Lessons from Travel: India

We often think about learning and growing as something we do in a classroom, in a training course, listening to a podcast or reading a book but the greatest of all teachers is human experience. Nothing imparts more wisdom than lived experience. Travel is a great teacher because it exposes you to things you don’t normally encounter in your everyday life. Not only does this shift your mindset, it exposes you to the possibilities in life. You learn from every travel experience by observing how other people live, work and respond to life and since every trip is different, what you take away from each trip is unique. Travel is a really fun way to embody a growth mindset.

Since travel is such a great way to learn, I decided to share lessons from my recent travels in this post. I have several trips coming up so this may become a series that will give you the benefit of lessons from other countries without having to get up from your seat. 

I recently got back from India and I was astounded to see the amount of development since I went many years ago. It wasn’t just the economic growth that blew me away though, it was the way in which Indians have stayed rooted in their culture despite globalization that impressed me. As a civilization that has been around 5,000 years there is definitely some wisdom that can be gleaned from it. It has survived so much throughout its history and all the changes in the world right now simply seem like the most recent chapter in a country and a culture that has embodied resilience for centuries. The people have it built into their DNA to overcome hardship and I learned a lot from them. Here are some of the valuable lessons I took away from my trip to India:

Patience

One of the things that made this trip relaxing was the fact that everything in India moves slowly. I can imagine this may be frustrating when you are trying to get things done at the same pace as big cities in America run, but if you just accept it, things generally work out. Trying to speed things up doesn't work over there so it's an exercise in patience, letting things go, accepting delays and continuing on despite setbacks. When people view the speed with an outsider’s perspective they see it as a negative but I question that narrative and wonder if in the long run non-critical tasks taking a little more time really matters. We get ourselves so upset and worked up about minor delays related to things that aren’t that important in life that I would argue not letting it bother you and not getting your nervous system dysregulated over small things is better for your physical and your mental health.

Sunrise over the Himalayas

Prioritize People and Relationships

Despite the phenomenal growth in Mumbai over the recent years, people still prioritize relationships. Everyone I met had a strong circle of family, friends and community. The value of connection and community is still such a big part of the culture that business owners in India still give their employees a box of sweets when there is a family wedding. It’s great to see that business leaders are literally treating their employees like family by including them in the festivities. Family is still the cornerstone of society and it’s part of the culture to put family first. Because people’s relationship cup is so full you can see they come to work with an ability to cope with stress more easily because their socio-emotional human needs are met. It may seem like it doesn’t matter but from a business perspective, being lonely and unable to connect with others affects your work. When people have their needs met outside of work, the self they bring to work is a lot more productive.

Also, because it’s common to live with other people and often several members of your extended family, people develop patience and the ability to deal with other people's quirks more easily. This interpersonal skill is invaluable to teams and any office environment because when people know how to get along with others in the office, despite differences, they deliver better results.

Embodying the Wisdom of the Internal Locus of Control

One of the things that felt really different from the US was the fact that I barely witnessed anyone getting upset about something they couldn’t control in my two and a half week stay across three cities. Whether it was an overwhelming amount of traffic, an Uber driver waiting a long time for lost passengers or the state of politics, people had opinions and ideas, but they rarely lost their cool about something that was not in their control. This skill ties in with the ability to be patient but their wisdom around letting things go and not wasting energy was impressive. Part of it may stem from the fact that the country is highly populated and things run a little chaotically so it’s not sustainable to care about small things but the wisdom in the way that they lived and dealt with life inspired me to be more patient with life when I returned. 

You are Everything you Ingest

While I was there, I had the opportunity to meet an Ayurvedic doctor. Ayurveda is an ancient Indian system of medicine that is based on the idea that balance in the body leads to good health.  It’s a completely different way of looking at health than I am accustomed to and I loved the simple ideas behind what makes a person healthy. Not only is the foundation around connection with nature and building healthy practices into your daily life, a core tenet is that you are what you ingest. While it’s common knowledge that it’s important to embrace a healthy diet, how many of us think about how the shows we watch, the people we hang out with, or the social media we consume affects our physical and mental health? Only when it becomes a glaring problem do we put awareness around what we are taking in, not only from our diet. Since I got back, I have spent more time reading, taking walks and being mindful about what I take in than ever before. As a consequence, I have been watching much less TV which has improved my health. Not only does taking in less junk into our bodies, minds and psyche make us healthier overall it helps us focus on our goals. When you are picky with what you allow into your body and mind, it helps you direct your energy towards what you want to create instead of letting energy seep out to places you might not want it to go. If you are working towards a goal and in a building phase of your life, it's even more important to be picky. 

Whatever your reason for traveling, I assure you that it’s worthwhile. While every county has its struggles as well as strengths, focusing on what you can learn from your travel experiences makes it invaluable. Cross cultural collaboration and learning makes the whole world better so learning the lessons you can from other countries can be an important asset to your growth.It’s a gift to see other parts of the world and I am grateful for the lessons I learned from the people of India.