Looking back it seems like a lifetime ago but in actual fact it's only been 3 years since I started traveling and living an alternative lifestyle. Challenging traditional norms is not an easy thing to do and many people can only dream of actually getting to the point where they decide to make this life changing decision.
The picture above depicts the traditional sense of what a normal life is:
- Getting married
- Having children
- Owning that family house
- having a normal 9 to 5 job where you do the same thing over and over again.
Many people all across the planet struggle to find happiness with this kind of lifestyle simply because it's not their idea of how life should be or how they want to spend their short time on Earth. How and where we grow up obviously has an impact on our perspective on life and in turn the way we decide to live it.
After graduating high school, in most cases we are expected to go to college or university to study in order to have a chance at a better life. I don't have any objection to this way of reasoning but many believe this is the only way to have a chance at a bright future and I strongly disagree with this norm. It is ignorant to think that it's the only way to create a good life. We don't need to go to university or start a family as soon as possible. I believe that in order reach happiness you need to discover yourself in different aspects of life and experience different situations before making a full-time commitment to a partner and a family.
Forcing yourself out of your comfort zone to experience new and different situations is a great way, if not the best way of getting to know yourself as well as educating yourself on different cultures and becoming more comfortable with things that would otherwise not be possible while living a 'normal life.'
Only after we learn how to put our believes and upbringing to the side and open our minds to new and different experiences can we learn more about the people we share our planet with and gain a better understanding not just of different cultures but also the deepest parts of ourselves.
Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting we abandon our roots. I am simply saying from my experience I have learnt that being open minded is the best way to learn more about something rather than just dismissing it based on assumption or because it does not agree with some of our beliefs. Being open to customs and beliefs of others is vital to gain a better understanding of how and why people do things the way they do.
When traveling, a big obstacle to overcome is open mindedness. When we travel we sometimes tend to measure things up with what we are used to and in many cases it does not fit the picture we had in our mind. Apart from being open minded we should also try not having high expectations. Having expectations of something can ruin everything if our expectations are not met. Having no expectations will also help you overcome culture shock quicker. Like I've said before, traveling is not all sunshine and daisies but our perspective and approach on dealing with situations can make the difference.
So basically to avoid any unnecessary discomfort or bad experiences in all aspects of life, (not just traveling), remember to try and keep an open mind and having none to very little expectations and you might just end up finding your true self and what you are capable of doing.
I will soon post some information on culture shock and how to overcome it.
That's it for now Steemians. Until next time!
