Three Inescapable Reasons You Need to Explore The World Around You
I’m not talking about going to Dubai next weekend.
When I say explore the world around you, I literally mean the world semi-adjacent to you. We’re talking 5–10 mile circumference from you if you live in a developed area.
Or if you’re out in the sticks, maybe it’s a little different — but the point remains.
The world is so full of places you’ve never been and things you’ve never experienced. It’d be a waste not to explore some of it.
Here are a couple key reasons why you should get out and see the world.
Change of Scenery
I talk about it all the time, but people easily get stuck in loops.
Wake up.
Get in car.
Go to work.
Same roads.
Same exits.
Before you know it you’re in the office — and then you go home.
Maybe. Just maybe….on a Friday? You’ll go to the same bar and grab a beer.
What kind of life is that?? The world is all around you.
Next time you’re headed home — drive, or walk, or however you get around, up a new street.
Look at the stores or houses around. Notice the tree that grows on this road but not the other one.
The world is so big and full of new areas that it’s a crime to just take the same routes as always.
There are a number of studies to suggest that a change of scenery can boost well-being and mood as well — your brain is literally forced to orient to new surroundings.
Your neurons fire in a different way.
So next time you’re in a rut, or really just next time you’re going somewhere you always go to, check out a different road or take a different direction.
You Might Find a New Go-To Spot
Let me tell you a story.
Was out cleaning trash the other day, as per usual. Was walking up a new road that I don’t usually end up down.
Lots of places on both sides — warehouses & auto part stores especially.
Noted down the auto stores because I drive an old, beat up vehicle, and they might be useful later.
After all this walking, I get hungry. Look up food near me.
Up the road, near an old apartment building in disrepair, in a paved lot full of hardware stores…there’s a pizza place.
And it’s the single best pizza I’ve found down here in Florida. Without question.
If you ever find yourself in the West Palm Beach area, check out Bono pizza.
Walk in, construction workers, locals, one fancily dressed woman, all getting pizza at this hole in the wall spot, which had the feel of a nice Italian joint.
If you don’t get off the beaten path, you might just find yourself at a Dominos instead.
Point is, the world is full of these awesome places you would never guess are chill until you look and see.
How many stores do you pass every day that you’ve never entered?
How many coffee shops?
How many parks, trails, restaurants?
The world has so much to offer, and so much worth exploring!!
Once you have an abundance mindset of what’s out there, anything is possible. Do yourself a favor and check out somewhere you’ve never been today.
Appreciation for the Hugeness of Earth
When you get caught offsides in your bubble, you don’t realize how big the world out there is.
You have no scope of the true distance between places.
How much stuff can fit between two locations 100 miles apart?
The answer is, a whole lot.
For effect, pictured here is Maine’s 100 mile wilderness. It stretches on.
Lakes, forests, towns and houses spread sparsely in there.
Logging roads.
A river which cuts down through.
Who knows how much wildlife lives out there?
All that vast, uninhabited space is home to who knows how many beautiful views, hidden groves, lonely roads, and anything else.
Now imagine the stretch between New York and Philly — which for the record is about 94 miles.
How many coffee shops, pizza joints, homes, mafia hangouts, parks, beaches, people and interactions go on each day in that zone? In about the distance of what’s pictured above?
Humans are spectacular creatures in our capacity to build, create, and alter the world around us, and while there are obvious negatives, we have created so many awesome things.
So get out there into the world.
Explore it.
Soak in both the inhabited and uninhabited zones and appreciate their differences.
It’ll inspire you do build something worthwhile, contribute in a positive way, leave Earth better than you left it.
Exploration is the key to creativity and expansion.
In the old days, we searched for new continents. Nowadays, we have the privilege of exploring and expanding upon the world we’ve built.
Maybe we’ll see Mars soon if Elon can swing it — I’m rooting for that.
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