Travel and Personal Growth: Dalene Heck Of Trip Chaser On Why & How Traveling Can Help Us Become Better Human Beings

Talk to strangers. We have racked up so many wonderful memories by simply being chatty with locals, including the time we met an Albanian who also happened to have the keys to some old ruins he gave us a personal tour of!

Thankfully, the world is open for travel once again. Traveling can broaden our horizons and make space for people to become more open-minded. How can travel give us the opportunity for personal growth? What are some ways that travel can help us become better human beings? As a part of our series about “How Traveling Can Help Us Become Better Human Beings”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dalene Heck.

Dalene has a way with words and cats. She’s a total boss, slayer of Leukemia, and The Office trivia champion. She was schooled in business and spent her twenties as a corporate climber before discovering her true passions when she gave herself the space to find them.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

I was born and raised in northern Alberta, Canada — far north enough that we had snow on the ground for nine months of the year. It was a lovely childhood; I was raised with my two sisters in a small town surrounded by a big family — our get-togethers were frequent and noisy! However, I left there after high school to attend University in Calgary and have since lived all over the world.

What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.

I have a long and messy story! After I attained my bachelor’s degree in business, I remained in and around Calgary and focused on quickly climbing the corporate ladder. However, a series of personal tragedies in 2007 (read: https://www.hecktictravels.com/why-we-travel-part-one) spurred my husband and I to rethink what we were doing with our lives. We decided to sell all of our belongings and travel the world. We left in the fall of 2009, thinking it would just be for one year, and it ended up being almost eight.

While we knew we wanted to keep traveling for as long as possible, we also knew that we would run out of money! So after year one, we started to develop some businesses that we could run online from anywhere in the world. From travel blogging to consulting with travel brands and tourism boards and more — we do a lot of different things.

But when COVID-19 hit, 80% of our business revenue dried up overnight (it was not a great time to work in tourism). We knew we had to pivot again, and we wanted to build something more sustainable. Thus, we finally returned to an idea that we had held for quite some time — to create a travel-themed card game. While our business has since rebounded, the game (and ideas for MORE games) have basically consumed our lives, and we are not mad about that at all.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?

My husband (of almost 23 years) is the best human. When we first co-founded our marketing company, he immediately stated that I should be the ultimate boss and has supported me every step of the way. Not many couples can live and travel together 24/7, never mind running multiple businesses on top of that! I give him all the credit for being such a compassionate and supportive partner in every aspect of life.

It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or takeaway did you learn from that?

I’m not sure I have one grand mistake to share here, just lots of little ones! Especially when it comes to my “travel” career — of course there were lots of mishaps along the way that led to personal growth and just becoming a better traveler. Like leaving my passport on a bus in Chile, or eating at a tourist restaurant in Mexico (instead of a local joint) which left both my husband and I with retched food poisoning. Thankfully, those instances also gave us real-life fodder to draw on when creating our card game!

Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?

The old adage “life is too short” explains my life trajectory. Besides having to endure so many personal tragedies in 2007 that caused me to rethink my life, I have since often been reminded of that phrase, especially when I was diagnosed with leukemia in the fall of 2016. The first few weeks into that diagnosis were very dangerous, and I easily could have succumbed if I did not start treatment when I did. Thankfully, I am now cured, but my husband and I embrace all opportunities and possibilities to maximize how we live our lives.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

Our most exciting project to date has been our card game, Trip Chaser! Being an avid gamer, I always knew I had it in me, but most importantly, it’s been fun distilling our travel knowledge and advice into a game scenario. After living as digital nomads for almost eight years and visiting 60 countries along the way, we have had our share of remarkable and difficult travel experiences. I think Trip Chaser will help people by subtly offering advice on different travel scenarios through the “Event Cards”, but the game also reminds people of how rewarding travel can be.

OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview about travel and personal growth. Let’s dive deeper into these together. Based on your research or personal experience, why do you think travel can lead to personal growth? Can you share a story?

There are so many ways that travel can lead to personal growth, but for me, the biggest transformation has been my move to minimalism. After living out of a backpack for almost 8 years, I know how little I need to actually survive! Since we’ve settled back in Canada that lesson has held strong — my husband and I think twice about every purchase we make to ensure that it is necessary. Not only does it help us to live more simply, but it certainly helps the environment in the long-run, as well.

