8 Reasons Why Traveling Alone is the Ultimate Path to Self-Discovery & Why You Should Take a Solo Trip

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others into our own likes. And dislikes. When you travel alone, you give yourself the opportunity, you give yourself the space, You give yourself the time to recognize what's important to you, what's meaningful to you, what's valuable to you, what's real to you. The number one health and wellness podcast.

you that they want to do it. Solo trips are becoming more and more normalized, they're becoming more and more prevalent, They're more and more in demand, so much so that Forbes actually made a list of the ten most popular solo travel destinations for twenty twenty four, and the report went on to mention everything from Japan, Argentina, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, You've got Jordan on that list, Thailand, Philippines, Bali, and

maybe one more as well. But what's incredible about that list is that it's showing that there's this new found interest in traveling alone. And I know what some of your thinking, Jay, Traveling is always better when you're with other people. Traveling is always more fun when you're with family or friends or whatever it might be. But hey, I think that we're all feeling like we don't always have enough time. A lot of us are feeling we don't have enough time alone. A lot of us can't

get schedules to match. Or maybe you've just gone through a breakup recently, Maybe you've gone through a life event, whether you're taking a sabbatical. Maybe you've been working for too long, or you want to get this in just before you start working, and you're the only one of your friends who actually has that time and energy and intention to want to do it. Maybe you're curious to

what it might be like. Well, today I want to give you some of the reasons, maybe to reaffirm your curiosity, or if you've never considered it at all, to maybe think about why it can be really powerful for you and useful for you as well, And so I'm really excited that you're here with me and that you're taking a chance on this, because I do believe that travel is one of the greatest gifts that we've ever been given, and the fact that today it's become simpler and easier

than ever before is truly an amazing blessing that we all have in our lives. And I wanted to share one of my favorite quotes about travel that inspires this desire that we all have, and it's this one. It comes from Lisa Ling, where she said the best education I've ever received was through travel. I love that quote because I realized that there are so many ways to learn today, so many ways to grow, but travel definitely

is one of the most special ways. So let's dive in to the reasons I think you should take a solo trip, some of my experiences and also some of the best lessons I've learned along the way. Now, today there's a lot of talk about self awareness. There's the need to understand who you are, and I think solo travel is by far the number one way to learn about yourself. You get to know yourself the quickest, fastest,

most accelerated way when you choose to travel alone. Now, when you're traveling with others, you might be used to doing what everyone else does, or going along with what

everyone else chooses. Someone else chooses the dinner spot, someone else chooses the bar, someone else chooses today's adventure, today's activity, and you might have, for a long time gone along with what's known as the bandwagon effect, or as we call it, herd mentality, the idea that if enough people want to do it on the trip, you're happy to go along. Now, there's nothing wrong with that. You can have some beautiful experiences because of it, and I've definitely

had some of those. But I've also realized that it's so rare for us to know what we actually want to do, and one of the reasons we're indecisive, one of the reasons why we struggle to make choices is because of and we've just avoided it for a long period of our life. Maybe we've never been asked, Maybe when we were asked, we just deferred to someone else, and maybe it's been so long that we've actually disconnected from who we are, what we want, and what's meaningful

to us. I mean, think about it for a second. If someone said to you you could do anything you wanted on vacation. You could go anywhere you wanted. What would you choose? Would you choose a city break or are you sure you'd want a beach now? Would you want an active day at the beach or would you want a sightseeing there at the city or are you actually looking for a city break with a bit of history and art, or actually are you looking for food

and tourism. I think as we get older we get a sense of this, but when you're on your own, you get really close and connected to what it is that stands out to you. I know that when I've traveled on my own, it's given me a sense of how for so many years I might even have thought I liked what other people liked. I actually had this experience recently where me and a friend who were traveling somewhere actually and their friend had already been to that place.

Their friend was on the call with my friend and they were talking to each other, and the other friend was saying, I can't believe you're not doing anything. I can't believe you're not going to see any of the sites. I can't believe that you haven't rented a car. I can't believe that you're not going to go to this landmark or whatever else it may be. And I could see that it was really getting under my friend's skin. And my friend even mentioned to me like, Jay, are

we not going to rent a car? We're not going to do this? Are we not going to do that? And I could tell that they felt kind of uncomfortable and insecure. Now at this time, I didn't know where that was coming from. So I asked them where is this coming from? And they said, oh, no, nothing, And I said, no, no, like it feels like it's important to you. I'd love to know. And they were like, oh, well, I was talking to a friend who was here a couple of months back, and they made made me feel

like I was missing out. And I said, well, let's take a look at what they recommended. And so there were a couple of sites and we mapped it from where we were staying and it was about one and a half our car journey either way. And so I said to my friend, I said, is that what you want to do? Do you want to take a one and a half hour journey either way to see the site, because we can definitely rent a car and do that if that's important to you. But I want to know

