Travel Psychology delves into how our journeys influence our social lives. It’s not just about visiting new places; it’s about the connections we make along the way. When we travel, we meet new people, share experiences, and build friendships. These interactions enrich psychology on social lives, broadening our perspectives and fostering a sense of belonging.
Traveling can break down barriers, encouraging us to engage with others from different cultures and backgrounds. Ultimately, it’s these social connections that enhance our happiness and make our travel experiences truly memorable.
“I feel like my travel life has completely nuked my social life. I remember having friends (I think) and going out and enjoying myself. Are my travel journeys really going to be the end of my social life or is there some other form?”
Sometimes our travel is our social life.
When we put it like that, it almost sounds kind of elevating. We’re told by others (heretics!) that we need a life inside and outside of our journeys. We’re supposed to have families, and friends with whom we create amazing experiences.
But our journeys aren’t just about travel — they are also a very important part of our social fabric. Whether we want to believe they are or not. In fact, if we were to sell our journeys we planned and have nothing to do with it. Many of us would miss the very real social connection we took for granted.
As conscious travellers, we get to enjoy a very special kind of opportunity to build. Expand our psychology on social lives that many others never get, and in fact, we often take for granted.
The Bond of Travel Psychology on Social Lives
We’re in the happiness with our peers navigating some of the most trying moments of our lives all day, every day. That shared experience creates a powerful bond of trust, vulnerability, and triumph that we frankly rarely get with anyone else we meet. Journeys are not incidental.
At the time it’s easy to overlook because we’re all worn out. But over time when we look back, we find ourselves developing incredibly deep, personal relationships with people that we would have never had the time and focus to develop outside of our travel-life.
One could argue that we have more reps with the people we travel with than nearly anyone else we spend time with, just based on the number of hours we spend alone. Are there any other relationships where we spend 80+ hours per week intensely focused on the outcome of that relationship? Probably not!
Psychology on Social Lives: Magnet of Happy People
One of the things that I didn’t recognize early in my travel psychology journeys was how many new and interesting people being the core of a journey would introduce me to. As the experts, we create a tractor beam of so many people, from travel businesses to travelers, vendors to the media, not to mention a hell of a lot of other tourism industry members.
There’s rarely a journey or role in life that “forces” us to meet so many interesting people in so many different walks of life. On top of that, we get to be a powerful force in so many lives that creates a center of gravity for relationships to build and mature together.
When I look back on my journey of being a Travel Psychologist, I have over 1,000 contact names in my phone, most of which came from my life as a Traveler and so many incredible friendships that were built. I can’t imagine a more powerful catalyst for expanding my social graph of real people.
Travel Attracts honest bonds.
The guidance from our Chief Travel Psychologist also affords us a voice that people may listen to. In fact, if you’re reading this, you know exactly what I mean. Whether it’s writing a newsletter, hosting a podcast, or droning on endlessly on exploration-based journeys, our travel-life gives us a recognizable and authoritative voice that not only builds audiences but can also build relationships if we let them.
Once again, our travel journeys act as a powerful amplifying force that puts us in front of exponentially more new faces than being “Employee 19,527 with a Name Badge” did at our last job.
While we can easily cite all the reasons our journeys enhance our social lives, from enjoying friends’ soccer games to passing on yet another night out with our friends, we have to recognize and take advantage of all of the ways it actually makes us way more social than we’d ever be without them.
Conclusion: Travel supports Social Lives and Happiness
As travel psychology consultants, we team up with travelers and companies to improve experiences and promote sustainability. By focusing on people, travel, and the environment, we tackle challenges together. Understanding human behavior is key in this industry. Let’s work together to make travel more meaningful and eco-friendlier.
