This week, I spent some time with my partners at Big Five Tours, helping a family plan their safari getaway. It was so wonderful to get on a ‘gotowebinar’ with them, and use google earth to show them the camps we were recommending for them in our proposal, and share details why we chose what we did; and help this family get excited about their upcoming experience.
I also spent some time organizing an event about “Help Australia Recover” with Travel Ideas and Adopt-a-Koala donations. Get Tickets
And I spent some time on European holidays for clients getting away on a bucket trip for them, and helping them visit the cities in Europe that they’d always dreamed about, and organizing hotels, transport, tours, etc.
I’ve had a lot of fun also assisting several couples celebrating with their families by traveling the world – whether it’s a second marriage, or a 50th wedding anniversary – milestones are a great reason to bring people together and travel. Time with each other is our most precious gift. And memories we make when we travel can be savoured for a lifetime.
I read a great article this week: “Science Says – Traveling Makes You Much Happier Than Any Other Material Wealth.” Read Travel Better Material
People love shopping. This is because shopping not only helps in getting basic necessities of life but it also makes us happy. Since we love it, we often end up buying things that are not even necessary but to cherish the moment and feel happy about it, we often do it.
It is also observed that when you get used to your new purchase, the level of satisfaction begins to decline after some time. This prompts and tempts you to go shopping again and the vicious cycle repeats itself and continuous again.
According to research conducted by students at Cornell University, you can break this damaging cycle that gives you temporary happiness and costs heavy on your pocket. As explained by a Psychology professor Mr.Thomas Gilovich, people experience the same amount of happiness when they travel as they do when they go shopping.
But wait, this is not it. The comparison weighs in more for traveling because the memories you experience when you visit different places not only increases your happiness hormone at that time but also lasts longer as compared to the temporary happiness from shopping.
What’s really cool is when you click the link on the supporting study, and it notes that “doing makes you happier than owning.”To get the most enjoyment out of your dollar, science says to focus your discretionary spending on such experiences as travel rather than material goods. A new Cornell study shows that the enjoyment we derive from experiential purchases may begin even before we buy.”
It’s an older study – but – it’s findings are validated every day by my clients as they travel the world.
People don’t want more “stuff” – they want experiences. They want to do really cool things. They want memories.
That’s why when I’m working with a new client on a trip, one of the first things I ask them is “what memories do you want to bring home.” Focusing on the memories they want can help clarify what experiences they want, how they want to spend their days, what cool things they want to learn and do. It gets us to the heart of the planning very quickly.
I’m proud that I collaborate with you as my client this way. I don’t try to push a destination or a style of travel upon you. It’s not my holiday, after all, but it’s yours. So I want to know whether you want to sleep in and just relax on an sandy cool shores of Anguilla, or you want to spot and recognize the howls of the monkeys in the Amazon? Do you want to learn to cook pasta with an Italian grandmother and savour wines from the area; or do you want to eat at a Michelin restaurant in Switzerland and see the Alps? Do you want to hike the Milford Track in New Zealand and be awed by the wonderful scenery up-close, or do you want to take the Rocky Mountaineer through the Canadian Rockies and be awed by its majesty through glass-domed windows. It’s not about me prescribing before diagnosing. It’s about figuring out what you want.
When you click the link about the supporting study in this article, it underscores the thinking even more. Read Doing makes you happier than owning – even before buying. They share that:
To get the most enjoyment out of your dollar, science says to focus your discretionary spending on such experiences as travel rather than material goods. A new Cornell study shows that the enjoyment we derive from experiential purchases may begin even before we buy.
So, let me know if you’d like to do rather than own. I can help!
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