I’ve been to many countries where I met a lot of different people from all walks of life. According to my international travel observation, the secret to success and happiness is self-love.
- Are you trying to impress others or yourself?
When I was traveling and working in Europe, I taught creative writing at university. At that time, some of my students would write short stories without publishing them on their blogs, so I asked one of them, “Why didn’t you publish your story online?”
His answer surprised me: “Because I don’t think that story will impress you.”
Honestly, if he had published his short story online without worrying about what I think of his story, that would have impressed me because I highly value courage.
Indeed, when you try to impress yourself rather than other people, you are closer to happiness and success. In this day and age, many people buy expensive things that they don’t even need in order to impress other people, e.g., high-end bags, luxury cars, big houses, and so on. However, the happiest people that I know are not even thinking about any of those. Personally, I live in a small apartment with everything I need in it; I don’t have a car because I live in the city center and I don’t need a car; I have a few high-quality leather bags, but none of them is from an incredibly famous brand. I like the simplicity of my life.
- International travel helps me to meet people from different industries.
Previously, I spent most of my time with people from the education industry as I was a teacher for a long time. After prioritizing international travel, I have met a large number of people from other industries, which has really helped me to maximize the enjoyment of life.
Yes, people from various industries bring new perspectives and creative ideas to my life, so they have surely expanded my outlook and made me a wiser person.
Interestingly, international travel has led me to a new friend who works in footwear retail. She was a teacher for almost two decades, but she has decided to work in footwear retail later on.
“Other people told me that working in retail doesn’t look as good as teaching foreign languages in a school,” says this lady, “But I suffered from vocal cord injuries and burnout after working in the education industry for such a long time. And I don’t want to sit in front of a computer all day every day, so I prefer physical work these days. Working in retail is just like going to the gym while getting paid – active work helps me sleep better at night – this is exactly what I want, so it’s an act of self-love.” This lady also works as a freelance translator in her free time because she likes the combination of active work in a shoe shop and occasionally sitting in front of a computer at home. A lot of people don’t understand why she doesn’t want to use her degree anymore, but I fully appreciate her decision: There is a time and a place for a degree; she has just retired from the education industry and now she goes to work in order to live a more satisfying life. I genuinely respect that. What’s more, because this lady is very good at managing personal finances all her life, nowadays she can afford to have a job with less pay (the focus of the new chapter in her life is the quality of life rather than standard of living, as she goes shopping at second-hand stores.)
“Unconditional self-love is the secret to happiness and success.”
