We’re all looking for ways to take better care of ourselves. With 22% of American workers reporting feeling high levels of burnout, it’s far from uncommon to feel like you need to refresh yourself. While self-care encompasses a variety of small-scale practices like meditation and eating habits, though, there are bigger steps you can take to give yourself a break.
Taking the time to explore the world by traveling is a great way to nourish the soul. Here’s why.
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Broadening your horizons
If you’ve ever felt restless, then exploring new places and engaging with new cultures that you wouldn’t ordinarily have the chance to do is a great choice. Our minds love to be stimulated, and few things achieve that better than putting yourself in an unusual situation or setting.
Research has found that around a quarter of Americans have never traveled abroad – and that doing so has a clear effect on your outlook, so visiting another country could be a great way to shake up your mindset if you’ve been struggling. Exploring new destinations like Cancun or Hawaii can add an exciting dimension to your travel experiences.
Time to reset
It’s easy to think we get enough rest when the weekend comes around but how many people do you talk to who feel tired all the time? One of the best things about travel is how it takes you completely out of the patterns of your life, including the little tasks that carry through from day to day and week to week.
Taking a few days or a week to be completely disconnected from the rest of your life lets you shake off the built-up fatigue you might not even realize you’re carrying.
Improving physical and mental health
Depending on what kind of vacation suits you best, you can make travel an opportunity to focus on either total relaxation or total exhilaration. Action-packed adventures like surfing, hiking, or cycling trips can help clear your mind and get you feeling at the top. Exercise is well understood to be one of the best ways to support mental health, and if it ever feels like work to do exercise at home, it’ll feel less like it when you’re biking through scenic landscapes.
Meeting new people
Few things can be more refreshing than spending time with good people, especially those you haven’t met before. Whether it’s speaking to locals and immersing yourself in the culture or encountering fellow travelers at hotels, in restaurants, or on the beach, it’s an opportunity to make connections that could last a lifetime.
Self-care means different things to different people, but travel is a chance to make lasting memories, the kind that nourish the soul for long after you get home.
Featured Image by Gino Crescoli from Pixabay
