Watching speeches and videos of travelling can be awe-inspiring.
They can change your opinion on travel and steer you in a different direction. Or they can solidify your dreams and make them a reality. I’ve watched plenty, and I think these thoughtful TED Talks can be used to explore your travel mindset. So take some time to sit back, relax, and delve into these little worlds of knowledge.
By Robert Waldinger.
The first TED Talk is by Robert Waldinger, a psychiatrist who speaks about a 75-year-old study he is currently in charge of. He has followed a set of people for 75 years to delve into happiness and satisfaction. What makes people happy at 20, 50, 75 years old?
Researchers have so far discovered that fame and money don’t make us happy. Working harder doesn’t make us happier either – good relationships do. As humans, social connection is really good for us, and loneliness kills us. Loneliness decreases our life expectancy and plagues our bodies with illness. So good relationships protect our bodies and brains. Waldinger found that the people who were the most satisfied in their relationships at 50 years old were the healthiest at 80.
It’s also not about the number of friends you have, or if you’re in a relationship or not. It’s about the quality of those relationships. A good life is built with good relationships.
The message he gives is clear – people don’t need to grind for years, work hard to make more money. They need to work harder to have meaningful relationships and connections with people.
As travellers, we gain a wide range of relationships. From the family and friends that we miss at home, to the new friends we make along the way. I found the love of my life whilst travelling!
Find those friendships as you travel, and if you can – hang on to them. Keep in contact when you leave. Visit them later in their home country or show them yours. Keep your friendships and relationships alive when you travel, and you will feel alive. Even if you’re an introvert, I have some top tips here for you.
By Laura Vanderkam.
Next up is Laura Vanderkam who talks about time management. She studied how busy people spend their lives and found that many completely overestimate how busy they are. There are many ways to waste time, believe I know a few of them… She breaks down the 168 hours in the week. If you do so too, you may find you have some spare time to play with.
Everyone’s lives are different, of course, with different responsibilities. Vanderkam argues that saying “I don’t have time” means “it’s not a priority”. If something in your life is a priority, you will make time for it. When it’s not a priority, then you don’t want to do it, so you won’t find the time.
We can’t make more time (if only, right?), so treat your priorities first. There are three categories to this – career, relationships, and self. Don’t forget to include yourself!
First, figure out what your priorities are. Planning a trip coming up? Saving money to backpack to Asia? Then think about this time next year. What do you hope to have achieved in this category? These are your goals to work on in the coming year. Put these goals into your schedules first, so you make the time to work towards them.
Make time to research things like fun free things to do in Mexico City or things to do in Athens. Even when you’re travelling, plan your days so you can see and do everything you want. Don’t spend the mornings in bed, get out there!
By Pico Iyer.
This second Ted Talk a lot of people can relate to. Where is home? When you travel a lot, this can be a different question to answer. Or if you are born and grow up in multiple different cultures. Pico Iyer talks about the meaning of home, the joy of travelling, and the calmness of being still. There are multiple questions you can ask yourself about this. Where do you come from? Where do you try to spend most of your time? What’s your home country?
Home can be a work in progress, a collage of different places and people arranged closely together. It can be pieces of your soul. Home can be whatever you carry around inside you. Unlike in the past, now you can choose your home and community. It doesn’t always depend on where and what class you were born into if you’re lucky.
In 2013, 220 million people were living in countries not their own. That’s incredible. Unfortunately, for some, this was not of their choosing, like refugees. If you are fortunate to choose your place to call home, where is that? Iyer said that when you travel, you’re “slapped awake” and all your senses are turned on. You notice everything. Where you come from now is less important than where you’re going. But by also stopping movement, you can see where to go.
For some, movement only has a meaning if you have a home to go back to. For others, they make their home everywhere they go on their travels. Your travel mindset can shift and change too.
What does home mean to you?
Personally, travelling away from my home in London means that I appreciate it so much more when I go back. My home is in London, and I also made a home in the Yukon, Canada. I relish going home and enjoying walking through my favourite places.
Being a tourist in your town and finding unique things is so entertaining! I have two physical homes, and both mean different things to me. Emotionally, home is also where my partner is. Where do you consider home?
By Aziz Abu Sarah.
This last Ted Talk is by Aziz Abu Sarah, a Palestinian activist who says that the approach to peace-keeping is to be a tourist. By this, he means that tourism breaks down boundaries and educates people on different cultures. It breaks down walls and allows compassion in. When travelling, it doesn’t take much to realise that people aren’t that different to you. They still have hopes, dreams, and problems to solve. It can be a common occurrence to have strangers invite you into their homes for dinner.
When you travel, take the time to connect with people and get involved in the community. See how their culture works, and how the people are human beings too. This type of travel mindset builds compassion and acceptance and builds lasting friendships. And what do lasting friendships cause? A healthy life! Travelling to different cultures allows you to challenge the hateful beliefs that are spread. Hate is replaced by love, learning and a freeing of your mind.
If you’re reading this you probably already have an open mind about different cultures and travel. But there are always still stereotypes that we don’t realise we harbour until we travel to different places.
What’s your travel mindset right now? Did these TED talks challenge your thoughts, or confirm them? Use these TED Talks to explore your travel mindset and broaden your horizon. Hopefully, they have inspired you to plan more trips and look at your travels with a new lease of life.
