How to feel fabulous while traveling internationally

Traveling internationally is the most effective mood lifters in the world because it can release endorphins in your body, thereby creating feelings of euphoria, reduces stress, and blocks pain. It is reported that travel and dancing release more endorphins than any other activity!

If you can’t go to the gym….

Not every hotel has a gym, so if you can’t go to the gym when you are traveling internationally, ten minutes of deep breaths and stretching makes a difference as well!

Inhale for 4 counts, hold it for 6, and breathe out for 8. Repeat 5 times and remember to drop your shoulders, clear your mind & close your eyes. Try it several minutes, first thing in the morning and before going to bed at night. This will certainly make a difference even when you can’t hit the gym!

Sometimes I also make a gratitude list each day to keep myself grounded while traveling internationally. This really gives me a little lift. It could be a yummy drink, a sunny day, a good book I’m reading – anything that I appreciate!

Get some beauty sleep every night.

If you are jet-lagged due to different time zones, you may clean your sheets, iron them and spritz a fragrant and refreshing linen spray on them when this is possible. Nothing beats that feeling of climbing into freshly laundered, crisp bed sheets! Add a drop of lavender and rose essential oil to your sheets or pillow before bedtime. Rose essential oil reduces puffiness in your face and calms your skin; lavender essential oil helps you have restful sleep at night. You can also de-clutter your room and put some fresh flowers in a beautiful vase. This will beautify your environment.

Remember to turn off the TV, your phone and the computer at least 40 minutes before going to bed. Those artificial lights have been proven to ruin your sleep patterns. Reading irritating emails can fire you up when you are supposed to be winding down. So, I highly encourage you to unsubscribe to all those irritating mass marketing emails which only make you go “ugh” every day. Trust me, you’ll get a large satisfaction from doing this very motivating activity!

You may lose yourself in your imagination and become a bookworm instead. I’m a bit old school, so I prefer printed books. I oftentimes travel internationally with books I love, e.g. Lady (by Roosh V), How to Meet the Rich for Business, Friendships and Romance (by Ginie Sayles), Front Roe (by Louise Roe) and Do Less (by Kate Northrup).

Interestingly, it is said that individuals who read regularly are proven to be more likely to exercise more. Better still, leaders are readers! Well, for me, reading is an essential part of my daily routine because I have to read a book before I fall asleep at night.

When you are traveling internationally, you may try to say yes to something you normally wouldn’t. The key point is to push yourself out of your comfort zone because every goal you want to achieve is outside your comfort zone. If what you desire is already in your comfort zone, then you must have achieved it already, right?

So, as you’re traveling internationally, you might try some stimulating activities such as skydive. Just switch things up. Showing up & trying something new is liberating in itself!

Light a scented candle that you love.

Scent is the strongest form of memory. I still remember when I was in Italy, I used a rose candle at night. That smell is so uplifting! Now whenever I smell that scent, my soul goes back to that perfect holiday in Italy! It works wonders!

Another activity that stimulates my senses is going somewhere beautiful and taking a long walk. For instance, I like walking in a forest because the forest smells so good and so refreshing!

As I’m traveling, I realize that life doesn’t really revolve around a desk with a laptop on it. Therefore, taking myself out of my normal environment and daily routine is so helpful. My cousin even has this trick: She literally keeps lots of photos of nature on her walls and screensaver, e.g. forests, mountains and beaches. She says these photos cause her mind to feel calmer and more tranquil instantly.

What if you still have to check your email?

Realistically, you probably have to check your email when you are traveling internationally for several weeks, which is totally understandable.

My advice is you can set aside a ‘power hour’ to do all the admin work that comes with being an adult, e.g. clear your email inbox, pay bills, get your taxes in order. Once it’s done, you will certainly feel a weight lifted off your shoulders immediately!

Then you can eat something nice to give yourself a reward. Scientists claim that ingesting omega-3 fats (found in fish such as tuna and salmon) can increase serotonin in your brain, so eating fish should make you feel calm and content.

Indeed, food has an insane effect on how we feel and act. Processed foods, refined sugar, caffeine and simple carbs all give you a quick buzz, and then you drop. This could make it difficult to sleep well, make you feel tired, give you the jitters and mess with your mood.

If you have to do some work while traveling internationally, that’s fine. Just remember to have a hot bath at least once a week. You can light candles, apply a face mask, add scented bath oil and bring a great book. Then you just soak it up! It feels so comforting and decadent, doesn’t it? By the way, adding a cup of Epsom salts can de-bloat your body as well. And that’s Cindy Crawford’s pre-shoot ritual.

Psychologists even maintain that physical warmth and social warmth are interchangeable; hence, having a hot bath literally helps remove feelings of loneliness. You should totally try it if you feel lonely.

I hate feeling cold because it gives me anxiety. And well-known entrepreneur Tom Bilyeu agrees with me 100% in this regard. Incidentally, when you feel cold, the temperature on your skin is not supporting your heart, so that’s not good for heart health. That’s exactly why we are biologically programmed to feel warm at all times, okay?

Bonus tips for traveling internationally:

Snap a nearly perfect photo of yourself, even if it takes 20 shots to make the ideal one. And then put it into a super-flattering filter & frame it as well.
If you want to participate more in local activities and festivals, you may go to see a comedy in a local theater when you visit an exciting city. Laugh your head off out loud for 2 hours. Louise Roe famously said, “Laughing reduces blood pressure & releases a lot of endorphins and makes us feel great.” Laughing is proven to decrease levels of stress hormones such as cortisol. It also activates sexual, digestive and immune system that can be switched off by stress.