if it's important to you. And I saw this look at my friend's face where they were reflecting, and then they said to me, they said, Jay, actually I don't want to do that. We're in paradise. Why are we going to spend three hours in a car. And it was really interesting to me where just a few moments ago, that fear of missing out, that insecurity of I'm not doing enough, that feeling of oh my gosh, they had all these amazing experiences. Am I wasting time? Did I

get it wrong? Am I going to leave here feeling like I didn't make the most of it? We're creeping in and so much of that happens. So much of that occurs because we haven't got to know ourself. We're not really clear on what's important to us, and so when someone else tells us what's important to them, we import what's important to others into our own likes and dislikes. Right, We literally extract and adopt what they find valuable to

be valuable to us. When you travel alone, you give yourself the opportunity you give yourself, the space, you give yourself the time to recognize what's important to you, what's meaningful to you, what's valuable to you, what's real to you. And that's one of the reasons why I love working with the Booking dot Com because they have this filter where it's easy to narrow down your search to find

the perfect match for your preferences. And what's really amazing is that they we have this new AI powered trip Planner which offers personalized recommendations to help you get exactly what you need, and that might even be a great way for you to discover what you might want. And when you're doing this, here's a tip that I'd love for you to practice. And it may feel weird at first, but give it a go. When you're thinking about what

you want, don't try and make a choice. Just sit with it for a second and see how both experiences feel in your body at this time. So let's say you're trying to choose between a city break or a beach break. Just sit with that for a second and see how thinking about a city break feels in your body, and see how thinking about a beach break feels in

your body. What I love about this approach is that not only are you becoming more self aware, you're actually gaining the ability to tune in to what you need. And what I'm trying to say here is that we often kind of label ourselves as beach people's city peace or country people, whatever else it may be. And the truth is your body and mind may need something different right now. This is a great checking system. I'd love

for you to try it out. Number two, This is probably one of the favorite things I've learned about traveling alone. I travel alone fairly often, both for work and for pleasure, and I found that it deeply grows your confidence. You know what it feels like to be in a random airport which you've never been to, probably one of the smallest, maybe one of the biggest airports you've ever been to,

and navigate it. I remember years ago i'd gone to a retreat in Europe, a meditation retreat, and I was on my way back, and I was coming back before everyone else because I had to get to a different commitment,

whatever it may have been at the time. And I remember that I got late to the airport, I missed my flight, and at the time I didn't have a lot of money, so I didn't really have enough money to book the next flo I remember waiting at the airport for nearly might have been like twelve to eighteen hours overnight in an airport that I didn't feel fully comfortable in and didn't know anyone in and didn't know

how to get by. I didn't have enough money to book my next flight, and I got very, very lucky that I got to come home because the airliner was very kind and it really built my confidence. Now, first of all, it taught me never to come late to an airport ever again. So now I'm that person who turns up to every flight three hours early, and it drives my wife crazy because she wants to have that

adrenaline feeling of running onto the plane. Whoever you are, you're all weirdos, right, like people who want to run onto the plane. I never want to be late again. I know what it feels like to sleep there without knowing what's going to happen and figuring it out. I don't want to be in that position again. And I find that traveling alone really builds your confidence. You choose your hotel, you book your hotel, you plan an itinery.

You develop so many skills in the process. And I know you're saying that that sounds basic, Well it doesn't. When you travel alone, you have to have the skill of mapping out your day, mapping out your journey. You're learning to trust yourself. You're learning to build the skills and habits you need to function in the real world. And I found so many people that I've recommended solo travel to they come back and they say, I feel so much more confident. I feel so much more self

assured in my abilities and my skills. And one thing I found is that your confidence also grows because you're getting to talk to people from different backgrounds, different walks of life. You have to navigate things not working out. And I'll get back to that in a second reason number three and lesson number three, is it truly expands your worldview. I find that often we can live in such a cocoon, and it's easy when you travel to

notice different sceneries. It's easy to notice different architecture, it's easy to notice different you know, like the obvious things of whether there's a Starbucks there or not. But really what travel does is it shows you what a society, what a community, what a town values. It shows you what a place believes. In the way I'd like to think about this is think about what's at the center

of a town. When you travel to certain cities, certain towns, certain countries, focus on what's at the center of it. It gives you an idea of the values of that place. It gives you an idea of the essence of that place. Think about what the tallest tourist attraction is there, what's the highest building monument, what is it? It tells you a bit about what that city sees as powerful and

as an important thing in that city. So think about what's at the center, think about what's highest, and think about what the country represents in terms of figuring out what's the biggest festival that happens there. You learn so much about a city or a town or a country by the festivities, and ultimately you learn the most by speaking to the people there, which I'll get on too in a second as well. And so I really feel that there are certain methods, and those being my favorite ones.

