How traveling can break daily-routine, promote good habits (and change your life)

We can all agree that routines make our lives boring.
That being said, not all routines are bad. I’m an advocate of hot water with lemon every morning, and my regular bowel movement is quite convenient. 😀

But when work started dictating most of our time, life became way too rigid and predictable. We don’t choose when to wake up anymore, where we’re going to spend our day or even the people we’ll be with most of our waking hours.

And yes, a routine may be the easiest way to organize life and prevent our brains from melting, but it’s also what makes us indifferent to the wife’s new haircut or to the fact that spring has arrived.

Why we Decided to Travel

It all started when we couldn’t differentiate the current year from the previous. The calendar kept moving but our lives felt stuck. Life was a tasteless soupy snoozefest and something needed to change.

Thus, considering that change is usually outside of our comfort zone, traveling felt like the perfect fit. Nothing is more effective at smacking us right out of the humdrum like travel is.

We’re all Creatures of Habits

But weirdly enough, adapting to our new reality on the other side was easy. Including having rice for breakfast, the weight of our backpack, and even the tropical heat.
And we managed to do so by creating routines, only this time, they seemed to be aligned with our new set of goals:

• To experience change
• To see the world
• To build courage
• To grow

More than that, they brought the realization that routines are not the problem, lackluster goals are!

The importance of a seasonal reality check

How was the everyday hum back home supposed to make sense when the final goals didn’t feed our soul?
Do you still want the things you’re supposed to be striving for?
Are the intentions you set 5 years ago still the same?

We should analyze our lives frequently and readjust their course, especially towards long-term goals. This is how travel can serve us, as a way to unplug and:

• Create time for reflection
• Expand our world
• To be inspired to live a better life

Not so much as an escape from problems or momentary dissatisfactions. After all, shitty situations in life usually require some confrontation and management from our side.

Aligning with a purpose in life provides motivation, vindicates routine, keeps you present, and makes a world of difference between living and merely existing. Meanwhile, if you can’t take a travel break: tweak your routines around, fuse into them good habits — the ones aligned with your goals — and let some of the bad ones go. Line up with what makes you happy.
Oh, and if you just came home from a trip, read this blog post about good habits and keeping the travel spirit alive.

Are you frustrated with your daily routine? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Thanks for stopping by!