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Everyone has different reasons to travel. For digital nomads, it’s a part of life. If there’s anything travel teaches us, it is that the world is a enormous place and that we are but a speck on the planet. In short, humility. While we have many stories to share, we need to know why we’re sharing them. There are a lot of people who look at travel as a business; they open a blog, make money and check another item off their bucket list. There remains no point to their traveling because they don’t immerse themselves in it. For them, it’s all about updating their status and bragging to the world about the ability to travel. Here’s how you can avoid being a travel snob.
Avoid pointless stories: “When I visited the Leaning Tower at Pisa, it was so crowded, there was barely a place to stand!” Duh. This isn’t new, not even to people who haven’t visited Pisa because guess what, they’ve met lots of people who’ve been there and heard the same thing. Plus, it’s common sense that a worldwide landmark is bound to have a crowd of people. So what exactly are you trying to say here?
Details are important in stories, not itineraries: No one needs to know every single place you are checking into. If you need to tell someone you caught a flight, text them, don’t check into your flight on Facebook. Instead, describe people and places. Tell stories. Make your travels unique by talking about the important details.
Take meaningful photographs: A couple of selfies at the Eiffel Tower are okay, but no one is interested in seeing a million photos of your face all around the world. It does not qualify as photography and is not important to anyone but yourself. You are just declaring the fact that instead of appreciating your destination, you have been obsessed with yourself.
Think about how your story will affect the listener: Talk about the lesson you learned from not trusting strangers. Or how hiking a tough trail restored your self-confidence. Make your stories relatable. People will appreciate you more for it.
Share anecdotes: Instead of bragging about the places you visited, talk about how you learned a local language or how you made a hilarious mistake while placing an order. Humanizing your story and talking about what it taught you gives an entirely different spin on your travels and makes people listen instead of pushing you away.
It’s not all about you: Lastly, always remember that it is not all about you. Your stories may be from your point of view, but it is more about the things you experience. Your travel could be giving a lot of people hope, and you want to inspire them to travel as opposed to making them resent you.
There is a fine line between bragging and sharing stories. A good travel blogger will make people want to travel, instead of alienating them. So remember to be thankful for your lifestyle and enjoy living it and sharing it as well.
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