than I ever thought possible.

As a family, we have prioritised experiences over possessions for many years, and it has contributed immensely not only to our personal growth but to our happiness.

Here are the reasons why it could contribute to your happiness too:

Anticipation = Happiness. Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science has revealed that anticipating an experience before it even happens makes us happier than waiting for something tangible like a new sofa or smartphone.

I’d like to add that the memory of experiences while travelling will last forever; a new sofa or smartphone definitely won’t!

It gives us a wider perspective on life. We may learn how lucky we are to have food on the table and a roof over our head.

Visiting countries that experience poverty can be humbling and life-changing.

Our small complaints seem irrelevant when so many others have so little yet are still able to smile.

It breaks our daily routine and habitual ways of living. This may allow us to see that there are other possibilities!

It can make us more patient. Dealing with airport delays and disrupted travel plans can be challenging but also character building.

Being away from home makes us appreciate home.

We learn how to just ‘be’. Time often becomes irrelevant beyond the airport.

Doing what we want, eating when we want and sleeping when we want brings great freedom.

It makes us realise how much we ‘clock watch’ in our daily lives and reminds us that it feels good to let time be irrelevant occasionally!

It increases our faith in humanity. Maddox discovered that the more countries we visit, our sense of generalised trust increases.

It can improve our focus and performance. The Journal of Environmental Psychology has revealed that when we simply look at a photo of nature, it improves our focus and performance.

Can you even imagine the effect it has on us when to travel to immerse ourselves in nature?

It can make us more creative. People who integrate a different culture into their identity are found to be more creative in the long run.

Doing what other cultures do encourages us to think in different ways and create new ideas. Scientist refer to this as cognitive flexibility.

If you are more cognitively flexible, then you will be more creative.

If you wonder if you should travel more, then my question to you is, “At the end of your life, will you remember your cultural experience or the smartphone that bought at the age of 40?”.

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