The World Is Immense - So Is Your Perspective

We all know the world is vast. Intellectually, at least. We’re aware that billions of people live differently, shaped by unique cultures, habits, environments, and values. And yet, despite that awareness, it’s easy to forget. Daily routines compress our view. Our patterns become familiar, our assumptions unnoticed. We begin to think most people are living slight variations of our own day-to-day.

Until something disrupts that rhythm and we see, really see, how differently life can unfold. 

Travel is one such disruption. Not because it presents novelty for novelty’s sake, or because it sets up contrast for critique. Rather, it’s the quiet realization: “This way of doing life, this system, this custom, this pace works here.” Not just differently, but well. Travel invites us to observe, not just to move. It widens the lens. And when it does, it shifts our orientation to one of many connected, curious, and open.

Recently, Jay and I stepped away for three weeks a longer journey than we usually allow. As entrepreneurs, the idea of being away from our businesses felt bold, even risky. The kind of decision that makes you double-check your calendar and your courage.

But we went. And we did something even more radical: we left our laptops behind.

Initially, the silence felt odd. We looked for our computers that weren’t there. Notifications were conspicuously absent. But slowly, the absence became its own kind of presence. We were where we were. And the memories that stayed with us weren’t part of a travel brochure. They came from the unexpected, an entertaining conversation with an Albanian taxi driver, restaurant that graciously served us long after the kitchen had officially closed, and a dessert, ordered in uncertain translation, that arrived comically oversized and gloriously sweet – we enjoyed eating our mistake!

These moments reminded me of a simple truth. There is richness in the unplanned, value in the unfamiliar and growth in stepping outside of what we know. 

As someone who lives and breathes change management, I couldn’t help but notice the systems around me, even on vacation and the smooth adaptation that we and other travelers made in response to the unfamiliar.

Now that we’re home, I’m trying to protect that traveler’s mindset. 

It’s tempting to rush back into productivity. To over-schedule, but doing so narrows the view again. So instead, I’m practicing the discipline of leaving room for slower thinking, deeper listening and new ideas.

Because wisdom often speaks in the pauses. And the most meaningful insights don’t arrive when we’re rushing. 

You don’t need to cross an ocean to rediscover this kind of presence. A weekend unplugged. An afternoon without your phone. A quiet walk with no destination in mind. These small breaks from routine can bring perspective and spaciousness back into daily life.

So, if it’s been a while since you’ve stepped back consider this your invitation. Not to escape, but to expand.

Because the world truly is immense. And your ideas and your capacity to navigate it, can be just as vast.