Bursting the Bubble by Travelling the World

Happy Sunday!

My regular readers will notice that this email is hitting your inbox a day later than usual. It's because I was away (again!), so I decided to write it when I returned to the country today.

I spent a long weekend to Stockholm, where I stayed in the Södermalm district, which is a really cute area of town. I couldn't resist joking that Södermalm sounds like Ikea furniture. It was my first venture into Scandanavia, and it was much better than I had been expecting - although I don't really remember what I was expecting.

I love to travel, I love meeting people, and I love spending time away from London. The world is a big place, much bigger than London. In contrast, my mum rarely travels or venture out much further than home. I asked her why she doesn't travel much, but I didn't get a satisfying response.

But I've come to realise that our differing attitudes about travelling is more of a generation thing than anything else. My mum is from a generation where international travel was not the norm. The lucky few will holiday abroad once or twice a year at the very best.

However, our generation has grown up with really cheap international travel. It's super convenient to book your trip on your phone and also find a lovely apartment to stay, in a cool area of town. Going away several times a year is now pretty standard, unlike a few decades ago.

I love travelling because I'm curious and love to see the world. It helps me realise that others live vastly different lives. Most people live in a bubble, so travelling helps me to become more appreciative of how fortunate I am. And I also love meeting new people and learning lots about different countries and cultures.

Travel is great, and I think it's something that we should all do more often (irrespective of what generation you fall into).

If you've never been to Sweden, I'd highly recommend it. It's a beautiful country with fantastic people and lots of things to do.

Have an awesome week ahead,
Samuel

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This Week's Wisdom

"When you give in to temptations, you become a slave to your impulses. The resulting short-term gratification often comes at the expense of long-term fulfillment. When you resist temptations with declarative statements that begin with “I don’t…” you become the architect of a life built upon healthy intentions."

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