Traveling to a new place can be an eye opening experience of cultural discovery and adventure and while our voyaging experiences might vary, it’s very likely that most of us have experienced the wonder of journeying overseas at least once point in our lives. While getting to know a new place can be an incredibly enriching experience, it does also come with its pitfalls and, depending on how much time you spend within a foreign city, you might begin to experience signs of culture shock. The feeling of being outside of your comfort zone when you journey to a new place, culture shock can hit even the most seasoned of travelers, causing sudden feelings of discomfort in a foreign city. While early emotions associated with the feeling can feel negative, the experience itself might not be as bad as you think and once you’re out the other side, you might be shocked at just how much culture shock has taught you. There’s always a lesson to be learned.
- Increases Your Confidence
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Want to feel more self assured when you’re traveling on your own? You might just need to step outside of your comfort zone. The beauty of experiencing culture shock when you’re in a new place is that you are forced to keep going in order to survive. While you might feel like hiding in a corner and avoiding all forms of interaction, these are the very acts that you cannot avoid doing when in you’re in a foreign country; it is in your best interests to get out and get active. After you’ve got over the initial barrier you might be surprised at just how capable you are of getting things done. There is no greater sense of achievement than making it in a new place.
- Heightens Your Senses
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So often, we walk through life in a cultural daze, overlooking the beauty in the world around us. Culture shock is the direct opposite of everyday complacency, making you increasingly aware of the differences in the new place around you. While contrasts in foreign places can often feel stark, they are also vibrant and inspiring, encouraging you to see the world anew. It might feel scary at first, but experiencing a new place for the very first time can really help to shift your global perspective. Before long, you might rediscover the beauty present in the world.
- Introduces You To New People
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Traveling is one of the best ways in which to meet people from all walks of life and whether you’re journeying on your own or as part of a group, it’s more than likely that you will bump into other people doing the same thing. By getting out into the world and expanding your cultural horizons, you are much more likely to meet new people than if you avoid change completely. It might feel scary at first but before long, you are likely to become accustomed to going out of your comfort zone.
- Helps You To Grow
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The only way that you are able to grow as a person is to experience new places, people and cultures, and really put yourself out there. Experiencing culture shock might stun you at first but over time, it can help to alter your perspective and enable you to see familiar situations in a new light. When we are in stressful situations, we learn in order to survive and the more that we are able to take in, the more fully we are able to grow as an individual. Comfort and stress should ebb and flow when you travel but by the end, you will become a more rounded individual.
- Encourages Your Creativity
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Without change, we are much less likely to be creatively stimulated by the world. While culture shock can feel awkward at first, it also has a great way of exposing our own innovation, beliefs and thought processes, helping us to understand how we individually see the world. Over time, the way in which we react to new places and people is likely to become more exposed as a result, leading to greater bouts of creative activity and imagination. The more inspired we are to act in the world, the more personal and professional growth that we can experience. It really is a win-win situation.
