No Strings Attached: how a year of travel nursing can change your life
Embarking on an adventure like travel nursing can have long-term benefits and change your outlook on the world. It can push you outside of your comfort zone and can help you grow. It doesn’t matter if you are going on an adventure solo or with friends, here’s how a year of travel nursing can change your life:
You’ll be more open to new experiences
Elite Daily writer Ashley Fern noted how travel can be full of new adventures, like something as simple as learning how to make friends in a new city. And while it may seem scary at first, especially for introverts, taking on that challenge makes you open to more new experiences.
And then, suddenly, you become less nervous about meeting new people. She has the science to back it up. While we may consider our personalities fixed, they are malleable. Especially when you travel solo, wrote Elizabeth Griffin for Cosmopolitan, you feel yourself changing. You rely on your wits to not get lost or how to make friends. Yes, it can be scary to strike up a conversation with a stranger – but by traveling on your own you feel how big the payoff is.
In addition, if you’re open to it, you can pursue hobbies that are available in your new city that you wouldn’t get to experience anywhere else. You can learn to surf along the California coast or cross country ski while you’re stationed in Utah. Think of the memories you’ll make!
You’re more creative
Not only can traveling make you more extroverted, it can also make you more creative. The reason, wrote Gilbert, has to do with exposure to new ideas. You learn new ways of doing different activities, like taking public transit into work instead of driving. By seeing that there are multiple ways you can accomplish something, you can make yourself more creative.
You embrace life’s detours
National Geographic writer Candace Rardon outlined another way her traveling changed her life: She embraced detours. While she was traveling, she noted how her best stories started with a detour. She felt determined to bring her appreciation to the unexpected detour in her traveling into her day-to-day life. When exploring a new city, that may mean something as simple as stopping into a coffee shop on your way home from work or rolling with the punches when your bus is delayed and chatting with a fellow commuter. Being ready for when things don’t go according to plan can even apply to stepping into a hospital, and your colleagues can see you keep a cool head, no matter what the day brings.
Being able to travel for work is an amazing opportunity. Make the most of it and see how travel nursing can change your life.
