People make up lots of excuses for not traveling. Most of the excuses, as you probably already know, are just made up to make them rationalize their decisions and make them feel better. What they don’t know is how much they would fall in love with traveling if they actually tried it.
It is rare that a person goes on an adventurous and fun trip and comes back not wanting to repeat the experience. To postpone all the joys of traveling to old age is to do oneself a great disservice. Here are some of the reasons why you should consider hitting the road while you’re still young:
It is Actually Much Easier to Travel than You Think
Get all of the excuses out of the way. Whatever your circumstances are right now, you can plan and actually go on interesting travel experiences in a surprisingly short span of time. If your excuse is finances, you will be amazed at how a little financial planning and deliberately putting away money for travel can quickly grow your travel savings account.
Since you are a young person, you are never going to have fewer responsibilities than you have now. Being busy is not an excuse. If you can’t clear your schedule or take a paid vacation right now, you can’t claim that you will find it easier to travel 5 years from now when you have kids and a family to look after.
Ultimately, you will only attend to the things that you consider a priority. Traveling can be a productive experience and can be prioritized over mindless activities such as watching TV or spending all of your time on social media.
Catch the Travel Bug Early
Most people who take traveling as a hobby usually wonder why they hadn’t done it earlier. Even if your first trip is a logistical disaster, the overall experience will not persuade you against travel.
Starting to travel early and catching wanderlust in your youth sets you up to have amazing life experiences all your life. The longer you wait to take up traveling, the harder it becomes to put travel plans in place and follow through.
We do things out of habit, and our fears tend to strengthen with time, energy, or attention we give them. Free yourself of all hang-ups relating to travel while you’re still young so you can experience life and all its glory.
A Chance to Travel without Kids
As you get older and build a family, your travels will be elaborate and will include the members of your immediate family. Traveling young gives you a chance to experience what it’s like to travel alone and not have to worry about the welfare of those who depend on you.
You can stay wherever you like. You can crash on the couch of a friend you just met or stay at an elaborate all-inclusive resort. If you stay at an adults all-inclusive resort, you will have the opportunity to mingle with other travelers and make friends or even find love. Choose an adults-only resort over a family-friendly one. You don’t want to spend your vacation surrounded by a ton of noise and kids.
You Get to Appreciate What You Have
Ambitious young people are often unhappy with their situation in life, because they are far off from their general life goals. Happiness is often influenced by the difference between one’s expectations and reality. The greater the expectation-reality gap, the higher the likelihood that the person will be unhappy.
If you want to break out of this self-imposed cage of unhappiness, you can travel to get some perspective of how people have it out there. You will quickly realize that you are blessed beyond belief and that your worries about your situation, while they may be reasonable, need not cause you any grief.
An appreciation of the advantages you currently enjoy can also motivate you to apply yourself more so you can achieve your goals faster.
Experience Life’s Possibilities and Explore Them in Your Youth
Nothing does more to open the mind to what’s possible than travel. What use is gaining an appreciation for what’s possible in your old age when you are too tired to pursue them?
Give yourself the chance to experience what’s possible while you are still young and have the energy and mental capabilities to go hard after the goals that matter to you. Remember that the earlier you achieve your goals, the more time you will have to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Become a Cultured Individual
The easiest person to get along with is the person who gets ahead faster. Every position, advantage, or dollar you will ever earn in your life will have to come from or be given to you by another person.
You must have noticed that the people at the top are quite easy to get along with. They are not easy to get along with because they are at the top; they are at the top because they are easy to get along with.
Get to Know Yourself
Traveling will expose you a wide range of cultures, values, and interests that will teach you more about yourself, the people around you, and humans in general. The more you understand yourself and other people, the more you realize that humans share more similarities than differences.
You will also be able to appreciate other people’s life experiences and so be able to empathize with them. Traveling is an amazing thing, and should not be take for granted at any age, but especially at the age where you are still learning about yourself.
