There are perhaps just a few of us who do not love the idea of travelling the world. Going to exotic places, experiencing different foods and cultures, and overall, having new and wonderful experiences. Many of us do have travel among our pleasures and may be actively saving towards going to one of the locations on our bucket list. However, even if we know how we are going to pay for the trip, nine times out of ten we opt not to go if it means going by ourselves.

Typically when we travel, we are either visiting family and friends overseas with whom we stay, or going with a group of friends or acquaintances. In either scenario, we have company, are not alone, and can depend on others to take the lead and guide us as and when needed. However, it means that if you limit your travel to situations in which you have company, that in turn is likely to limit the countries that you will be prepared to visit.

So if you have thought about travelling alone, or really had not entertained it, there are several benefits, a few of which we outline below.

 

Increases Your Self-Confidence

For someone who has not travelled by themselves before, solo travelling takes courage: to put aside your reservations and fear and do so anyway. It can thus be a powerful opportunity for growth as you see and experience yourself doing more than you thought you could, and so recognise how debilitating self-doubt and a lack of self-confidence can be.

With family or friends, it is easy to step back and let them take the lead and just enjoy the experience. When by yourself, you will have to step forward and take charge – to communicate with others, take charge of a situation, and keep yourself safe – which can build your self-confidence and develop skills that you can nurture and apply when back home.

 

Allow For Self-Discovery

When travelling with others, the odds are the person who has taken charge of the group will be the one deciding what the group does and when. As a result, you, as a member of that group, may just be required to go with the flow and participate in the activities that have already been planned.

When you travel alone, you get to decide what you like, and what you want and don’t want to do. As simple as that might appear, many of us women, in particular, have been conditioned to not rock the boat, and so we often do not know what we want. Solo travelling allows you to (re)discover who you are in a multitude of ways, and to be even more grounded in yourself.

 

Builds Self-Reliance

Further, in not being directly protected by a group of family and friends when you travel alone, it means you have only yourself to rely upon. You cannot sit back and allow someone else to resolve a situation. You have to do it, and you are the only one who can.

To some degree when there is someone else around who is able (and hopefully willing) to help us with a problem, we can begin to develop a learned helplessness, in which we rely on others not because we cannot do what needs to be done, but because we have conditioned ourselves to do so. We thus have not allowed ourselves to develop the skills and experience to solve our own problems. However, when you travel by yourself, inherently, you are giving yourself the opportunity to become more self-reliant, which in turn will boost your confidence.

 

Fosters Independence and Empowerment

In group travel scenarios in which the decision of the group may overrule that of an individual, travelling solo inherently allows you to be independent. You operate on your own, make your own decisions and are not answerable to anyone, which can be very empowering – especially when it is an experience you have not had before.

To be fear, travelling solo can be scary, and you need to know what you are getting yourself into. However, doing so successfully – even if it is a short trip, or with a very conservative itinerary – be very empowering, especially if you never thought you could.

 

Facilitates Considerable Personal Growth

Finally, although it was mentioned earlier, it bears repeating. When you travel solo, you have a broad range of new and different experiences that allow you to walk through your fears, rely more on yourself and become more attuned to who you are, your priorities and your values.

More importantly, the growth that happens during these experiences does not disappear when you return home. You may now have a better (or different) perspective on your life and situations at home, and may also now have new or improved skills and tools to use in your life back home.

 

 

Image: Ibrahim Rifath (Unsplash)