New book reveals life-changing personal benefits of travel
Anyone who loves to travel will not be surprised by Tom Leegstra’s belief that travel transforms us for the better. But few of us have taken the time to analyze that transformation. In The Transformative Power of Travel: Discovering Yourself Exploring the World, Tom shares how travel changes us, teaching us to be more patient, more tolerant, and more open to new ideas, perspectives, and differences. Sometimes traveling and the experiences it brings can also be a bit awkward, but in those situations, we are more likely to experience a transformation.
The Transformative Power of Travel has all the basic travel advice you need, but beyond basic things like getting passports and remembering to pack toothpaste, the book explores how to set goals for your travels—goals that aren’t just about seeing a place, but maybe learning more about the special person you’re traveling with, or just learning to relax and have fun, or learning to appreciate history or art, and most importantly, learning about other cultures and realizing at the end of the day that people are basically all the same.
Tom begins by asking us to take off our clothes, not literally but metaphorically. It is time for us to be ready to clothe ourselves with new experiences. Traveling makes you feel naked and vulnerable, but Tom reminds us that it is during those vulnerable times that we can grow the most. “When you’ve taken all your clothes off, you have nowhere to hide that real, vulnerable self.” Then you can begin to transform that self into an even better version of you.
Of course, the world is full of places to travel. Tom is a true world traveler who has visited forty-three countries. For this book, he focused on three amazing and diverse countries that helped transform him: France, India, and Cuba.
France is the trip he took with his girlfriend, a trip that cemented their relationship and ultimately led to their marriage. Yes, they visited the Eiffel Tower and all the other romantic places in Paris, but they also spent time getting to know each other in beautiful romantic settings so they could determine how compatible they are.
In India, Tom learned some surprising things about himself and how he reacts to discomfort and feeling out of control in a strange environment. He also had some really wonderful ideas. Here is his comment about visiting the Taj Mahal:
“Being there creates a surreal sense of oneness with the people who created the site, even though they lived miles and miles away on a different continent than me and centuries before me. Being there in person made me feel like I was connected with those people. One way or another. It’s a hard feeling to put into words, but it made me feel small and very humble.”
Throughout the book, Tom adds Pro-Tips and Reflections on his experiences. He also teaches us to think for ourselves. For example, when he arrived in Cuba, he met a person who had just arrived alone from Mexico City. He states: “I had heard horrible and scary things about Mexico City, but she had explored the city on her own and seemed to have no fear at all. I found it unbelievable. I thought I was a coward for not having been to Mexico City.” yet. That again taught me a wonderful lesson: don’t believe everything you hear in the media. Keep it real! Do your own research and ask travelers who have been there.”
This statement reveals a great advantage of travel: it destroys false prejudices and preconceived notions. Says Tom, “I’ve come to believe that travel is the best and fastest way to break down our own assumptions or prejudices about people, places and cultures.”
Tom also covers what to do when things go wrong. The bottom line: stay calm. He says, “While these events may initially seem like they are happening to us, we can learn over time that these events happen to us. There are growth lessons we can learn from these events and their aftermath.”
The book concludes with appendices that provide additional resources and explore how to deal with ambiguity and other problems during your travels.
If you have ever wanted to experience Cuba, India, France, or any other country, this is a great book to start with. If you love to travel, you’ll love reading about Tom’s experiences. If you’re nervous about traveling, become an armchair traveler by starting with this book; you may find that it makes you brave and ready for an adventure.