How Travel Will Make You More Creative
Have you ever gone somewhere new and felt a sudden rush of energy and inspiration? All you could do was get the ideas down on a piece of paper or in your phone so you could revisit them later?
Maybe you felt the need to paint or sketch the local monuments. Perhaps you wanted to write poems or stories inspired by where you were. Or perhaps you had to take photos of everything because it all seemed so fantastic.
Over Thanksgiving break I was lucky enough to travel to Italy with my family and visit Rome. I can't remember the last time I felt so creative. It made me wonder if there was something about travel that just had this effect on people. Many classic authors, musicians and artists praised its effect, and even today I see new and creative travel blogs every single day.
It's hard to quantify creativity. There are so many factors that boost creativity that it's hard to know what is giving you that burst. I decided to take a look at the connection between travel and creativity. To do this I inspected my experience, that of others, and also what science has to say about this phenomenon.
A Blogger Abroad
Before I left for Rome, I spent the week getting Mind of a Millennial ready for my absence. I didn't want to be on my phone worrying about the blog. I had my posts written, my social media posting, and my editor making sure everything ran as it should. The goal was to not be thinking about the blog until I got back.
It amazed me how fast that goal faded away. It was before we even got to Rome that I had ideas running through my head. On our flight over the Atlantic, sitting in the Heathrow Airport, and on the flight to Italy I was writing. I was writing notes on a book I was reading at first. That soon morphed into dreaming about and working on new projects.
Once we were finally in Rome, every day filled me with a sense of wonder I had rarely experienced before. Everything I saw inspired me to write more or gave me new ideas for what I could do with Mind of a Millennial.
Every night I found myself penning letters to friends, jotting down plans for projects, or reading. All this was coming with no resistance. There were days I would go to a cafe to sit and write for an hour or so in one of my journals (while also enjoying back-to-back cappuccinos).
The entire time I was in awe of this boost in creativity. I couldn't put my finger on why I was feeling this way.
One of my first thoughts was perhaps it was just being less stressed and in a good mood almost 24/7. Of course being in a foreign country on vacation will do that to you. Maybe, it was having less on my mind that opened up space for these ideas.
Then I thought, what if it's the absence of electronics? With fewer electronic distractions it was all I could do to resort to reading and writing. Even then, writing was far easier than usual. I wasn't finding any trouble with fleshing out ideas or writing a simple poem. What usually takes me a half hour or so, was taking me only minutes!
There was also the question of whether it was travel alone or Rome itself.
Rome is a beautiful city that has defied centuries of age. So many of the monuments, buildings, and churches were ancient. Yet, you wouldn't know it from the condition of the buildings.
We were only a block away from Il Vittoriano. Other landmarks such as the Coliseum were mere walking distance from where we stayed. Anywhere you went, it was difficult not to encounter some form of history.
Of course Rome is also home to art that ranges from contemporary to works from the Roman Empire. Going into the churches you would find endless frescoes and single portraits that stretched ten feet tall or higher!
I was lucky enough to visit the Museum of the Vatican as well. There, we saw exhibits with statues and works from Ancient Egypt or the Roman empire. In some cases the statues lined halls as long as a soccer field. We viewed many works by famous artists, including the Sistine Chapel, which took most of an artist's career to complete.
I began to think that the exposure to this level of craftsmanship and artwork must have somehow positively influenced my ability to create works of my own.
It was when we got back that I decided to dive deeper into the question and find out what exactly was affecting me in this amazing way.
The Creatives Before Us
When looking back on the lives of many classic creatives, the effect of travel on creativity is well documented. So many writers, artists, and composers found breakthroughs in foreign lands.
Mark Twain, famous for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and other books traveled both in the
US and Europe. Twain was raised in Hannibal, Missouri and from there he explored much of America and Europe. He traveled to California early on in his career, stopping through Nebraska and Nevada on his way. For a brief time Twain was a miner, but not to much success. After his time as a miner Twain ended up settling in San Francisco, CA. Shortly after this move he achieved his first success in writing with "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".
Later on in his life Twain would travel to and on the Mediterranean Sea. His series of letters lead to his work The Innocents Abroad. His second tour of Europe would lead to his creation of A Tramp Abroad.
It is also notable that Twain spent his summers in Elmira, New York, where he produced many of the works he is most famous for including both The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn andThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Another prominent writer, Earnest Hemingway, was known for drawing inspiration from experiences and travels.
Hemingway was born in Illinois, yet he didn't stay there long. Hemingway was 18 when he left the state to fight in the First World War on the Italian Front. After being injured, Hemingway was discharged in 1918. Shortly after this, he married and moved to Paris. These experiences alone led to the creation of his works A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises.
From Paris, Hemingway would travel around Europe for some time. These travels influenced the works that followed in his career. In the late 1930s and into the 40s Hemingway traveled to and lived in Cuba where he wrote For Whom The Bell Tolls.
Vincent Van Gogh, one of my favorite artists, drew a great deal of inspiration from his travels.
Born Dutch, Van Gogh attended school in several Dutch cities. Later on in his life, Van Gogh would travel through cities in England, France, and Belgium.
