Travelling anywhere — especially across cultures — is an opportunity to step outside your comfort zone. Sometimes this means having to behave in a way that’s unnatural or awkward to you, but you know is required in the new setting, like being more respectful. Stretching your comfort zone might also mean doing something that scares you a bit, like going to a country you never imagined visiting — or where you don’t know the language at all — and successfully navigating the experience. There are many challenges of international travel and successfully conquering them can be a great confidence-booster.
Spending time in a foreign country can also expand your creativity. In fact, studies have shown that people are often at their most creative and “flexible” when spending time in a different setting. Encountering difference in a new place — even in the simplest objects like traffic signs — can expand your mind and open you up to more possibilities. Not only that, but when you are forced to solve problems (like how to place an order when every item on the menu looks the same, or how to get to a critical meeting on time when transit workers are on strike), your brain can’t rely on what it already knows. It must experiment and innovate. The most immediate benefit to your company may simply be that you will see innovations and ways of operating that you’ve never thought of before, and you can then bring back knowledge to your home.
Business travel is often anything but glamorous, but by focusing on the potential benefits, you can get more out of your time. Not only will you have a much more meaningful personal experience than is immediately apparent, but you can also use it to build connections, harness your inner creativity, and deepen your awareness and understanding of the rest of the world.
