It’s important to take care of your well being also while you are traveling. Traveling can teach you many useful life lessons. It helps with emotional and personal growth. While you are traveling you experience many powerful emotions, whether they are negative or positive. Writing it down can help you a lot with your personal development. Here’s a list of 10 helpful reflection prompts to help you grow while traveling.
- Did something unusual happen to me today? How did it make me feel?
Write about some events that surprised you or were unknown or unusual for you, it can be anything, even small details. What emotions did it bring out? Were they positive or negative? Why do you think you felt like that?
- What did I learn on this trip?
List anything that comes to your mind. Maybe you learned to be more patient from standing in lines, more understanding towards other people or cultures or you learned how to book a ticket online. Every small thing is an achievement.
- What challenges did I face on this trip?
List your challenges and the reasons why they were a challenge for you. Did you overcome them? How did they make you feel? Were you proud of yourself?
- How does this place make me reflect on my life? Am I discovering a new aspect of myself?
Does this place make you feel happy? Do you miss home? Did it change your way of thinking in any way? Maybe you figured out that you need to enjoy life more, you prefer the rush of the city or you need to show more love to your loved ones.
- Did I step out of my comfort zone?
Write down the situations when you stepped out of your comfort zone. Why were you afraid to do so? Did it make you proud? What did you learn from it? You should always be proud of yourself after facing your fears even if it’s a simple thing. Whether you were nervous to make a call or afraid to take local transport to another city, you should always show yourself some love and encouragement.
- 3 things I am grateful for
List at least 3 things you are grateful for. It can be simple things that happened to you through the day or during this trip or just gratitude for your life and family. What things make you happy?
- Did something scare me or make me anxious?
Write about your negative experiences, let it all out. Why did it make you feel like that? Were you scared for your life or did it make you feel anxious because you had to step out of your comfort zone?
- Has this travel experience helped you to overcome some old habits or traits that don’t serve you anymore?
Think about your traits or habits that don’t serve you anymore. Do you notice some improvement? Might be that you learned to be more open minded or you learned better time management and you are not late for your appointments anymore. You can list anything.
- Reflect on a time you were hard on yourself
Write about the situation and why it happened. How did it make you feel?
- Did this trip change me in any way? Did my visions of life change?
You can talk about anything here. Did you discover some new passions or desires? Have your goals changed in any way? Did your confidence grow? It can also be about new skills you learned or knowledge you gained.
Why is this important?
Writing down your feelings and experiences is beneficial in many ways. While you are writing, you think about your experience and you may remember more details. Looking back at this you may discover some negative traits or traumas and document your reactions and feelings. These things are really good to know in a case you want to work on your personal or emotional development.
Acknowledging your traumas and fears is one step closer to your better self.
When you are traveling, especially solo, many things may happen to you and you have to cope with it by yourself. You are directly in touch with the outside world which can bring out some of your fears or insecurities. Writing it down helps you to let out some steam, reflect on your reactions and emotions and understand why you felt and reacted in a way you did.
What are the benefits?
You learn more about yourself. You may discover some new situations that make you uncomfortable or things that make you happy.
You grow your emotional intelligence. You learn to handle your emotions better and understand why you feel certain feelings in certain situations. You stop being so hard on yourself because you understand that you are a human being and your feelings are valid.
It improves your relationships. It helps you build healthier relationships. When you know what you want, you can go after it and cut out people that are toxic.
It helps you heal and grow. Knowing yourself helps you heal your traumas and grow your confidence. It helps with decision making and reduces negativity. It makes you feel happier, creative and builds trust in yourself.
From my own experiences I know that journaling is freeing. I went through many doubts, low self esteem and confidence or toxic relationships. If you are traveling and have so much on your mind it can be a lot of pressure. Stay safe while traveling and be your own priority.