It's no secret that Van Gogh was a troubled man. He suffered from delusions and mental illness. Some would argue it was schizophrenia that both plagued his life and stimulated his extraordinary style.
While a large part of his style can be linked to his mental health issues, his scenes were from the cities he lived in. His time visiting Arles, a city in Southern France, led to one of his most prolific periods. During this time Van Gogh would create over 300 individual works. His works The Old Mill, Fishing Boats on the Beach, and Bedroom in Arles were all from this period.
The connection between creativity and travel hasn't just influenced writers and artists. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the world's most celebrated composers and musicians, was heavily influenced by the travels of his youth. Early on, Mozart would travel form city to city all across Europe with his father. By the time Mozart was thirteen, he had seen England, France, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Throughout his career, Mozart was impacted by musical styles he encountered along the way. At 13 he composed Bastien and Bastienne, a one act opera inspired by the French operas he had seen before. After having met Johann Christian Bach, the son of Johann Sebastian Bach, Mozart became fascinated by Italian styles -- this led to the creation of his first three symphonies, all influenced by Italian music of the time.
Later on, Mozart would draw a large deal of influence from the composers of northern Germany. This influence is clear in his operas Die Entführung aus dem Serail ("The Abduction from the Seraglio) and Die Zauberflöte ("The Magic Flute").
Based on the experiences of classic creatives, it's clear that travel and creativity go hand in hand. Yet only recently has it become a documented phenomenon from a scientific perspective.
Science Bridging it All Together
With what I know from my personal experience, and the cases of past writers, artists and musicians, I decided to take a look at what science had to say.
In recent years, the link between travel and creativity has been well studied. Several experiments I found helped shed some light on the connection.
The first study that caught my eye was a comparison of two sets of students from the University of Iowa. The first group of students were all study abroad students that were spending a semester in Greece. The second group consisted of students that were attending college in Iowa. The study was rather simple -- researchers asked each group to list as many modes of transportation as they could think of. Can you guess which group came out with more answers?
If you guessed the group from Greece, you'd be right. The study gave rise to several others of the same nature. The following studies asked students to perform creative tasks or answer simple questions. Each time the group with more travel experience had better results. These studies proved that travel had left a positive impact on creative problem-solving skills of students.
The next study I read about involved 250 creative directors of high-end fashion houses. Scientists surveyed them on how many countries they had lived or worked in. Scientists then reviewed how many breakthroughs each fashion house had during that director's time. Researchers found a clear connection between the number of countries, and the number of breakthroughs.
What scientists came to find out from these studies is that it boiled down to one factor. The creative surge resulted from exposure to new culture and environment that people who travel experience. When we encounter another culture, the exposure results in increased brain plasticity. In simpler terms, more connections develop in the brain.
Scientists also noted that with the creative directors, the creativity boost spiked at two countries. If they had lived in three or more countries the boost wasn't as intense -- perhaps because they became jaded, weary, almost accustomed to new environments and therefore tuned them out as normal and prosaic.
When I coupled this with what I already know about creativity it formed a clear image of what was going on. In my post "11 Ways to Unlock Your True Creative Potential" I explored some of the proven ways that will boost creativity for anyone. When looking back on my trip, it was clear that I had several of these factors boosting my creativity in addition to travel.
Vacation naturally increases creative thoughts, since it is a time of diminished stress and good mood. Creativity will be higher in those with less on their mind, less stress in their system and a positive mood. It's only natural that when you're traveling that this effect comes into play.
There's also the exposure to creativity through the aesthetic of a new place, whether this comes in the form of artworks and monuments, or striking and unfamiliar natural landscape. When you can't be creative, being surrounded by visual and other new sensory stimuli and inspiration is the next best thing. In a city like Rome where impressive architecture and sculptures line the streets, it's easy to gain a boost in creativity.
Of course, Internet detox helps you get that boost as well. Without a constant information flow of news and info overwhelming it, your mind is free to generate new ideas. Exploring a new place without constantly having your phone on or checking it is ideal; you're more likely to be in the present and take note of your surroundings.
With exposure to different culture, and all the other factors at play, it's no wonder creativity is so enhanced in new places.
Get Out And Travel!
With this knowledge in mind, I hope I've convinced you to go look for your next breakthrough in a new place. I was lucky to have had the opportunity to go to Rome for relatively low cost, but opportunities for travel are truly everywhere.
You can easily organize a small road trip with friends for the weekend or catch a low cost bargain flight to a city near you. If you're a student, consider studying abroad or any one of the countless inexpensive student travel programs that are offered during breaks through colleges or organizations such as the Student & Youth Travel Association (SYTA). Can't afford international travel? Don't have a passport? You don't even have to venture to a different country to travel, and for the travel to have a positive effect on your creativity. Just getting out, getting to a new place (even within your own state), and experiencing new things as well as being truly present will have your mind bubbling with new ideas.
Thank you so much for reading this post, it means the world to me. If you liked what you read, be sure to share it with your friends and let them know how they can find their next idea by traveling somewhere new. If you really liked what you read you can subscribe to our weekly newsletter for updates on all things Mind of a Millennial, or follow me on Twitter and like me on Facebook. Have a good day and Keep it Creative!
