How Travel Changes Our Personality For the Better

“People don’t take trips… trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

I left the U.S. for the first time 20 years ago, at the age of 20, with three rolling suitcases full of every “necessity” I could imagine – clothing and shoes for all seasons, full-sized containers of toiletries, a mini pharmacy, jars of peanut butter, bars of chocolate, my baby blanky – and also a ton of fear.

The alleged purpose of my trip was to spend a semester abroad at the Copenhagen Business School. However, my true intention was simply to live in Europe, and feigning interest in international relations seemed like a logical way to get there.  

When I arrived in Denmark, all anxiety and apprehension quickly dissipated. In fact, living in a shared house and exchanging stories, recipes, dances and school projects with exchange students from around the world was awe-inspiring. My daily interactions blurred borderlines on maps, shrunk the span of oceans and bridged cultures.

As I began to look at the bigger-picture world around me, I noticed how habits and thought patterns that I considered fixed were quickly but naturally transforming. And, after six months in Europe, I returned home with gifts far more precious than academic knowledge or skills: an understanding of who I am and how I operate outside of everything I’d ever known, along with a sincere desire to continue on a path of personal growth through travel.

Exploring different countries and cultures tends to stretch our boundaries more than traveling in places close to home. But all journeys leave impressions. With the personality characteristics of the Big Five theory for reference, let’s examine how travel reveals our vulnerabilities, pushes us through growth challenges and positively impacts the way we interface with life.

Travel Opens Us

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." – Neale Donald Walsch

I don’t remember where my curiosity to dive into the unknown came from, but over time, I’ve become familiar with the inner craving that compels me to travel. In the Big Five system, this propensity for exploration is known as Openness. It’s the dimension of personality that measures how we approach new experiences and ideas, and our level of Openness is correlated to how likely we are to venture into uncharted territory. People high in Openness are more likely to travel in the first place.

But regardless of our place on the Openness spectrum, travel itself stretches our capacity to feel comfortable with, or maybe even excited about, uncertainty. Our sense of flexibility and ease with “what is” grows stronger as unforeseen circumstances often force us to go with the flow. And as every traveler knows, there are always details you couldn’t have planned for.

Even for those who prefer detailed itineraries and traditional vacations, changing our daily surroundings through travel exposes us to a world of new relationships, traditions, philosophies and adventures. According to psychologist Adam Galinsky, the flexibility we build through meaningful travel experiences encourages personal growth by promoting creativity, tolerance and more complex ways of thinking. 

Travel Refines Conscientiousness

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

Conscientiousness describes how we “show up” to any given situation, including our attitudes towards responsibility, organization and self-discipline. When we travel, we can also see it in how aware we are of new environments and how carefully we try to follow local norms.

Especially in foreign countries, travel might increase Conscientiousness by nudging us to expand our awareness of our surroundings and local practices. In each place we visit, we become mindful of the similarities and differences between what is considered appropriate in one situation versus another.

When we pay attention to cultural cues, even people who usually lean into more rebellious, rule-breaking attitudes (low Conscientiousness) often tone down habits like sarcasm, pushing back on every rule, or judging things too quickly. The simple desire to be understood and not cause offence in an unfamiliar place makes us choose clearer, more respectful ways of speaking and behaving.

Travel Turns Extraversion Up a Notch

“I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.” – James Baldwin

Extraversion is the aspect of personality that guides how we exchange energy with others and our surroundings. People with high levels of Extraversion are generally social, positive, outgoing and excited about life, while those low in Extraversion come across as quiet, reserved, reflective or independent.

With few exceptions, travel slides us along the scale towards Extraversion – often more quickly than we’d prefer! It bombards us with situations to navigate, strangers to engage with and languages or terminology to understand. However, even the most Introverted personalities typically experience this forced exposure to the world as a positive growth experience. The time we spend getting to know (or trying to avoid) chatty passengers on long train rides, curious locals or even pushy souvenir vendors helps us feel at home in our surroundings and more confident in our place within humanity.

Travel Demands Agreeableness

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou

Our degree of Agreeableness measures how we get along with, understand and respond to others. Its associated qualities include compassion, kindness, empathy and trust.

Travel requires us to be Agreeable by placing us in the homes, both figuratively and sometimes literally, of others. It drops us into situations where we need to practice trust, follow suggestions and consider advice to meet our basic needs. Inevitably, through these experiences, we encounter natural yet noteworthy acts of kindness, care and generosity, inspiring us to practice these qualities in return.

We also learn patience and acceptance by engaging with others while navigating the unknown. Whether we’re dealing with a missed train, a lost suitcase or challenging weather during a road trip, out-of-the-ordinary obstacles – especially when we’re tired or vulnerable – have a certain way of endowing us with the empathy and humbleness necessary for asking for help.

Travel Contextualizes Neuroticism

"One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things."– Henry Miller

The final Big Five trait, Neuroticism, measures how we relate to anxiety, worry, irritability and self-doubt. These tendencies are typically undesired in our personality composition, although they certainly serve a purpose as we navigate life.

Travel reduces Neuroticism by encouraging us to release control and take life as it comes. Radical changes in our scenery and rhythm give us a break from, and often help us to reframe, our day-to-day challenges. In fact, the lightness of seeing ourselves as a small speck on a large map could be considered a remedy for lifestyle-induced stress.

For those traveling in less-developed parts of the world, witnessing the natural joy and true contentment of those who materially have little often puts our problems into perspective and inspires gratitude and generosity.

Travel for Personality Growth

While personality stays relatively static over time, your Big Five traits can and do change according to your life experiences. Travel enhances our lives by opening us to new experiences and unexamined dimensions of our unique personalities. It’s no surprise that research suggests changes in our traits, and especially Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism through extended travel. Regardless of our destination or how long we spend there, we often find that after a meaningful journey, we return home with eyes wide-open, ready to observe the frontiers of life from an uplifted vantage point of inspiration and wonder.