23 The Psychology Of Travel

WHAT THIS EPISODES ABOUT…

Hi Everyone, I’m Shauna Hoffman

Welcome to a much lighter episode of Guy Free, Working On Me. The last two episodes were pretty profound for so many people, including me. The feedback that I have gotten as to the soul searching it brought up for my listeners about their programming around race and their programming around the voice of a woman has been eye opening for all of us. I hope that as we fly through these episodes you continue to dig deep into your thoughts and beliefs, morals, ethics and values. For that is the true path to Self Awareness.

So what should we talk about today? Love? Life? Healing? How about VACATIONS! No, I’m serious! Because I think we all need to get the hell away right now on a grand adventure and we can’t. Many of you know that I have another side of me. I am an adventurer. I own a sailboat, I am actually recording this as I sit on my sailboat right now! So if you hear a wave or a foghorn just enjoy! I love the ocean and I am passionate about traveling the world. There is nothing that fascinates me as much as the psychology of travel!

Listen in…

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONTENT DISCUSSED…

• Guy Free Podcast: https://guyfree.com
• Guy Free Facebook Group: https://guyfreeworkingonme.com
• Shauna’s website: https://www.workingonme.com

WHEN DOES IT AIR…
June 20, 2020

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:

Hi Everyone, I’m Shauna Hoffman

We tend to go on remote control in our every day lives. We have to get up and go to work, or take care of the kids, or take care of a parent, or write our next article, or book, or get out our next Instagram promo…or…or…or. What a vacation should be is a time to stop. To breath, to reconnect with ourselves. And sometimes it is a time to find ourselves. Believe it or not the first step is to really check in with your mind body and soul to see what you need to heal, or maybe what you need to awaken again within you.

Is there a part of you that has been shut down in order to get through your every day life. Is there an artist in you that hasn’t been inspired for months. Is there a muscle that you need to stretch, or a dream you need to awaken? Can you do it at home? Can you do it while your every day normal rules your brain?

Forbes had this great article last year called “This is your brain on Travel.” Let me share some of it here.

“There’s a growing body of scientific evidence that shows travel is very good for your mental health.” OK- Between you and I I think we already knew this!!

“In the past decade or so, researchers have learned a lot about why travel makes us happy. Psychologists who study the economics of happiness call it the Easterlin paradox: Money can lead to happiness, but only up to a point — and then we adapt! A 20-year study asked participants to self-report their happiness after making any major material and also an experiential purchases.”

Experiential, you know, travel, any kind of experience you do from mountain climbing to kayaking, whale watching to dance classes, art tours to safaris, bowling, bike riding sailing)

“At first, the participants ranked their happiness with both kinds of purchases about the same. But over time, their satisfaction with material things went down, and their satisfaction increased with experiences they had spent money on.”

Ok, doesn’t that make sense? We buy something and it gives us a certain amount of joy. A quick fix. You know shopping therapy. But when we experience something the joy lasts longer.

Ok- back to the study-

“Travel can lower the risk of depression. A whopping 81 percent of American travelers say they regularly take vacations where a primary goal is “mental wellness,” and they overwhelmingly see a vacation as a chance to “hit the reset button” on stress and anxiety (91%).”

When I come and spend just 8 hours on my boat it is the escape from my norm and I get a jumpstart on my happiness. Even the drive to the boat starts to bring down my blood pressure and clear my brain.

Think for a minute what can you do right now to give yourself a 3 hour break… an escape! Just 3 hours! Ok, I know there are a few of you of a certain generation that just heard the Gilligan’s Island theme song in your head. I can relate.

Ok, is there anyplace that you can go in nature right now. If you are in the city is there a park that you can take a picnic to? If you are by the water, a lake, or beach can you go walk the beach or hang out in the sun? Here is a rule! You can’t bring any work with you! If you can avoid bringing your phone, or at least looking at it that alone will bring down your stress and set you up for a break in your norm. Is there some kind of adventure that you can take in the next week? Is there an art walk in your hood? Last week our neighbors bought a bingo set and we all stayed on our corners and yelled out bingo! It was such a break and so much ridiculous fun!

I know the reality is that so many women do not have the financial ability to take a vacation very often. Or the freedom from work or childcare to be able to do so. But it is so important to find some way to at least balance your life by getting out of your norm for at least 24 hours as often as you can. And if its not 24 hours, then 8 hours, or 6 hours! Or that three hour tour! You have to find a way to balance out your life and add an “experience” to stave off depression and jumpstart happiness, or to keep you happy!