The first time that really hit me was on our first visit back to Canada after backpacking around South America for a year. My mom was moving at the time, and I was helping her get set up in a new place. That meant we made many trips to different stores for essential supplies, but seeing all of the useless “stuff” that fills big box store shelves was my undoing. I remember being en route to get an ironing board but suddenly staring up at a massive wall of football-jersey-wearing gnomes, and it disturbed me so profoundly that I had to immediately leave the store. That moment has stuck with me ever since.

A recent survey from Psychology Today showed that over 80% of participants found that travel helped them with problem-solving or decision-making. Why do you think this is true for so many people?

Travel has the potential to push us outside our comfort zone every single day. Every time you land in a new location you may need to overcome such things as language barriers and figure out how to get around, what to eat, where to stay, etc. Travel offers a continuous stream of micro-problems that need to be solved, but it also has the potential to throw up big, unknown obstacles. It’s almost impossible to travel WITHOUT enhancing those skills!

Do you think travel enhances our mindfulness, optimism, or sense of gratitude? How? Can you please explain with an example or story?

I am grateful every day that I’ve been able to live such a travel-forward lifestyle — not only because of the amazing experiences I’ve had around the world, but also because of what it has taught me. I am reminded of a day early in our travels when we were on the Galapagos Islands — I had left my iPhone on our hotel bed and didn’t realize it until we were at the airport. I frantically called the hotel and yes, they had found it and it was sitting at reception.

The wonderful manager flew it out to me the next day at no charge. She also included the cutest note that said: “Please don’t forget it in Quito. People is not honest sometimes.” I was reminded then, and often during our travels, that 99% of people in the world are awesome, and no matter the world’s troubles, I am optimistic that we’ll pull through.

Surely not everyone who travels automatically becomes an exemplar of human decency. What are a few reasons why some people completely miss out on the growth opportunities that travel can offer?

Sadly, that is true. And I think people most often miss out on opportunities for growth when they travel with a mindset of superiority — i.e. because I’m from Canada or USA, then, of course, I know “better”. People would get so much more out of travel if they became better listeners and observers rather than centring every experience on themselves. Right and wrong is not always black and white, and our own cultural imprints can cause us to dismiss opportunities for growth.

What are your “5 Habits You Should Develop In Order Make Travel Into An Opportunity For Personal Growth?”

1. Just listen. I once took a tour of Berlin with a guide who was from east Berlin and remembered the days before the wall came down. She spoke fondly about some aspects of those days, which you don’t often hear about. It is important to remember that history is written by the “winners” and details from the other side are often dismissed. I learned a lot that day.
2. Go with the flow. Travel plans rarely go exactly as intended. And that’s not a bad thing! Learning to just let things happen can be beneficial for so many, and can translate well back into your non-travel life. Being more adaptable is a great skill to have.
3. Travel solo sometimes. This is the ultimate confidence-booster. While I most often travel with my husband, I relish the opportunity to get on the road solo sometimes to remind myself that I can do it. After my cancer treatment, and after being cared for so diligently by Pete and my family, I booked a 5-day solo trip to an off-grid remote island in British Columbia. Being able to prove I could function and care for myself was very important to me.
4. Talk to strangers. We have racked up so many wonderful memories by simply being chatty with locals, including the time we met an Albanian who also happened to have the keys to some old ruins he gave us a personal tour of!
5. Take some downtime. Personal growth most often happens upon reflection, and what better place to do that but in a new locale? Instead of racing from sight to site with little time to absorb, schedule in some rest time. Pack a picnic and spend the afternoon lounging at the Champ de Mars with the Eiffel Tower in view, or head off the beaten path in the Faroe Islands so that you have trails and towns all to yourself.

From your experience, does travel have a negative impact on personal growth too? Is there a downside to travel?

The biggest downside I have found is expanded empathy. That is obviously a good thing, but also bad, too. My heart often hurts for so many places around the world that I now have a personal connection to. That may sound selfish to say, but it’s the honest truth.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)

Do you know Rafael Nadal? Hook a girl up, please! My husband and my latest leisure obsession is learning to play tennis (we pack our rackets on trips and have looked into tennis trips abroad). We even named our new cat Rafa!

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Learn all about our new game at tripchasergame.com

Read about our world travels at hecktictravels.com

Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent on this. We wish you continued success.