Going Global

Not everyone has the opportunity to travel. But doing so can open up a world of opportunities — not just in learning more about the world, but in expanding the way we think. Just seeing life lived in ways other than how we grew up can help us understand different perspectives.

We often criticize young adults who eschew college or delay entering the workforce because they want to travel the world and “find themselves.” However, the opportunity to experience other lands and lifestyles, without concerns like a mortgage or finding a good school district, may make many adults envious — just not the parents of graduating college students.

[CLICK HERE to read the article, “3 Reasons to Skip Graduate School and Travel Instead,” from Brazen Careerist, Dec. 31, 2014.]

[CLICK HERE to read the article, “Graduating Senior Visits 11 Countries During College, All Expenses Paid,” from Texas A&M Today, April 28, 2015.]

Traveling abroad is also a great way to flex foreign language skills. For students, this makes the two to four years spent conjugating verbs in another language seem more relevant — useful even. For older folks who travel and speak as the natives do, the mental process of thinking in one language but speaking in another is a recommended exercise in acuity. It can help the mind stay sharp and ward off dementia.

One study found that speaking another language also causes you to process information in that language. In other words, speaking in German can affect the way you think and feel.

[CLICK HERE to read the article, “Quiz: Which foreign language should you learn?” from The Washington Post, Feb. 26, 2015.]

[CLICK HERE to read the article, “How the language you speak changes your view of the world” from World Economic Forum, April 28, 2015.]

[CLICK HERE to read the article, “Seven do’s and don’ts for learning a foreign language abroad,” from British Council, Oct. 30, 2014.]

If you can’t go global, traveling within the United States can be similarly enlightening. Indeed, traveling from one end of the country to the other can expose you to wildly different views on life, politics and religion; not to mention variations in accents, fashion and entertainment. Spending a typical Saturday night with the locals could range from a Broadway play to cow tipping.

[CLICK HERE to read the article, “Why Do Different States Have Such Wildly Different Ideas About Government?” from Pacific Standard, Feb. 7, 2014.]

[CLICK HERE to read the article, “American Culture: Traditions and Customs of the United States,” from Live Science, Jan. 15, 2015.]

[CLICK HERE to read the article, “Dunbar hits the road for inspiration,” from Seacoast Online, April 30, 2015.]

Going global isn’t always necessary to accomplish what most young folks learn when they visit foreign lands: expanding their minds. In “The Innocents Abroad,” Mark Twain wrote, “One must travel, to learn,” but there is plenty of learning that can happen in the U.S. The point is to reach outside our comfort zones and seek knowledge beyond the grasp of our couch and even our computers.

When it comes to planning for retirement, we realize that’s out of many people’s comfort zones. There is much that can’t be learned from a simple online search, particularly when it comes to tailoring knowledge and strategies to your personal situation. That’s where we come in. Please call us to help expand your mind and embrace your financial opportunities.

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