Quitting a job to travel is a new and strange experience to many people stirring anxiety in some and excitement in others. Considering the ups and downs of the current global economy why would a person give up status and a steady income just for temporary travel?
What Happens When You Quit a Job to Travel the World
Expect opposition from some people that are close to you
People around you will not understand your rationale and emotional state when you decide to quit a job to travel. The decision is spontaneous and will probably be emotional rather than rational. Your parents invested in your education so quitting you job to travel will be considered as throwing opportunities away due to the fact that the experience will be temporary. Your friends will not understand your decision especially if you met them in the course of your career. If you are a high performer at work your boss and colleagues will not understand your decision to quit your job for a moment of travel, they will plead, give unnecessary advice so that you reconsider your decision not understanding your current situation that led you to the decision.
You will have stress during planning the trip if you are a beginner
Considering the fact that you just quit your job to travel you may have stress about budgeting your finances to meet costs required to make the journey comfortable. You may make approximations on the cost of food, accommodation and emergency but inflation, different economic states and currency differences will make the budgeting process difficult. Considering the comfort in accommodation before you quit your job to be able to travel, differences in costs of living in countries that have higher costs of living or those that have lower costs of living may cause anxiety in budgeting for expenses.
Your perspective on life may change
Your perspective on people will change as you will be exposed to a different culture from your accustomed culture. Before you quit your job to travel, your corporate culture may probably have shaped your perspective on money, people and time. As you travel to other countries especially those that are less developed than your own you will see people forced to work harder by economic hardship, people who are happy in the midst of poverty. If you are travelling to an economically advantaged country you may see better organization and work ethic. You may experience friendship from a better perspective through relationships you form in different countries and cultures that may make you reconsider those that you have at home
You may learn new skills from exposure to different cultures
Traveling to a new country may enable you to learn few words or refine your knowledge of a different language. The language barrier and different accents will fascinate you and make you want to learn common vocabulary used in a different country. You may taste different cuisine that may be so good that you may want to get the recipe and make it again. You may be inspired to volunteer and learn new skills that may help you in your future career or help you survive extreme environments. By quitting your job to travel you may value spontaneity and peace of mind from the pressure of your boss and colleagues. You may also learn how to take more risks and live outside the comfort zone that you were accustomed to.
Conclusion
Depending on the attitude that you may have when you quit your job to travel you may gain positive or negative perspectives. Some habits that are deeply ingrained in us may persist and some experiences may be negative but overall the new experiences and people that you meet on the journey may make it worthwhile and make the good experiences to outweigh the bad experiences. The good moments may make you have a different outlook when you go back to search for new career opportunities and will be a source of future reference especially if you took photos and videos.
