We’ve learned the hard way that there isn’t much that you can collect nowadays that is actually worth your while (thanks a lot, beanie babies and Pokémon cards…).
Thankfully, our favourite pastime provides us with all of the healthy hoarding we need – experiences. Sure, they’re not all labelled as good in the moment, but when you look back on them, just about everything that happens on our travels gives us a laugh and a warm fuzzy feeling when we reflect on what we’ve seen and done.
Here’s why epic moments and experiences abroad are the only thing worth hoarding in 2017 and beyond:
THE SPACE STRUGGLE IS REAL
Collecting shot glasses or post cards is fun at first, but you quickly start to realize how little use you’ll have for them once your collection turns into a full blown hoarder’s paradise.
Chances are, those souvenirs are gonna become dust collectors or get tossed in a drawer, and you’ll have wasted your money on something that seemed cool at the time but is trivial upon further reflection. You know what won’t take up space and isn’t a waste of money? Life changing, adrenaline racing, and side splitting travel experiences.
IT’S THE RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS
We may not be scientists, but there are real scientists out there who have proven that people who collect experiences and not things are happier people. Don’t believe us? Check out this study, and this study, and this study. Sorry, but we’re not gonna argue with that.
IT ENSURES OUR TRAVELS ARE MEANINGFUL
We’re not just going away to get away from home, we’re going with a purpose in mind. It could be to eat our way through Europe or learn to surf in Oz, but when we focus more on the purpose and less on just escaping the daily grind, we set ourselves up for an epic experience.
YOU’RE NEVER GONNA GET BORED OR RUN OUT OF EXPERIENCES TO HAVE
Eventually, as far as collecting stuff goes, you’ll run out of new things to get. The great thing about this great big planet of ours is that there’s a zillion places to go and a trillion things to do once you’re there, and even if you run out of places you really wanna go, going back again and doing new things is just as fun as the first time.
YOU’RE ONLY YOUNG ONCE
We’re all for collecting experiences all throughout our lives, but doing so while we’re young and able is hands down one of the top recommendations we hear time and time again from our elders. Realistically no 25 year old needs a brand new car, but the life experience and self-discovery that are for the taking at that age is so much more worthwhile in the long run.
We never know what the future holds for us – health, career or family wise – so making the most of our prime travelling years while we have them is just a smart decision. We have the rest of our lives to collect houses and Ferraris (a girl can dream, right?), but our travelling days are best spent right here, right now.
Content Courtesy of Contiki