Our comfortability within our known settings and cultures can keep us confined to that environment or only open to similar environments. Taking that leap of faith to explore outside of what you know and see will help you to begin to think outside of the box in your life. Most times frequent simple road trips for a day or weekend to another state with friends, family, close co-workers or even by yourself, safely, will suffice.
As you continue to travel, you get to view life from a new pair of lenses. Traveling gives you the opportunity to drop your guard as a human being. You are happier when you are traveling and willing to try new things and meet new people. The people you meet are feeling the same happiness as well creating an atomposhere of matching energies creating a great trip. You feel alive and refreshed and now you can begin to identify yourself in these new environments. Your strengths, YOUR PASSIONS, and YOUR PURPOSE! Traveling is a learning experience each time and as you learn, your perception improves and you develop respect for those people you encountered; practices, values and cultures.
It's easy to be content with what makes us comfortable, especially when it comes to people. We would rather stay amongst the people we know than with the ones we don't. However, traveling will force you to be more sociable. You will have to engage conversations with individuals you do not know. When you need help, and you will always need help because it is a new experience to you. Questions are inevitable and you will be demanded to be confident enough to ask them since you will be confronted with culture shock. But that cultural shock in meeting new people will give you the life skills of efficient social networking and interactions as you continue to travel and be forced to practice more.
What is Culture Shock? According to Merriam Webster, the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes. For example, it's your first time traveling to New York City. Now you are not familiar with New York's fast pace culture, so you may find it disrespectful that individuals may bump you by accident when walking by not because they are aggressors, but because there about 50 to 100 people on the block at one time. Saying excuse me would become redundant and pointless to those who reside in New York, but to you as a visitor or tourist it’s common courtesy. My first time in New York as an independent adult. I was forced to question our waitress about the culture of New York because everyone in New York seemed aggressive in action, no matter if they were driving or walking. Why is that? It seemed as if tourists were easy to identify and not welcomed. But the answer was straight to the point and understandable. "New York is an all year tourist attraction that brings in millions of people from all over the world. The population who resides in the tourist attracted city must learn how to maneuver through the tourist crowds to get to their destinations on time, so if we bumped you while you were taking a picture of time square, “its not intentional or disrespect, we just have to keep the swift pace to meet our schedules.” I understood it completely once receiving clarity on the why and adapted but also observed how it can be an inconvenience that someone stops in the middle of the sidewalk with 50 to 100 people in motion to take a picture of the architect in Time Square. I understood that is not my environment or culture I am visiting, so I must respect the way of life. You must realize and understand that everywhere and everyone is different and the more you travel, the more you will understand people's cultures and people as a whole, so you can begin to change your perception on life and your social interactions. I ensure you traveling aid you in gaining respect for everyone including yourself and the box you put yourself in, you will destroy so you can begin to live.
