In basketball, traveling is a rule violation that results in a turnover. In life, traveling is a good rule to follow and can even include tasty turnovers—not to mention that it’s good for your mental health, too.

This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most people as many have an inherent desire to hit the highway for a family road trip or book a flight for an exotic destination. You needn’t look further than the monetary figures for evidence that traveling is popular the world over, and especially in the United States.

According to Travel Agent Central, an industry research firm, the U.S. travel industry generated $1.5 trillion for the nation’s gross domestic product in 2021.

That’s a whole lot of money being spent on travel. And it seems that the pandemic’s restrictions have only fueled the desire to travel.

So what motivates people to invest their hard-earned money into traveling? The operative word in that question is invest. When you invest something (money, time, resources, etc.), you expect to get something in return (more money, increased resources, etc.). The same goes for traveling. Invest your money and the return is several fold.

There are a lot of benefits that come from traveling, but let’s take a look at five big ones.

Forbes magazine identifies the following as benefits that come from traveling:

1. It lowers stress. Dr. Tamara McClintock Greenberg, a San Francisco-based clinical psychologist said, “The stress of work and daily demands can distract us from what we find to be actually meaningful and interesting.” Thus, traveling to take a break from the stresses of the daily grind is good for people.
2. It helps to reinvent yourself. Traveling, especially to a foreign country, has the ability to expand the mind, to see how others in the world live and to build a better understanding of one’s own life. People who have undergone big transitions in life, such as health challenges and the death of a loved one, find renewed purpose in life by traveling and are better able to reinvent and change their lives.
3. It increases happiness and satisfaction. One of the most obvious benefits of traveling is that you don’t have to go to work while doing it, which in itself generates a sense of happiness and relief. But beyond that, traveling affords the opportunity to unplug from the demands of everyday life and to have new experiences that rewire the brain, giving a boost to your mood and self-confidence.
4. It builds mental resilience. Let’s face it, traveling isn’t without its challenges. Missed connecting flights, lost baggage, getting the family packed and in the car, to name a few. Vacations and hurdles go hand in hand when it comes to traveling. As annoying as they can be, these types of challenges are ones we overcome while traveling and are able to enjoy the trip anyway.
5. It enhances creativity. Visiting a different city or country immerses you in the environment of the destination and can increase cognitive flexibility and enhance depth and integrativeness of thought. This is fancy wording for increasing your creativity and productivity and who doesn’t want that?

With so many benefits that come with traveling, can you afford not to travel?