Small ways to expand your horizons

Almost every day, we’re faced with photos, tweets, Facebook ‘check-in’s’ of people jetting off across the other side of the world to go travelling. People who have spent the day in a waterfall, exploring another culture, sky-diving, snorkeling – you name it and you’ve probably seen someone you know on social media doing it. Whether you follow any travel bloggers or not, there’s always posts cropping up about why you should travel, how travel makes you a better person, how to find yourself by travelling and so on. I’m not making fun of people who travel; I think if it’s what you want to do and you have the means to do it then that’s amazing and you should totally go for it. But I am saying that not all of us can, should or want to travel. And that’s okay too.

But I certainly don’t think the only way to make yourself a “better” or “more rounded” person or the only way to “find yourself” is through travelling. The stark reality is that some people can’t afford to travel extensively. Some people can’t afford one holiday a year, let alone 6 months of globe trotting. And some people just don’t crave that lifestyle. I don’t fall on either end of the spectrum, really. I don’t feel a need or desire to travel. I don’t particularly want to go to Thailand (too hot) or Australia (too many spiders). But I do love a holiday, would love to be able to go on more holidays throughout the year. I like home but I don’t get home-sick. I’m kinda floating somewhere in the middle. 

But I do crave knowledge. I crave new things, experiences, feelings and I always want to expand my horizons. But not being one who feels the need to bungee jump, sky dive or do any other scary activity, I tend to look a little smaller. There’s always value in doing something smaller to expand your horizons and here’s a small list of things you can do if, like me, you’re not an adventure junkie.

1. Read books in a genre you don’t normally read
2. Watch foreign films / TV (I’d recommend ‘Dark’ on Netflix – bloody brilliant!)
3. Watch plenty of documentaries about important subjects.
4. Take up a new hobby
5. Cook new recipes from scratch
6. Do a course on a topic that interests you (Coursera do fab free online courses!)
7. Volunteer
8. Practice Yoga and meditation
9. Start a blog!
10. Start a project / create something
11. Visit somewhere local that you’ve never been before
12. Re-decorate a room in your house
13. Talk to people! (E.g a grandparent. Listen to their stories)
14. Write – experiment with different types of writing (stories, poetry, a journal)
15. Play games of different genres
16. Read non-fiction (I’d highly recommend this book)
17. Go for a walk somewhere nice – clear your head and think about what you want

Do you have anything to add to this list? Where do you fall on the spectrum I mentioned earlier? Are you an avid traveler, prefer the comforts of home or somewhere in-between? Which small activities do you do which you feel expand your horizons and knowledge?