7 Life Lessons to Learn While Travelling Solo

26 Jul 2016 by Olga Brighton

Travel Information

Am I prepared? Do I have what it takes? Should I ask a friend to join me? Will I be ok? These are some of the questions you may ask yourself if you decide to travel solo. The truth is travelling alone is exciting and scary at the same time. For most people it is a step out of their comfort zone. However, you get to learn life lessons that are valuable. Here are 7 life lessons that you could benefit from when travelling solo:

Independence

When travelling alone, you get new-found freedom. All you have to depend on is yourself. During the journey, you decide where to go, where to sleep and which new things to try out. No one is there to influence you, as you are your own boss. You have control of your time, money and other resources. You can either spend them wisely or waste them away. In the end, you're the only one responsible for the consequences of your choices. There's no one to judge your decisions. It's your life and you can take full responsibility for your actions. The decisions you take during the experience affect only you. The independence you learn helps your confidence and decision-making skills.

Trusting your intuition

The experience of travelling alone leads you to make decisions independently. Most of the time, you won't have all the relevant information to make a perfect choice. You'll need to tune into and trust your intuition in these circumstancesl.

Responsibility

Travelling alone gives you a chance to study how responsible you are for your actions. It also gives you the opportunity to change into a responsible person. You have all the freedom in the world during this period, but you have to be wise on how you use it. For example, you learn how to budget and avoid impulse spending. You learn to own up to your mistakes and successes.

Loving yourself

Travelling solo is an emotional journey. It is a chance for self-discovery in solitude. Yes, it might get lonely, but you get to analyse your personality and get to understand yourself better. You will grow to appreciate your thoughts and company more. Being happy, comfortable and content with yourself is the most important lessons you'll ever learn. Besides, just because you're travelling solo doesn't mean you'll be lonely. The world is not an island and obviously, you will meet and get to know new people along the way who will open your mind to new worlds.

Adjusting to your surrounding

Whilst travelling you get to go to new places, meet new people with different cultures. You get to learn to adapt depending on your environment. You get used to eating new foods, learning foreign languages and sleeping in different places. When things do not go the way you expect, you deal with what you have. This is a skill you can apply to life even after your travel experience.