How Embracing Travel Makes You A Better BOSS BABE
The main reason I started The Globe Diarywas to inspire people to travel more, even if it was just locally. And that’s because I think travel is that important. It fundamentally transforms us and it’s made me take on living abroad in a new light. Studies have shown that traveling reduces overall stress, enhances creativity, boosts happiness, and decreases symptoms of depression. All of which would have a positive impact on you as a boss babe.
Most importantly, however, investing in travel is like investing in an education -- the results are intangible but extremely valuable. Travel adds to the school of knowledge you can’t acquire in a classroom. So get out there and learn. Here are my top 10 reasons why travel is important for you and your business:
#1: To Learn to Adapt
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Travel, like business, involves constantly unplanned changes and finding solutions to adapting to new environments. You’ll know, if you read our blog, that with all our dream travel experiences, come flight delays, lost baggage, and a whole host of other #travelproblems. Most recently, our fail of a trip to New York. While these may seem like hindrances in the moment, they serve as real-life teaching moments that you’ll need as an entrepreneur. Learning to be flexible and positive in these situations that arise while travelling will shape how you handle these situations in the workplace. Constraints and obstacles are inevitable but it’s how you deal with them that will make you a good entrepreneur.
Ever tried to speak to a confused Frenchman when you find yourself lost down some cobblestone street in Paris without any wifi? Well, we have. And, while we embrace these types of funny moments, you’ll have to find creative ways to get around obstacles like language barriers, or cultural differences when travelling. Whether it be through wild hand gestures and broken French, you’ll find where you need to go. Learning to communicate with potential business partners or a difficult client will be a breeze after all that.
#3: To Embrace Diversity
Travel will undoubtedly expand your awareness and open your mind to new things. In today’s global economy, never cut yourself from interaction with foreign cultures and markets because you consider yourself ‘too small’ or ‘more local’. Being aware of different could make your business unique! And with that, the exposure to new cultures in different countries will teach you new values and perspectives you could adapt in your business that no one else is doing in your market. Be different Babe!
#4: To Plan & Manage Time
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There is no life lesson like the one where you miss your flight and end up spending an entire weekend in the airport instead of New York. Believe me, we’ve been there. And now we will always arrive with enough time. But also, we plan for enough time to explore, to relax and to debrief even after travel. If we didn't’ we wouldn’t be able to maximise our time. And we all know, when you run your own business, there are never enough hours in the day!
#5: To Encourage Personal Growth
Travel provides the platform to get out of your comfort zone and try new things. Yes, there is nothing like the risk of starting a new business. But try visiting a new country, with different cultures and customs. Try spending a week exploring a new place with a friend or significant other. Try it all solo! Travelling is the best way to get to know you!
#6: To Practice Self-Care & Take A Break
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By taking a break from your daily life, unplugging from technology and engaging in new activities in new places, it becomes easier to release from unwanted habits. Slow down. Take a break from your high-stress, fast-paced life. Burnout is real, and while work, work, work might benefit your business short-term, you’ll lose momentum, drive and your emotional capacity to deal with the obstacles coming at you on the daily. Take a page out of our book, with Craig and I juggling full-time jobs and our side-hustles, plus not being accustomed to Alberta Winters, we always book a sunny getaway, like Mexico, to regroup and come back re-energised. And I kid you not, we’re practically new people after a week away.
#7: To Embrace Change
I read something once that resonated with me and perfectly sums up how life-changing travel really can be: “Travel to surround yourself with people who don't know the encyclopaedia of your past. It reinforces your willingness to broaden your horizons, to get unstuck and to move in new directions.” The fact that Craig and I had travelled so much is precisely the reason we weren’t afraid of moving halfway across the world from South Africa to Canada. I’m not saying it was easy -- I did after all write all about my struggle the first year here -- but without knowledge of what’s out there, we would never have been motivated to leave our comfort zone and embrace the adventure that was to come.
#8: To Network
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Ever made a friend while travelling? No? Well then you’re doing it wrong! By not using those moments to build connections and relationships with people around the world, you’re missing out on an incredible resource which can come in handy when starting a new venture. Especially in the age of social media! Beyond that, it also helps strengthen networking skills by forcing you to interact with people you otherwise wouldn’t talk to. And networking, my friend, is the best secret in business!
#9: To Inspire You
Nothing kills my inspiration faster than focusing on staying indoors to work and meet deadlines. Yes, hard work is the name of the game — don’t get me wrong — but if you don’t take a moment to look up, it can hurt your ability to come up with new ideas or inspiration. Travelling can give you incredible insight to how things work around the world and what you’re doing that might not be working for you. Stroke your curiosity with first-time experiences and see
#10: To Motivate You
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If you indeed catch the travel bug like we did, and travelling the world is a high priority, it will surely become a huge motivator on a day to day basis to work hard so you can play hard later. Knowing I have a trip coming up in a few weeks makes me willing to work harder because I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel -- a much needed relaxing or exciting getaway!
