Travel and Personal Growth: Linda G Robert On Why & How Traveling Can Help Us Become Better Human Beings
Love this questions. Well the first habit is to set an intention (or intentions) before each trip. So for example, when I walked the Del Norte in Spain, my sole intention was to experience it and I did. This intention of ‘experiencing it’ allowed me to be fully open to whatever opportunities came my way.
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 Linda G. Robert.
In her 50s, Linda G. Robert overcame initial fears to embark on solo travel. Through practicing with short trips, she gained confidence and ended up loving traveling on her own. It was after walking the Del Norte Camino in Spain that she realized she had something to offer others. She decided to combine her love for coaching with her passion for travel and offer travel coaching to women 45+ who are busy professionals or experiencing a life transition.
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?
Sure and thank you! My parents divorced when I was around 10 years old and I went to live with my grandparents. They must have been in their 60’s then and weren’t rich, so our life was simple. I have fond memories of my childhood like drinking my first cup of coffee with sugar while waiting for my grandad to go to work, learning how to knit and sew on an old singer sewing machine that belonged to my great grandmother, playing bingo with my grandmother on Sundays in the church basement and my dad making funny voices when ordering our meal from A and W. I had a few friends, and spent a lot of time crafting and ‘teaching’ my friends. We didn’t travel a lot back then. We did some camping when my parents were together, and that stopped when they divorced. I started to travel again in my early 50’s.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
When I was in high school, a friend of mine chose to go to college after her grade 12, while I continued to complete my grade 13. I didn’t really know what to do after I graduated, so I chose the same program. That program eventually helped me to find work in a psychiatric hospital, where I started working with youth and eventually transitioned to working with adults. I also began teaching a stress management full-day workshop, and it was after this experience that I realized I wanted to help others through teaching wellness and well-being seminars. Eventually, I started doing that as a consultant. I recently started a new career, that of being a coach and a travel coach and it was my love of traveling and desire to help other women change their lives through traveling that inspired me to add this to my skills set.
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?
I wish I could say there was one person, but that wasn’t the case. I think it was the counselors that I met when I attended some programs to help me deal with some things I was going through, and the life experiences I had that eventually led me to who I am today. Life wasn’t always easy for me, and at times, it seemed rather bleak. I had to make some tough decisions to change my lifestyle and started incorporating some self care, self love practices and traveling on my own to help me transition to the person I am today.
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?
One mistake I made was working in an industry that didn’t truly interest me. However, I learned a lot from that experience, and it proved invaluable when I needed to understand my son’s mental health challenges. This taught me that even if we work at something that doesn’t seem meaningful at the time, we can eventually find our way to something more fulfilling. The skills and knowledge we acquire, whether through work or education, will be useful at some point in our lives.
Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?
One of my favorite quotes is “You meet someone for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.” This is an opening line from a poem written by Brian A Chalker. When I first heard this many years ago, I didn’t truly understand it. It was following one of my breakups, and over time, it helped me to accept change, the breakup(s), and to view my life and the people I meet from a completely different perspective. It has made it so much easier to help me accept my many relationships when I was younger.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
I’m currently working on a 12-month program for busy professional women. This program blends self-care practices, mindfulness, happiness principles, success strategies, and travel experiences to help participants live fully and achieve their goals while maintaining a healthy worklife balance. My hope is that it fosters a greater sense of purpose, happiness, and fulfillment, ensuring both personal and professional thriving.
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?
In my 50’s, I overcame some fears and started to travel on my own. I started with short trips, gained confidence and ended up loving traveling on my own. It was after walking the Del Norte Camino in Spain last year that I realized that travelling helped me to grow a lot, to learn a lot. On this trip, I gained more confidence, felt less afraid and built some resilience. I could have easily given up after the third rainy day when I started my walk, but I kept going and eventually the weather changed, until the last few days when it started to rain heavily again. So I learned that I can complete something when time gets tough especially when I’m absolutely determined to complete a project. I learned from personal experience that traveling can be transformative.
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?
While I agree with this, I think it also depends on the type of traveling. For example, if a couple went on a cruise, they might not necessarily come back with the answers to their problems, especially if they weren’t on the cruise with that intention. However, if the couple took a trip to be open to finding a solution to their problem, and they spent some time considering possible solutions or, better yet, remained open to having the solutions come to them naturally, they would be more apt to find solutions and make a decision. In other words, if they busied themselves on the cruise with a lot of excursions for example, they might not have paid attention to solutions that might arise during quiet times. On the other hand, if they chose to go on one of the Caminos in Spain, for example, where they had nothing but time to simply be, they might have been more likely to receive some guidance in making certain decisions. So, it totally depends on the type of traveling and the intentions that have been set before the trip.
