The Transformative Power of Travel: Adventure, Resilience, and Change
- Sara Mangan Ramelb
- Mar 7
- 3 min read
This year, I am incredibly fortunate to embark on a milestone, bucket-list birthday trip. From my home in New York, I’ll journey to Australia—exploring Sydney and her breathtaking Blue Mountains, marveling at the Great Barrier Reef from Port Douglas, and immersing myself in the vibrant culture of Brisbane—before continuing to New Zealand and Tahiti for more adventures.
But this trip is about so much more than just vacation. It’s about restoration, exploration, and embracing change in all its forms.
The Restorative Power of Travel
In a world that often glorifies hustle, stepping away from daily routines is not just a luxury—it’s a necessity. Travel offers the profound gift of restoration, providing a reset from the relentless demands of work and responsibility. As a prime working-age American, I recognize my own workaholic tendencies, and taking a meaningful pause is crucial. Rest and relaxation are not indulgences; they are essential investments in well-being.
Adventure and Novelty: Expanding Your Comfort Zone
Yet travel is not solely about rest—it’s about adventure. Novel experiences are a powerful catalyst for personal growth, offering fresh perspectives and deepening our understanding of the world.
Adventure is a vital category in my life wheel (more on that in an upcoming blog!). It represents the deliberate pursuit of experiences that push us beyond the familiar. And while travel is a natural vehicle for this, adventure isn’t reserved for far-flung destinations.
Everyday life presents countless opportunities for novelty:
Trying a new cuisine
Exploring a different hiking trail
Joining a class or meetup group where you don’t know anyone
Striking up a conversation with a stranger
Even in the smallest of towns, there are events, open mics, community theater, sports, and workshops waiting to be explored. I challenge everyone to seek out at least one new experience every week. Fifty-plus adventures a year should be a baseline goal, with an eye toward challenging yourself to see how many days each week can be marked by something new.
The Ultimate Immersion in Novelty
Long-distance travel is the ultimate immersion in newness. Even without excessive planning, each day naturally unfolds into a sequence of discoveries.
Take Sydney, for example. Navigating its public transportation system—light rail, buses, and trains—wasn’t just about efficiency; it was a mini-adventure, a triumph of figuring things out in an unfamiliar place. That sense of competence and independence is invigorating. The more we challenge ourselves to engage with the unknown, the more expansive and capable we feel.
Resilience: When Things Don’t Go as Planned
With great travel plans come great expectations—and inevitable disruptions. Flights get delayed. Weather doesn’t cooperate. That highly anticipated excursion turns out differently than imagined. But these moments are golden opportunities to build resilience.
Change, much like travel, is rarely linear. Even with meticulous planning, outcomes are never guaranteed. When setbacks arise, it’s crucial to navigate them with grace.
The Three-Step Resilience Mindset:
Acknowledge and process your emotions. It’s okay to feel disappointed when things don’t go as planned. Take a moment to honor those feelings before moving forward.
Extract the lesson. Was the setback preventable? Was it simply bad luck? Or does the real lesson lie in managing expectations?
Find the silver lining. Even when plans derail, there’s often still magic in the moment. Are you safe? Are you still surrounded by beauty? Did many things go right even if one thing went wrong? Shifting your focus to what’s working creates space for gratitude and joy.
The Ultimate Lesson in Change
The journey of change—whether in life, career, or personal growth—demands perseverance and resilience. If we expect perfection, we set ourselves up for frustration in a world brimming with unpredictable moments. Instead, if we embrace the adventure, adapt to disruptions, and remain open to possibilities, we gain something even more valuable: the ability to thrive through change.
So, as I embark on this incredible journey, I carry these lessons with me. And I invite you to do the same—whether through grand travels or small, daily adventures. Because the story isn’t over until you stop writing it.
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