28 Feb 9 Traits Of Incredibly Passionate Travelers That Help In Everyday Life
It is undeniable that traveling is one, if not the best thing to do, that is, of course, aside from breathing and actually being alive. What’s fun about it is that we get to gain so much experience and collect many memories. But what’s even more fun is that as we travel, we either develop characteristics or realize that we always had them in us. Here are some of the wonderful (and very helpful) traits most enthusiastic and seasoned travelers possess:
1. Travelers are risk-takers and adventurous: No traveler or want-to-be traveler deserves to be called as such if risk-taking doesn’t come as normal as having coffee in the morning (and I don’t know with you, but having coffee in the morning is a wonderful, indispensable thing). Whether it’s the extreme type like cliff-diving, or the serene type like learning the craft of Navajo weavers, we travelers eat adventure for breakfast!
2. We are curious and eager to learn: If adventure is what we have for breakfast, then it is most likely that curiosity is what we have for lunch. One of the many reasons why many travel is because of this. We want to know what is different and what is similar in our place and those that we go to – what kind of food they have, how their people dress and their way of life, where do the go for fun, etc. With this curiosity comes the eagerness to learn. We relate and whether we intend to or not, we give ourselves education like no other.
3. We are open-minded and accept change: As our location changes as we travel, we are living proof that change indeed is the only thing that is constant in this world. We realize that norms in one continent may be different from norms in another. With traveling, we become flexible as we become open to possibilities. We open our minds to different sorts of things, and we do not only accept, but we embrace change. We learn to adapt well and to ride the tide.
4. Travelers are patient: Because we know and understand the constancy of change, we travelers are able to stretch our patience farther and farther as time goes by. Part of riding the tide is being able to keep calm and keep one’s cool when circumstances become not so pleasant. Like life, not every trip will be smooth-sailing. There will be hurdles and hardships, too. Sometimes it’s delayed flights or mis-routed luggage, other times it is wrong timing, such as an awful weather on the only day we can check out the natural pools in Porto Moniz before the flight back home the next day. The more we travel, the more we expose ourselves in these situations. And the more we expose ourselves in these situations, the more we learn to remain patient and maintain our composure. We travelers know that that these are all but setbacks we shouldn’t allow to make our blood pressure raise.
5. We are friendly: Traveling allows us to meet other people – whether they be fellow travelers or locals of the place we’re visiting. It is impossible not to interact with a single human when we travel. For those who are not friendly in nature, it’ll be hard at first. But as we get to do more traveling, it becomes easier for us to relate to other people. For us, the world is just a giant mixer and strangers are just people we are yet to be friends with.
6. Travelers are spontaneous: While adventure and curiosity are our staples, spontaneity is every traveler’s language. One thing we learn when we travel is the importance of seizing the day. We try as much to not live in a box and we allow ourselves to give in to our impulses. Sometimes, the force of this one is strong that we take a sick leave because we are called by the waves of the beach in that nearby town. We allow ourselves to loosen the grip and live in the now, and carpe the heck out of the diem!
7. We are strategic and organized: As much as seizing the day is fun, we travelers also know that planning is key to a successful and (almost) seamless travel. We are most strategic when it comes to planning our vacation leaves, making sure no one day will be put to waste. We also are most organized when it comes to mapping out the itinerary for our trips, and even and especially when it comes to packing our things. To pack efficiently for a trip is an art and being organized is the creative juice we need to master it.
8. We are independent: If there is one thing that traveling has taught most of us, it’s standing up on our own feet. Even the spoiled brats and rich kids who have chosen to travel has learned that being able to function as a person independently is important when traveling. Booking a hotel for a two-day stay in Greece? No problem! Hailing a taxi in the busy streets of Saigon? Got it! Staying alive while scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef? Easy peasy! We travelers have learned that while this world may be filled with kind people ready to help, it is a must to be strong, independent persons ready to help ourselves when time comes that nobody else will.
9. We are grateful and appreciative: Exploring the world teaches us to appreciate a lot of things – small or big, good or bad. We realize that there are so much to be thankful for. Whether it’s the sunset we just witnessed while in the Mt. Pulag summit, or the stranger that offered us help in loading our bags in the train, we come to realize that Louis Armstrong was right after all, it is indeed a wonderful world. As we travel far and wide, we do not only become grateful, but humble as well, every time we are reminded that we are but a tiny part of this grandeur called life.
Whether you’ve been traveling here and there for a while now, or just starting out, or perhaps still planning to, these traits are sure to come to you. Because like an operating system that gets better and better in time through updates, we travelers continue to evolve and improve into much better versions of ourselves as we increase our mileage. And all these wonderful traits (and more) are one hundred percent guaranteed to come with the beauty of wandering the world.