What's at the center of a city, what's the highest monument building part of a city? What is that? And how do they preserve nature. That's the third thing. How do they look after nature in that place? What does the nature say about that city, that town? And of course if you're in the countryside, what experience do you get of nature? What are the festivals, what are the key events that that city, town, or country hosts. This gives you a real sense of what that place is

all about. And often we can miss it. We can just kind of get caught in, you know, going out to a restaurant and hitting a tourist attraction and not really getting to the since the roots of what defines that country. But it's a really beautiful, simple exercise to give that a go. And you know, traveling pushes you to adapt and grow in ways you might not expect. And one of the things I love about booking dot Com is that you can book the experiences that let

you experience and explore different sides of yourself and the place. So, whether you want to relax or venture into a new territory, booking dot Com helps you plan for whoever you want to be on your trip. And I think that's a really important part of this idea of expanding your worldview. Are you trying to expand it historically, culturally, socially, food wise, language wise. It's a beautiful way to think about travel. It took me years to think about traveling that way.

I used to think about travelers have been there and have been there, done that, And then I start to realize what a you know, what a not great way to travel. That was Number four comes from the confidence piece, but an important one nevertheless, self reliance and problem solving. This one's probably my favorite. I'm sure if you ever tried traveling on your own or even with a small group of friends, you're bound to encounter some challenges. Now

this is not including safety challenges. And you know, I want to make sure that you're traveling safely. I want to make sure that you're traveling, you know, in a place and in a way that is protecting you from any harm. But what I mean is you may have to problem solve. You may have a flight get canceled, you may need to jump on a train, you may

need to learn how to use the local system. I remember some really horrifying experiences as a kid where I saw my parents problem solving, and actually watching them problem solve gave me a sense of self reliance in seeing how they navigated very difficult things. I remember once in a city we didn't know how to take their subway system, and my parents maybe didn't get something stamped or whatever

it was. And I remember like being separated from my parents and being held in a separate room, and I could see my parents being shouted at and they took our passports, and it was a really uncomfortable, nerve wracking experience for my parents and for me and my sister, who were very young at the time. And that isn't an experience I'd want anyone to have, but watching my parents' problem solve even I mean back in the day, I'd used to see my parents pull out a map and

navigate it or ask for help. And I think all of those skills are really powerful in today's world, where, of course we've become reliant on Google Maps. We don't need to ask for directions anymore, we don't need to learn how to read a map. But I think there are a lot of other aspects that you grow in when you travel alone, of self reliance and problem solving, and I think that a lot of us today are looking for that. We've become so overreligned and dependent on others.

We crowdsource everything from what outfit should I wear tonight all the way through to is this job right for me? Or do you think I'm going to get picked right? We crowdsource everything. When you travel alone, you get the

opportunity to problem solve and be reliant on yourself. And one way to keep things stress free is by booking with booking dot Com because what I've loved is that they offer twenty four to seven customer service and helpful guides, so you can follow your itinery with these no matter how complex it gets. So you can actually take the stress out of travel by planning ahead so you can focus on the experience and take care of yourself throughout

the journey. And I think that's a really important touch and a part of travel, especially when you're learning to travel alone. And sometimes we underestimate these things when we're traveling with friends. You know, you always kind of figure it out with friends, but you know when you're on your own, there's a deep sense of self reliance and problem solving that that gets filled.

alone actually helps you master your mind. The first few days, it's uncomfortable, the noise and the chatter. Oh my gosh, I'm bored. Oh my gosh, Why did I do this? Why did I come here on my own? What am I doing to myself? What is this? This is not right. I'm scared, I'm fearful, I'm insecure. Whatever it is right, You're going to hear all of that, and day two will get a little quieter, and day three it will

get a little quieter. You're actually learning to master on the mind, to still the mind, to experience the mind in its most extreme sense of fear and then allowing it to dissipate, and noticing that you have the ability to calm and still your mind when you travel alone. Yes, there will be anxiety. Yes, it will be uncomfortable. Yes, it is taking you out of your comfort zone. For sure. It's doing all of that right, it's doing all of that, but it's also just giving you space to say I

can actually acknowledge the voice of my head. I don't have to listen to it. I don't have to follow it. I don't have to be totally set of course for it. I can listen to it, I can hear it, and then I can choose what I want to do with it. Letting your mind slowly get quieter really allows you to build mindfulness. It really allows you to build that sense of I don't always have to listen to the voice of my head. I don't always have to follow the

