A quick comparison of traditional and transformational travel experiences to help you work out which is the right one for you, at the right time
Is it time to swap your traditional holiday for a transformational travel experience? Well, that all depends on you and your ‘why’.
There is so much inspiration out there to help daydream about our next holiday. A simple internet search, a flick through a glossy magazine, conversations with friends – travel is a topic we all love to explore and share.
But do you ever actually stop to think about what it is that you want to get out of your next break? How you want to feel and what impact you want to create? Is there a personal goal that you’re looking to achieve and how does that fit in with your travel aspirations?
What is traditional travel?
Think of all the travel experiences you’ve had over the years. From camping trips as a kid to cheap and cheerful family package holidays to Air BnB city breaks and desert island bucket list trips. Many of us save up all year for these kinds of experiences and there’s nothing wrong with that – it can be the light at the end of the tunnel that keeps us going through stressful jobs and demanding life situations.
But what if there was something bigger than just ‘going away’ on holiday and coming back?
The calling of transformational travel
A transformational trip usually starts with intention and ends in mindful action. When traveling with intention, you’re not only fully engaging the community and environment you encounter, but simultaneously learning and growing, so there is a an internal and an external benefit.
Usually with traditional travel, it’s more geared to our internal benefit, whether that’s relaxation, getting a suntan, exploring different cultures or something else, we don’t stop to think about the bigger picture and the impact.
However, when your travel starts with a ‘Why & How,’ followed by mindfully choosing the ‘What & Where”, is where the difference lies.
Why is transformational travel so important and relevant today?
• The world has changed. During the global pandemic we’ve all reassessed our priorities and the way business, life and social interactions has changed before our eyes.
• We want to enrich our lives with new experiences. We’ve realised that life’s too short to procrastinate.
• We want to improve and develop ourselves, and potentially give something back to the world.
• There are so many more transformative experiences on offer. A wealth of activities and life changing moments are at our fingertips. We just need to know where to look for them.
Key takeaways:
• Preparation and planning: This is a key part of a transformational experience. That means thinking about your ‘why’ and setting your intentions before you travel, and of course preparing your mind and body.
• Concrete experiences: Both normal travel and TT are about experiences – DOING something.
• Reflective Observation: reflecting and reviewing the experience is much more important for transformational travel – thinking about what happened during that experience and taking stock.
• Abstract Conceptualisation: With a transformational experience, you’re more likely to learn from the experience and gain new insights into yourself, others and the world. This is also true of a standard travel experience but less prevalent.
• Active experimentation: This is about bringing the lessons you’ve learned back to your everyday life and using them to make positive changes for yourself and the world around you. Again, this is much more likely to happen with transformational travel.
With all that said, don’t worry, there’s no need to hit every stage when you go on your first trip – like everything else, you can continue to develop your travel mindset throughout your life. Ask We Love Transformational Travel for help and advice on where to start.