On travelling alone and why everyone should practice it

Travelling alone is an experience I would recommend to everyone, although not everyone is the same. Everybody has a different background, different experiences different point of view on the world, different opinions… So how can it be that travelling alone can be good for everyone? Well, it depends, travelling alone for three years is probably not for everyone…

First of all, I would like to suggest that you ask yourself what your motivation would be to do it. What is your current situation? How long do you have in mind to travel? Just a short trip of a week or two, or a long trip of a year? Would you go very far or stay close by? All of those trips could be solo trips, so in that sense, I think traveling alone is recommended for everyone. Now it is just up to you to decide what kind of traveling would suit you best, considering your current situation.

Think about it

What you also need to think of, and it is best to do this beforehand, is how this will benefit you. It certainly will in a way, but going through this thoughtful exercise before you leave will give you a bit more direction. For example, you have a busy social life at home, but it is overwhelming you a bit and you don’t know if you would be able to handle things by yourself if nobody was around. Then a solo trip could be good to test your limits in this area. Maybe you could go to a place where they do not speak your language and/or where there is not much tourism. If you go to a place where they speak your language very well and with a lot of tourists, it might start to feel like home pretty soon and you won’t grow as much anymore.

If you do not have a very social life at home and you are already used to handling most things by yourself. Then going on a trip by yourself could benefit you in a way that tests this ability. Also, it will test how comfortable you truly are with being by yourself. Sometimes people that spend a lot of time by themselves are still not comfortable with it. So, they distract themselves with games and Netflix or they go out to meet people that they don’t want to meet. This is why it is good to first sit with yourself before you go on any solo trip, so you can figure out where you stand. Then when you leave you can focus on not distracting yourself and on socializing with people you actually like.

Small steps

It is natural to feel uncomfortable before you take on such a trip, so don’t worry if this is the case. But if you feel really uncomfortable or even scared of just the idea of it, start with smaller trips a bit closer to home and keep going on solo trips, further and further away to places that feel more and more foreign to you. Do this until you feel like you can handle most situations by yourself with a certain level of confidence.

5 reasons why

1. Find out who you are and be comfortable with that person

Knowing who you truly are is not easy and requires a lot of work. So, I won’t try to explain it completely in this blog post. This might become a topic in the “mind & body” section at a later stage. That said, it is one of the key requirements for a happy life with a sense of purpose. Traveling by yourself and doing it mindfully can help you to find out who you are or who you want to be. Once you know this or you have an idea about it you can focus on being comfortable with yourself. That means that you won’t be looking for external entertainment and distractions or validation whenever you are alone, but you are actually quite happy with being by yourself and focussing on things that you chose to do.

“If you feel lonely when you’re alone, you are in bad company” Jean-Paul Sartre

It took me quite a long time to realise the importance of this and it’s an ongoing process. I have been by myself for long periods of time in my life, however, I can’t really say that I was always happy with being with me. Even though I often preferred to be by myself rather than with anyone else. The thing is that I wasn’t really spending a lot of time with me, I was spending time with the movies I watched, the books I read or the games I played. In other words, I was indulging in escapism. If you travel alone, you will have less opportunities to do this and if you do it mindfully you will actually be practicing solitude. If you want to know more about this, take a look at Francesca Spectre’s website Alonement on which she explains the benefits and importance of practicing your solitude skills.

“Solitude skills are the equivalent of social skills, but for time alone.”

2. Learn to be resourceful

When travelling alone it is paramount in many situations that you meet new people and learn to get along in order to achieve a common goal. For example, get from point “A” to point “B” by sharing a ride or finding some accommodation together when everything is fully booked… If you have difficulty with this in your current environment a solo trip could help you practice this. Try to keep an open mind at all times and try to notice when judgement about someone or something is sneaking into your mind. Usually everyone is in the same boat or at least the same fleet but everyone will have a different background. So, keep this in mind whenever you meet someone new.

“Always assume good intent”

In this video, Mel Robbins explains why it is important to always assume that other people have good intentions.

3. Find out what really interests you

Travelling by yourself will make you try things out that you have never done before. If you approach this with an open mind and an attitude of “what’s the worst thing that can happen?”, “it can only teach me something” or “at least I can find out what I don’t like” then you might discover new hobbies, industries to work in, other ways of meeting new people, this list can go on for as long as you like.

4. Learn about new cultures and new ways of living

Depending on the country that you choose to travel to the culture might be very different or just a little bit different from your own. But as a traveller you’ll definitely discover new ways of living. The methods of travelling that you choose will make you try different ways of living too! For example:

vanlife. When you get around with a van that is also your bedroom and kitchen, and maybe even bathroom you will have to scale down quite a bit. Maybe you’ll realise that what you had at home is a bit much and you can do with less.

Couch surfing. I personally never tried couch surfing, but I have thought about it, and I can see a lot of positive aspects. You will be able to see how other people live, what they are used to, the customs they have, what they eat and the environment they live in. If you keep judgement at bay and are interested in their ways you will probably learn a lot from them.

Hitch hiking. This is another interesting way you can get around a country. Depending on the situation, time and area this could be a good way to meet new people and learn about their lives. Before you do this check in with yourself and ask if it feels good to you and if you feel safe. You can also talk about it in the hostel or wherever you are staying to see what other people or locals have to say about it.

Camping. This is the most basic way of travelling in my opinion (except if you don’t have a tent and you decide to sleep on the street). You can usually only take what fits in your backpack and you have to make sure you can carry everything. If you travel this way, you’ll learn what the bare necessities are. And you can get an idea of how long you would be able to live like this.

5. It can make you look at the world through your own lens.

Again, mindfulness is everything. If you practice being mindful about what you do you will get better at creating experiences that are truly your own. Rather than experience things because other people or your environment expect you to have a certain experience. I will talk more about this in the section of this website called “mind & body“, stay tuned.

So, if you stay present with the activities you do on your own you will have a more authentic experience and opinion about it. Without anyone else having an influence on it.

---

Thank you so much for making it to the end! Make sure to leave a comment below if you have any questions or suggestions.