loudest shout in my mind. I can learn to allow it to come and go and then listen to what remains. Number six, you really challenge yourself to beat boredom and distractions. I'm sure you have a long list of podcasts you want to listen to a long list of books. I'm taking a three day solo trip this week, and I am so excited because there are so many books that have been sitting on my desk in my bag, and I really haven't managed to open up, and I am

so looking forward to diving deep. And I know that in three days I can do some serious damage onto my reading list, and I know just being present with that is going to be so powerful for me. Now I'm obviously reading a lot of growth, a lot of personal development nonfiction. But even if you've been waiting to escape into a book, I feel like when you solo travel, you get to almost feel like you're a part of that story. You get to feel like you're a part

of that experience. And so challenge yourself to beat boredom, to beat distractions, to always be on your phone when you're in another country, another space, another environment, another energy, another city or town you don't have to travel to another country. It's incredible what you can achieve in terms of productivity, createivity, and just being able to disconnect from what you're used to disconnect from what you're usually surrounded by.

It's super powerful. Number seven is vigilance. I think this is a really powerful trait and I think some of us have it, some of us don't, and a lot of us need to develop it. What I mean by this is can you read a room. I find that when you're surrounded by people you're used to being surrounded by, you're no longer reading the room. You're predicting the room. Right, It's like Google, where it's predicting your search. It's not reading it in the sense of it's not feeling it,

it's not experiencing it. You are, but you're predicting it. You know how your dad's going to behave, you know how your friend behaves in a certain situation. What happens with that is we lose our ability to be hyper vigilant. Now, when you're new surroundings in new spaces, you're actually just getting a sense of the temperaments of the people. You're getting a sense of the energy and the space. You're actually high your ability to tune in to your intuition

the energy around you, and how you feel about it. Now, you may say, Jay, that sounds like anxiety to me. It can be anxiety inducing, but it can also be a really powerful skill if seen in that way. You're learning how to navigate conversations with different people from different backgrounds. You're learning how to navigate a conversation with someone in a different language. You're learning to be vigilant in certain spaces.

I remember getting lost in a town I was in a couple of a few years back now, and I wanted to find a way out, and I had to be extra vigilant about my surroundings to make sure I felt safe. And so I think you take safety more seriously and you can bring that back into your life. And I use the word vigilance because it's almost like

you're good at reading your surroundings. You're good at knowing what's in your periphery, which sometimes we switch off when we haven't been to a new place for a long time. I think that number eight is obvious, but it's important for me to say getting to know diverse people potential friends for life. I think when you travel, especially on your own, there's a certain feeling that you want to

get to know people. Now, of course, you want to be safe about this, but you start learning how many amazing people around the world, what kind of beautiful backgrounds around the world, the amount of trust we can build with other humans who are walking a different path and a different background from us. I encourage you to find people in places of similar value, service based projects, people who are involved in this particular sport that you love abroad.

I think it's a wonderful way to connect with potential friends for life, and this one's one of my favorites. When you travel alone, there's no stimulation and no one else to worry about. A Lot of the time when we're traveling, one of the most anxiety inducing things is making sure everyone's happy. Has everyone eaten? Is everyone happy with how it's going? Is everyone having a good time? I think having a good time? On they're not having a good time. Are we having a good time. I'm

not having a good time. Cliques develop, whatever it may be. You get to truly recharge, You get to truly focus on yourself. You get to give yourself the attention and the patience and the time that you deserve that you often don't give to yourself. I really hope this inspires you to take a solo journey. I hope you also tell me where you went and what you learned. That's

what I'd love to know. If you're listening to this right now and you're feeling inspired and you feel called to go somewhere, tag me in a story, share it on TikTok, Let me know where you're going because I'm very, very excited for you. Thank you so much for listening. I'm always rooting for you and forever in your corner, and I'm so glad I've got to spend this time with you. I'm always traveling for work, whether it's for

a podcast recording, a shoot, or a speaking engagement. But what I love most about traveling is that it allows me to discover new sides of myself. Whether I'm trying new foods, meeting new people, or stepping into different cultures. Each time helps me grow and learn in ways they didn't expect. That's why I always use booking dot Com. They make it easy to not only find the perfect place to stay, but also to explore new environments and

discover parts of myself I hadn't tapped into before. With their AI powered trip planner, I get personalized recommendations that make every trip feel fresh, and the verified reviews give me confidence that I'm always choosing the right spot today. I want to use this time we have together to share my favorite lessons from traveling and why it might just be time for you to go on a solo trip. I can't wait. Let's go on this journey together to plan and travel with confidence. Use booking dot com to

find your next destination. It's the perfect place to book any kind of trip. To get the most out of travel, go to booking dot com now to book your next trip. That's Booking dot Com Booking dot yeh.