Travelling can completely change how you see the world. You can go from rock bottom to being literally the happiest person in the world. You grow, you evolve, you become a better you.
But then you come home, reality hits, and that sunny outset just kind of slips away again.
It’s easy to slip back into old habits, old routines and old pre-travel attitudes. But it’s far more valuable to take the lessons you’ve learnt, the perspective you’ve gained and the positive mind set you’ve created into your everyday life. After all, surely a happier you shouldn’t have to end? Just because you’re not travelling anymore, doesn’t mean your positive mental traveling attitude has to stop.
Yup, being happy, in your everyday life IS possible, but it’s all about making sure your PMA is on point! Here’s how…
Make sure you’ve got everything out of your travels
Coming home too soon, not feeling fulfilled and still having that travel bug rumbling inside of you can be a rookie error. Yes it’s true the travel bug always lays dormant, waiting to be activated again, but if you get everything you want out of your travels you’re able to satisfy the itch for a lot longer. This may mean ticking off a certain number of counties, seeing everything within your favourite continent or smashing it living/working abroad for a short amount of time. Whatever it is, make sure you do it, and do it good. It will make coming home a whole lot easier.
Continue not to give a damn
This doesn’t mean sitting around in yesterday’s underwear eating cereal with a fork. Unfortunately getting a job and going back to the grind is inevitable, after all it’s the hard work that makes the $$$ and the travel dreams become a reality in the first place. It’s the grind that makes you appreciate the good times.
But I’m sure most people who have travelled can relate to that feeling of seriously not giving a s*it – Not caring what people think of you, not second guessing yourself, not overthinking and not doing things because you think that’s what you should do. Why would you? You never have to see those people again. But you do, and those are often the people you make the strongest connections in life with.
At the end of the day all giving a f*ck really does is hold you back from your potential and being you. So, do what the hell feels right, be spontaneous and follow your instincts. It’s what will make you your happiest.
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Don’t dwell on the past
Dwelling on the past will only keep you there. Of course it’s normal to look back at pictures and reminisce but it’s far more productive to put your energy into looking forward. The opportunities, optimism and energy travel gives you are unparalleled. Putting this into the next chapter of your life along with your new-found perspective, outlook and ambition is absolutely the best way forward. This may well mean mixing things up to add some excitement and change to your ‘everyday’ – Maybe a new job, a new environment, a new housemate … a fresh start, that helps you to avoid old habits.
Continue to put things into perspective
Maybe one of the key and most common attributes learnt and enhanced when travelling is a sense of perspective. Travel helps you to gain a more open-minded attitude, you see other people’s ways of life and appreciate your own, you experience new cultures and realise there’s a whole lot more out there then you ever realised. Perspective is a key part of PMA, it’s a way of rationalising things and being in a mind-set where you’re thankful for what you have. So, if you’re having a bad day, missed your train or things aren’t going as you’d like them to, step back for a moment and put things into perspective. Think of the bigger picture – Is it really that bad? The majority of the time, probably not. And if there is something you have to actively change to improve your PMA then do it.
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Apply the positives to your everyday
As well as perspective, travel improves a whole lot of other attributes – Confidence, socialising, ambition, self-challenge, self-clarity, independence … the list goes on and on. If you can be all these things in some random place on the other side of the world, you sure can be them in your home country. Don’t forget the person you’ve grown into, these are the qualities that made you your happiest and will help you thrive and be the best version of you.
Always have another adventure on the horizon
This may not mean having another 6-month trip up your sleeve, but it’s always healthy to have exciting things to look forward to. This can be anything from a little weekend away in the countryside to a road trip to another city. Just because you’re not abroad, it doesn’t mean you still can’t go on adventures. After all, the wider world always awaits.