How to Feel Renewed for Travel 2022
2022 is not just the start of a new year — it also means a year filled with new adventures. With that clean slate comes a renewed sense of wanderlust, excitement, and optimism towards travel.
While the COVID-19 pandemic is not behind us yet, a new sort of global phenomenon has started to gain steam as well: an overwhelming sense of hope and desire to get back out there and start exploring the world again.
With people all around the world having been confined to their local communities for the past two years, countless vacation days having been lost, and missed hugs on birthdays and other special occasions, the timing makes perfect sense. Still, with this hopeful optimism comes an inevitable sense of hesitation. For many, 2022 marks the first time they'll have traveled at all in quite some time. So how, exactly, do you "get back out there," safely and while also making the most of every single moment?
Start Daydreaming and Feeling Inspired!
Every trip, whether it's a quick weekend getaway or an elaborate, multi-week vacation, starts with an initial planning phase. And we have great news for you: there's strong evidence that simply planning a trip has many of the same benefits as actually travelling. In fact, even thinking about planning a trip, what we like to call the art of anticipation, has numerous benefits, particularly when it comes to mental health.
For example, anticipating an upcoming trip (or again, even anticipating planning a trip in the near future) can significantly reduce stress and increase happiness. Knowing that you have a getaway on the horizon, even several months down the road, gives you something to look forward to and can make the stresses of day-to-day life more tolerable. Planning travel, and simply letting yourself daydream about doing so, also opens up your mind to new ideas, inspires creativity, and pushes you outside your comfort zone, which can in turn help boost self-confidence. And it's safe to say we can all use a healthy dose of that!
Reflect Back on the Previous Year (or Two)
Looking back since the beginning of the pandemic, many of us missed out on countless things, experiences, and even major milestones throughout 2020 and perhaps even 2021. Instead of focusing on those missed opportunities, though, think of the new year as the perfect time to plan out some new adventures. You can try to re-create some of those missed experiences, visit completely new destinations, or do a little of both!
We've discussed in the past "theming" your vacations, and this may be the perfect opportunity to put that into practice. Taking a themed vacation can also be viewed as travelling with a purpose, and we can't think of any better purpose than recreating that epic trip you had planned in 2020 or 2021! Whether it's a solo trip or you're travelling with friends, think about a potential theme and start building your trip around that. There are no rules here, so the sky's the limit!
Utilize Travel as a Form of Wellness
For all of its many benefits, travelling can often be more than just a little bit stressful. Planning out all the logistics, arranging for time off of work or school, thinking about the financial aspects...let's face it, these things aren't exactly fun. However, instead of thinking about those stressors that go hand-in-hand with travel, change your mindset and use your next getaway to actually boost your mental health.
One of the best ways to do exactly that is to book a wellness trip. While low-key beach destinations and sprawling resorts with full-service spas may immediately come to mind, wellness trips — like every other aspect of travel in the past two years — have evolved a great deal. In fact, it’s recently been predicted that escaping on vacation will become THE form of self-care in 2022.
Thinking about it further, what that means is that a "wellness trip" doesn't necessarily have to involve a specific destination or even specific activities. Rather, the trip in and of itself is what promotes wellness. In much the same way as an ample amount of rest and relaxation, yoga, or meditation, travel itself can act as a form of therapeutic self-care. According to the Booking.com travel prediction study, 64% of travelers said that just a literal change of scenery helps them recharge. Another 25% indicated that stepping outside their comfort zone (or, perhaps more appropriately in today's world, quarantine bubble) helps their mental wellness, allowing them to reset.
Plus, touching again on our earlier point, simply planning a trip offers up a significant mental health boost. A recent study indicated that a whopping 76% of people report improvement in their mental well-being as a result of just planning travel.
Be Open to Change and Embrace the Unpredictability
To put it plainly, we're still living alongside COVID and the world is still changing on a daily basis. However, that doesn't mean you have to continue to live your life as if the "pause" button is pressed down. On the contrary, we all have a unique opportunity to live our lives in the present and without some of the concerns we previously focused so heavily on.
As you plan your travels for the coming year and actually get out there again and start visiting new destinations, keep an open mind. Embrace the very real fact that travel may look different today (and for the foreseeable future) than it used to, and that your trip may not even resemble what you had originally planned.
The truth is, things can change even once you arrive! Take a deep breath, embrace all the changes, and do your best to plan for them to minimize their impact on your trip. Having a Plan B (and Plan C and maybe even Plan D) can go a very long way in helping you feel more relaxed and prepared for whatever the universe throws at you, allowing you to fully enjoy your travels — whatever they ultimately end up looking like!