Listen to this… I love this! Also from the Forbes article.

“There is something called brain plasticity” — it explains the importance of getting outside our comfort zone and embracing the unfamiliar. People who travel to new places, keep learning languages and continue to experience new things into old age, are far less likely to develop cognitive decay.”

Hey, I’m down with that!

According to Nussbaum-he explains, “Travel by definition is dropping your brain into a place that’s novel and complex. You’re stunned a little bit, and your brain reacts by being engaged, and you begin to process on a deep level.”

Listen to what the Forbes article says to explain this. “You have to think about small things when you’re in an unfamiliar place, which is entirely the point. Learn a few words of a different language, take a walking tour, or even something as simple as trying a new food can get those neurons firing.”

We all know that just the experience of how to catch a bus or a train in a new city or hail a cab, or take the el, or the subway or navigate the streets of a new town is a brain wakeup!

Here is something that I love.

“The best part of a vacation sometimes is the anticipation of it before you go. Just this can make you happier!”

More brain chemical stuff!

“When we look forward to doing something fun, it triggers a release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers.”

I remember when I used to plan my trips to see my Grandmother. I never wanted to tell her. I wanted to surprise her. Then one day she said to me, “knowing you are coming weeks before you do gives me weeks more excitement and joy about seeing you again. The anticipation of it is almost as joyful as when you come.” That made total sense. And now I know it was releasing DOPAMINE hits to my dear ol’ granny!

I’m going to put the link to this article on the GuyFree Facebook Group along with a link to an article from Elite Daily!

The list of benefits of vacations, go on and on!

“Travel can make you more creative.”

OK, think of it as yoga for your creative brain! Travel forces you to stretch in different ways and develop “cognitive flexibility, that’s the number one component of creativity.

Have you ever taken a trip and then come home with a new perspective on life? New goals? New awareness? All of a sudden you have wildly creative ideas that you never had before? Artistic ones? New ideas for books you want to write, or art you want to create, or clothing you want to design, or things you want to do to your decor, or just come home wanting to honor yourself and your needs just a little more?

Breaking our mental patterns is where creativity stems from.

Here is something that always touches me.

“Observing how other cultures interact is the fastest way to make you more aware of the culture you came from.”

One of the things that I have learned from my travels is that sometimes it gives me a huge appreciation for the lifestyle I have. We used to import art from Haiti. My house is filled with Caribbean art. This island was one of the most creative and beautiful islands I had ever been to. The Haitian people welcomed us with so much hope. It is also one of the poorest islands I had traveled to. Probably the poorest. When I got home I was so grateful for so many of the little things in my life. Like running water. And comparing our cultures helped me to understand the Haitian people. When you know another country’s struggles and successes you have a deeper appreciation for the people of that country. And you find a new awareness of your self.

There is so much more that comes from travel, I could go on and on! The adrenaline rush we get from new things and new places!

This next one is one that I really try to do for not only my ability to stretch my brain cells, but to meet people from other cultures.

How many of you practice another language when you travel?

They say that your brain gets stronger and faster when you’re speaking another language.

If you really think about it, it makes sense, right?

I travel to Cuba as much as I can This country has stolen my heart! The people, the island, the culture, the music, the food! There is no island that I feel closer to. But my Spanish is like high school Spanish! I took it for 5 years and can just speak it enough to have the most limited conversations. When I get to Cuba I have to let my ego go. I try so hard to speak my very broken Spanish in order to bond with the beautiful Cuban people I meet. It is a way that I honor them and their culture. And they are so kind to let me fake my way through it all!!

But here is the most important part of vacations, not just travel, but actual vacations, whether they are for a day a week or a month. When you are away from the norm you are so much more likely to become present-focused! After all, you are out of the norm. And it is when we break our patterns that we are able to be in the present and not on remote control.

