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Why You Should Take Off Solo. Taking off to another country on the other side of the world solo can be one of the most daunting and frightening experiences of your life. Throw in a language barrier plus a currency difference, it can be beyond intimidating. But don’t let that stop you from going. Opening your eyes to the magic of solo travel will be the most fulfilling thing you will ever achieve and you’ll become a better person because of it.
It’s easy to use the excuse you can’t travel because you have no one to go with. And it is hard to find people with a common interest in your intended destination, have the time available to take off work and have sufficient money saved. However, it really is a disservice to yourself to not experience different cultures, different foods and a different way of life simply because you don’t have anyone to take off with.
There is often a fear or stigma with solo travel that you can’t possibly have fun and it’s extremely lonely. In most cases you will find it will be the opposite of that. The times that you would have thought you’d feel isolated are often when you’ll find comfort in your own company and experience the pleasures of your own adventure completely without somebody else’s preconceived ideas of the experience.
Often with solo travel we are so focused on the possible negatives that could happen that we forget all the wonderful things that most likely will. These are the reason’s you should take off on your own immediately.
You Can Do What You Like Whenever You Like
Each person you are travelling with will have different things they want to experience on their trip. This means you are often sacrificing what you want to do because you feel obligated to join your friends. Even from the initial stages when picking the itinerary you’ll have to consider everybody else and may have to go to a country or place you’ve got no interest in, instead of the one you’ve been dreaming of visiting since you were ten. This would never happen if you were travelling by yourself.
It’s Empowering
You’ll be out of your comfort zone and the only person you will have to rely on is yourself. It’s empowering to challenge yourself in this way and you’ll be amazed at the courage you will find and what you will achieve because you have to. Your self-esteem and self-confidence will skyrocket.
You’ll Meet Cool People
It’s surprising just how many awesome people you meet when you are travelling unaccompanied. There is something about a solo traveller that draws others in. It’s intimidating to approach someone when they are already in a group or with their partner, but when they are solo it’s much easier to strike up a conversation. Also, when travelling with other people you may be open to meeting other people, but it’s not a top priority, unlike when you are solo.
You’ll Learn To Make Decisions
If you are in indecisive or tend to rely on someone else to make decisions, then this is the perfect situation for you to grow as a person. The only way you truly learn to make decisions by yourself is to have no-one else there to influence you in any way. You will make mistakes, but what the hell. At least, you did it by yourself!
Get To Enjoy Being You
How often do we take time out in our busy lives to appreciate ourselves and enjoy being who we are? Between working long hours, our social lives and keeping fit etc, we are already struggling to achieve what we want to in the time we have. Travelling solo gives you that extra bit of time away from the rat race where we can be content with who we are and who we want to be. It also gives us a moment to be proud of taking this trek all by ourselves.
You Appreciate the Kindness of Others
When you’re all alone you need to rely on strangers for help if you get lost, for tips of where to eat or simply for a smile when you need a reminder that you are not alone in this world. These little acts of kindness from strangers gives you a deeper appreciation of the good in people when you need it the most. You also learn to trust in them without prejudice.
You Grow As A Person
Getting dropped off in the wrong place by a taxi in a country where you’ve never been before and can’t speak the language can be a pretty frightening experience. But you will do what you need to do to stay safe and get to where you need to go. Things will go wrong when you are travelling, but how you cope with these situations will make you grow as a person.
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