Defy Nietsche – Travel Solo to Make You Stronger
Today, a little lateral thinking.
I want to talk about the importance of solo travel from a different angle. From the perspective of building oneself into a resilient, adaptable and capable person. And this time I’m not basing my thoughts on experience but rather extrapolating from the thesis of an article I read recently in Psychology Today.
Travel Solo to Make You Stronger
Nietsche is famous for having said, “That, which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
According to the article, Nietsche was wrong. The truth is actually: what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker. In fact. that’s the name of the article. The author presents evidence that trauma and other challenges are not transformative in the positives sense but actually weaken us. While happy, stable experiences make us stronger and more capable.
The article also says, “our brain is a meaning-making machine”. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are constantly seeking relationships between experiences in a cause and effect manner. And the effect of trauma or suffering is reduced capacity to cope. On the other hand “tender love and care toughen you up, because they nurture and strengthen your capacity to learn and adapt….”
Shake Your Meaning-Maker and Treat Yourself Well
What better reason do we need to treat ourselves (and those we love) well.
I point this out because traveling solo is one way to care for yourself. It is an opportunity to reflect and serve your true needs and desires. To discover (possibly rediscover) your ability to navigate new ground and negotiate new cultures. To feel cared for by yourself and by all those who respect and care for you enough to give you the space to go. The cause-and-effect conclusion of solo travel must be strengthening.
So let’s shake our meaning-makers.
Let’s give them experiences that actually will make us stronger.
