7 Hacks to Cultivate a Travel Buzz Without Traveling Far

It begins the moment the plane lifts off the ground, the train pulls out of the station, or the packed car accelerates onto the highway (windows down!). I move into a state of mind I can only describe as travel buzz. I feel liberated and present. I have a lightness of spirit. I’m almost high.

During the past two years when I couldn’t travel much, I began asking myself more about what that travel buzz actually is and how I could cultivate it at home.

Why Travel Makes Us Buzz

For starters, travel offers a minimalism that many of us crave. Living out of a suitcase or our car limits our options and decisions. It clarifies how little we need to be happy and how overburdened most of us are by unnecessary stuff. Less stuff means fewer obligations, more freedom, and, ultimately, less stress.

Exploring new ground via travel requires our mind to remain present, focused on the path, task, or adventure at hand. Being fully absorbed in the moment prevents us from ruminating over our past or projecting an unknown future. With an untethered mind, we’re more open to connecting with our intuition, following our gut, and creating new experiences.

[Take This Fun Intuition Quiz to Determine Your Intuitive Style.]

The problem is that vacations end. Then what happens when you get home? Have you ever wanted to recapture that weightless and engaged feeling as you go about your day-to-day business but failed? Did you have to wait for your next trip in order to reclaim it? Shouldn’t you always live like a traveler?

Good news: Your mindset has the power to allow you to live like a traveler even when you’re not leaving town.

Catching the Travel Buzz for Your Most Important Trip

Here are seven mindset hacks to help you cultivate that coveted buzz as you navigate your most important trip—your daily life. Try them today, and you will feel the difference.

1. Leave space. Allow time for the unexpected. Some of our most memorable moments happen when we have unscheduled blocks of time that leave us available for life’s spontaneous happenings. Give yourself time to linger, browse, follow your intuition, have that conversation, and yes—even change any plans.

2. Ditch the devices. Nothing keeps us out of the moment more than screens. It may be unrealistic to think that you can avoid them altogether, but push yourself to leave your phone behind in a safe place or put it away whenever you can. Need I say anything more?

3. Welcome strangers. Imagine that you’re traveling and strike up a conversation with a stranger, regardless of what they might think. There is no reason for it to be easier to connect with people in tourist areas than at home. Don’t be afraid of rejection. Meeting new people is one of the most rewarding parts of traveling, and we are all travelers on our life journeys. Expand your network and grow!

4. Take a daily pause. Skip the chains and find an independently owned neighborhood bar or cafe that you feel good in. Take a daily pause there and get to know the owner and staff. Sit outdoors, near a window, or at the counter. Enjoy the simple pleasures of a beverage and being an observer of life. Imagine you just landed here as a visitor from another place and are seeing it for the first time.

5. Attend an experience. This can be a museum, theatre, concert, live music, lecture, or even a yoga class at a studio off your beaten track. There is always something new to discover if we are open to it.

[Read: “Museum Meditation: 6 Ways to Turn Your Visit Into a Spiritual Experience.”]

6. Travel light. Remember, the mantra here is “less is more.” As when you’re on a trip, the less baggage you carry on your journey, the better you will feel. This philosophy extends to your home space. Revisit your closets and donate or trash that clothing that you haven’t worn in years. Will you really wear it again? Re-evaluate the clutter. Does that item inspire you in some way? Does it enhance your space? Is it truly necessary?

7. Trust and allow. Approach each day with a sense of mystery and adventure. When we travel, we generally trust that the day will unravel in the best way possible. Whatever we do is okay with us. Living with a traveler buzz requires this same receptive approach. When we’re home, our social conditioning makes it challenging for us to let life flow in this way rather than worry and over plan. This is your ultimate mindset hack.

Can’t head to Europe for the Camino De Santiago? Craft a small pilgrimage close to home instead.