When you’re all wrapped up in work, stress could creep into you without you even noticing it. While that may seem natural (work requirement), it’s not actually helping your productivity. Think of your brain as a water pipe. If the pipe is free of dirt, water flows smoothly. You will be producing at your optimum level. Sadly, however, stress clogs your brain.
It’s a vicious cycle that can lead to largely negative outcomes. As you want to produce more, your brain gets stressed more, in the process, it slowly weakens. This can spell doom to you as a professional. Study shows how the brain can be negatively impacted lowering job satisfaction and lowering the quality of life overall.
Of course, there a handful of ways to effectively deal with stress. Meditation and yoga are one. However, getting a change of scenery via travel can be another way of overcoming stress. You might not think it but it can be most effective in giving you the work-life balance you so deserve. Here’s how.
The Advantages of Traveling Alone
First up, when you travel on your own, you spend time with yourself more than when you travel with a group. In the process, you will have to make the decisions on your own. And with that, overcome challenges along the way.
What does that all mean? As you grapple with all the challenges on the road, you get to know yourself better. Moreover, by exposing yourself to the world, you get to widen your experience, giving you deeper insights into what you really want. Plus, you gain purposeful solitude, something yoga masters seek.
Thus, even when it was centuries ago when the Oracle of Delphi expressed those words, “Know Thyself” still speaks a lot of wisdom. Indeed, if you know yourself, you’d be in a better position to handle yourself.
Secondly, such travel solitude can alleviate depression. A study revealed that anticipating a scheduled vacation elicited feelings of well-being and happiness days and even weeks before said event. Even better, traveling alone has been proven to ward off depression among young people.
Traveling solo also has one distinct advantage. You can do it on the fly. You won’t have to consult anyone or ask anyone’s permission. When you feel like you need a break, you can just go somewhere in a jiffy.
What that means is you can have all the time to relax. When you run along with someone, you will have to attend to other people’s needs along the way.
Also, that means you have the chance of forging new friendships. By doing it on your own, you can meet people and make new friends, something that you may not be able to do when traveling in a group.
How to Maximize Your Solo Travel
First up, you need to gear up. Plan ahead. You can choose to just walk your way to a destination. Or just take a bus. However, if you want to have the flexibility of getting to wherever location you want, driving a car is best.
For long journeys on rugged terrain (and be closer to nature), using your city car may not cut it. Sport utility vehicle or SUV is the better choice. These sturdy vehicles are meant for rough terrain or off-road. They have raised ground clearance and stronger pull with their 4-wheel drive.
If you don’t have one, you might want to look into a secondhand SUV. For one, you won’t have to spend so much to get the power of an off-road vehicle. Plus, many of these used cars are in tiptop condition.
For long drives, you can always cut the trip, stop the car and enjoy the scenery. It’s refreshing to step out now and then before you reach your chosen destination.
Of course, who doesn’t want to hear your fave band while traveling? Crank up that music. It’s a great way to enjoy the ride while behind the steering wheel. You can tap to the music, sing along to it or plainly enjoy it all.
Then there’s more technology to help you in your journey. Of course, reading while driving is a terrible idea. But listening to an audiobook is not. There are just so many things you can do with a good record.
You can learn a skill. Or learn the basics of a new business. Or be inspired. Additionally, you can just hear a good detective story. Or for that matter be closer to God. It’s your choice.
While you’re at it, why not also listen to a podcast. With so many options available to you and so much to explore, you’d be kicking those stressful blues in no time. Laughing your way back to work.