Do you think travel enhances our mindfulness, optimism, or sense of gratitude? How? Can you please explain with an example or story?
Again I think it depends on the type of traveling. When I walked the Del Norte, one of the Caminos in Spain, I was completely in the moment, so mindful of where I was and what I needed to do — just keep putting one foot in front of the other. There were moments during my walk that the gratitude came to me in waves, it was so incredible that I cried on a couple of occasions. The people, I met, locals and other pilgrims were so nice, friendly and giving, I felt optimistic about human kind in general. So, on this type of trip, yes it enhanced my mindfulness, optimism and sense of gratitude. And on some of the other trips I had, I didn’t feel the same way, but then again, I was a different person, and not so open to being fully present and expressing my gratitude.
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?
That’s a great question, and I think the answer can be multifaceted. For example, some travelers might focus solely on tourist attractions and surface-level experiences without engaging deeply with the local culture, people, or customs. Without meaningful interactions, their potential for personal growth is limited.
I’m all for reflection, and I know that personal growth comes from introspection. Many travelers may not be aware of what they can learn from others or be open to it. Different cultures and meeting people from different countries offer rich opportunities for learning. They may think that traveling is just about seeing awesome destinations and trying different foods, and while that’s true, there could be some time dedicated to reflection.
What are your “5 Habits You Should Develop In Order Make Travel Into An Opportunity For Personal Growth?”
Love this questions. Well the first habit is to set an intention (or intentions) before each trip. So for example, when I walked the Del Norte in Spain, my sole intention was to experience it and I did. This intention of ‘experiencing it’ allowed me to be fully open to whatever opportunities came my way.
This leads perfectly to the next habit which is of being mindful, of fully being present in each moment. This includes paying attention to the people we meet, being curious, being present, the sensations we are feeling at the moment, noticing our fears when they come up and managing them, fully tasting and savoring the foods we are eating. These are just some examples of what it means to be mindful, in my opinion.
Another habit to develop when traveling is to be open to new experiences. Let’s face it we travel to live a different experience than what we’re used to, so we need to have an open mind when we travel, like I was sharing earlier, when I was talking about food. Sure there are hamburgers in other countries, but they don’t all taste the same. All kidding aside, staying open to trying new foods, interacting with people from a different background will make someone more versatile. Imagine coming back home and treating your friends to a new recipe you tried while you were traveling. How cool would that be?
Another habit that can add to personal growth while traveling is journaling and this doesn’t have be done daily, while on vacation, although it could be. When I was walking the Camino in Spain, I met a young woman from Czechoslovakia and that’s what she was doing. She was keeping a journal and writing in it at the end of each day, sharing some of the stories she had heard, writing about the many towns she had walked in and especially about the wonderful people she was meeting (including me ha! ha!) on her walk.
And of course, we can’t leave gratitude out of this conversation. At the end of each day, writing down in a journal three things that you’re grateful for. I tend to create videos now when I’m feeling immense gratitude and sometimes I’ll write about it too. Not only does it help me to appreciate the moment I’ve experienced but it also helps me to appreciate the ‘richness’ of my travel experiences. It adds a bit more spice to personal growth.
From your experience, does travel have a negative impact on personal growth too? Is there a downside to travel?
No, I don’t think so. Sometimes it reminds you of what you’re uncomfortable with, like the time I had to walk a very long and high bridge. I’m afraid of heights, but walking the bridge didn’t have a negative impact on me, it just reminded me of my fear and forced me to face it. I still have the fear, but I’m proud to say, that I walked it and came out at the other end, just slightly shaking.
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 :-)
There are many, and one of the individuals that I’m thinking of is Rick Steves, since we’re talking about traveling. You know he’s been around for a while and truly encourages us to expand our horizons through travel, and I think he’d be super interesting to talk to and to hear his take on how traveling can help us become better ‘humans’.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Thank you for asking, they can follow me on youtube at https://shorturl.at/ijNZ0 or on linkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindagrobert/.
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent on this. We wish you continued success.
Thank you so much.
