by Taryn Kafer, University of Dubuque & YP Co Director of Marketing

Change is one of the toughest things a person can experience.

We are all in tune with our surroundings and the people that we are comfortable within our day-to-day lives. Sometimes we forget about the world that is outside of our comfort zone. Yes, there are many challenges out there in the world, but look at it as an opportunity for you to learn and grow as a person to help better your career and life. Traveling gives you that opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and push you to new limits. Traveling gives you so much more than a relaxing escape from your daily life.

Here are the reasons that you should travel more often to enhance your career. Quoting Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the places you’ll go!” 

You Become More Adaptable
Travel teaches you to be aware of everything happening around you. You learn to quickly jump from Plan A to Plan B in the event of any change in plan or an emergency. Being able to welcome new and untested ideas or challenges helps you set and stick to long-term goals in your career and life. Traveling helps you to no longer fear the unknown and enables you to embrace unfamiliar situations, people, and surroundings with ease.

You Improve Communication Skills
Traveling around the world enables you to meet new people with different perspectives and backgrounds which can lead to interesting conversations.  These conversations will stay with you for the rest of your life. People skills are often one of the most important traits corporations are looking for. Communication is an indispensable skill for building a rapport with your team and it’s a skill that companies are constantly seeking. Travel helps you improve your communication skills as you are talking to random strangers on a bus to figure out which stop you need to get off at. You become a better, active listener when you come out of the boundaries of your own culture and interact with people of another culture. These improved communication skills help you build your network and make you a strong employee.

You Sharpen Your Decision-Making Skills
The moment you decide to travel is the moment you have begun working on your decision-making skills. An important leadership trait that companies appreciate in their employees is their decision-making skills. When traveling, you make many decisions - which train to take, which city to go to, which site to see, and where to eat. Sometimes these decisions have to be made more quickly than you would like.  For example, making sure you decide to take the right train when two possible trains leave in the next 5 minutes can test this.  Making quick and efficient decisions is something you can improve on by traveling more.

You Become More Organized
Taking the initiative to plan ahead when traveling can be the most challenging aspect of planning a trip.  Organizing and planning your trip well in advance is not the most fun thing to do, but it is essential. Budgeting, planning, researching, packing, etc. are important for a successful trip. When I was backpacking around Europe for about 3 months, it took me about 4 months in advance to plan out my whole trip. Tackling this in advance took the stress off my shoulders every time I arrived in a new city. Organized people are people who trust their processes and operations in life.

You Become Independent
Even though most employers are worried about whether an employee can work well in a team environment, they are also concerned that employees can work independently. Traveling helps you truly become independent, giving you time to think for yourself and find deeper insights into your existence. It pulls you out of the daily grind. Doing this helps you become an independent thinker and a better problem solver. You get thrown into situations that you have to figure out on your own in your personal and professional life.

You Grow More Confident
Traveling builds your confidence in numerous situations. People don’t realize their true potential until unexpected situations are thrown at them. Managing your stress is another important aspect when traveling to the unknown. The more you are able to deal with stress and situations the more you increase your self-confidence. Traveling is about leaving your comfort zone and what better way is there to boost your self-confidence than by traveling more?

When it comes to bettering yourself and professional growth, traveling more often has many long-term benefits! You learn to take responsibility for yourself and this responsibility stays with you and can be applied to your career and life. Traveling allows you to grow your network, generate new ideas, and develop better people skills! Where are you booking your next plane ticket to?