We Still Need to Travel

What I’m thinking about this weekend…

What does travel look like post-COVID?

Last week, I got a friendly reminder from Facebook of a memory from 3 years ago. It was a photo of my weekender duffle bag and backpack at the airport on my way to Reykjavik, Iceland. This would be the start of a 6 week sabbatical to close out a 2-year leadership fellowship with the Bush Foundation.

The trip started in Iceland for Social Progress Index conference, then I spend 4 weeks in Copenhagen, Denmark to contemplate, read, and write. Then I traveled down to Brussels and to London, where I met my wife and we celebrated our 7-year wedding anniversary (which took us up to Amsterdam then Copenhagen, then back home).

I was in a leadership learning mode at the time. It was my first real international trip. And it really opened my eyes and my world.

Here’s the essay summing up what I learned.

Whether for leaders or anyone, really, travel inspires; it builds appreciation for diversity; and it makes you operate in zones of discomfort.

Can you get that in a zoom conference or a virtual experience?

You get those things, but differently.

Such was the case just yesterday while attending Seth Godin’s Real Skills Conference. 2,000 people from dozens of countries, and contemplative working sessions. And I did not have to leave my house.

But I love leaving my house. I really love Copenhagen. There is more of Copenhagen (and other places) I want to see and experience.

Whether its going to the next state or traveling around the world, we cannot lose our need to see and experience more of the world. It enriches us as a species. It teaches us that our way isn’t the only way to thrive. We fear what we don’t know.

For some of us, we’re gonna play around with our time moving forward.

For instance, if a company can do it, they should implement 4 day work weeks. People are finding ways to maximize effort in shorter periods of time (because any second the kid will come rushing in and that memo will need to be paused).

With more time, we will be inspired to travel. We may learn to travel with more respect for our fellow travelers — giving a boost to the experience as a whole. And as we travel we’ll become better humans.

Moving forward, travel may be a little tricky. It changed after 9/11. It will change after COVID.

But we need to see the world outside our bubble; outside our comfort zone.

The human experience is to grow. Travel is a key element of the growth equation.