I woke up this morning in San Francisco. Don't worry I'm supposed to be here. But I realized that I have to think differently in San Francisco because I'm not that familiar with it. I have to orient myself differently. Heck even the ocean is in the wrong place out here, at least according to my normal thinking. And that's the point - sometimes you have to take a trip to change your thinking.
All of us develop our own mental models, i.e., ways we think of how the world runs. Mental models serve us well because they help make habitual those things we do constantly like brushing our teeth or relating to our spouse. The challenge with mental models is they make us dumb. Well maybe not dumb but certainly less curious. We move through our lives on auto-pilot. This inhibits creativity and learning. The cure... take a trip.
Courtesy of my clients I get to fly around the world to a lot of different places. Each time I land I am challenged to think. I can't be on auto-pilot in a place where I don't speak the language. But what it also does is create a sense of wonder and curiosity. For instance in Tokyo I realized after I bumped into numerous people that they walk on the left side of the sidewalk. I assumed (mental model) that everyone walks on the right side. So these new experiences open our minds to new ways of thinking.
Not all of us have clients paying our way to distant lands. But any trip that provides a new experience expands your mind. Even if you are not traveling anywhere new, by taking a different route to work you open your mind. I am taking a small trip right now because I'm typing this on my iPhone since I chose not to bring my laptop. It's a whole different experience (and please forgive any errors).
So take a trip. Going abroad broadens you in ways you never thought possible. But even without boarding a plane or boat you can take trips daily. New destinations abound right in our neighborhood, our place of work, even on our handheld devices. All we have to do is bring our curiosity.
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