Now let’s talk about who we travel with! It is so much fun to travel with like-minded souls. It’s so exciting to share an amazing experience with someone. To come back from the day’s adventures and compare notes! To laugh with other people, or cry with people. So many of us don’t get the opportunity to meet new beings. Travel gives us that. It also gives us a new awareness of other cultures, lifestyles. I know I am sounding like a Travel commercial. But the psychology of our own travel is one of the most profound steps in self-awareness. Why? Because if it is done right it is one moment in our lives that we can choose to heal. It is one moment in our lives that we can choose to grow out of our normalcy. It is one moment in our lives that we can breathe a little more stress-free, a little more in tune with our true beings. It is an opportunity to hear our voices without the chatter that takes place in our every day lives. Oh… you have to get that report done. Or damn I have so much laundry to do. When you are out of your home and normal environment there is space and time to truly check in with your heart and see what you may be missing.

Back to getting out on a vacation!

Now I’m going to share with you my list of vacation musts!

Don’t over plan! Allow for things to change! We can’t always control life outside our norm. And that’s good!
Embrace the unknown! Don’t try to learn everything about where you are going and what you are doing. Allow some level of surprise!
Take off your watch if you can. When we let go of time we are truly living in the moment. Unless you need to be someplace at a certain time, try to forget what time it is! if you are hungry eat if you are tired sleep, if you want to take off on a walk do it. Try to let go of time!
Take some chances with new foods. Wake up your senses.
If things change on your travels, flights are late, you lose your luggage… try and go with it and not stress. The worst way to ruin a vacation is to think it will all go smoothly. I always say, expect the unexpected!
If you are traveling with someone else allow for each of you to want to do different things. This is huge. Especially in a relationship. Part of this is in the planning before the trip. And part of it is on the trip. You don’t always have to do everything together!
Allow for some alone time to sleep, breath, relax, and contemplate.
Check-in with yourself. Allow time for self-awareness. This goes along with letting things you plan change. Even if you have made a plan, you can change it if you are just not in the mood. Or are tired. Or you have found something different to do. Be self-aware!
My biggest one is to meet new people. Even if you are shy. Say hello if you can. Or just smile. Especially if you are in another country. I wrote this article for the Huffington Post about my first trip to Cuba. I will put the link on the group. I was so excited about the music, food, old cars etc that I almost missed the most important thing. The smiles of the Cuban people. The joy in their souls. Now everywhere I travel the first thing on my list is to meet the people of the place that I am going to. Whether it is a waitress in the deep south or a bus driver in Bermuda. If I am on a cruise I talk with all of the crew, from the busboys to the Captain. I am in their domain and want to know them. I say hello and I look in their eyes.

I want to end with something that I love. One of my favorite ways to travel is… alone. Just me. Where do I want to spend my next 7 days? In a city? On a beach? Where do I want to have dinner? How late do I want to sleep in? What music do I want to listen to today? It’s truly magnificent to spend time alone, with your own thoughts, or alone to just decompress or alone to expand your knowledge of your own heart.

But here is a truth. Alone travel can be exciting to some and it can be scary for others. Many people feel that they have to be with other people to feel safe. Especially women traveling alone. I get that! But others don’t want to travel alone because they are afraid to be alone with their own thoughts. To spend time with just you means to spend time without the influence of other’s needs, or desires, or thoughts, or judgments. It means that your time is spent filled by your own needs, desires, thoughts, and judgments. But herein lies the challenge. Women tend to be caretakers. It is so easy to make our decisions if it mends someone else’s soul. But if we even contemplate the thought of a few days or a few weeks alone we feel selfish. Or others try and make us feel selfish. Remember what I say… Self CARE is not Selfish! If you can take even a few days to travel someplace alone where you feel safe, then you are looking at an opportunity to get to know yourself. If for one moment you can take a trip without having to cater to anyone else you will see sides of yourself that you never knew existed. You will see strength, you will see your fears. You may find fantastic freedom while you realize that you are the one that put the handcuffs on yourself! I am talking about traveling alone to take an amazing adventure to the deepest parts of you.

Now, this podcast was recorded while half the world is in lockdown from the Corona Virus. So in all truth, you may have spent TOO much time alone with you!!! HA! I get that. Just ask yourself if while you were alone with YOU, you did the work on your own self-awareness. My guess is that since you are listening to this podcast, you are already doing some of the work!! And I thank you for allowing me to do it with you.

Ladies, I am hoping that this podcast has inspired you to get away! Whether for a few hours or weeks. I wish for you a grand adventure! One that brings you to an even grander adventure to the deepest parts of you.

Thank you for letting me into your life today! And I look forward to popping back in again… next week.

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