Travel is a great way to bring your assumptions to the fore. When you’re at home, living a steady routine, you mostly know what to expect day to day, and you may not even be aware of the decisions you make based on your assumptions. Traveling has a way of knocking you in the head with your assumptions and forcing you to question everything:
- They have universal plugs in our Bangalore apartment so they’ll probably have them at our Kochi hotel, right? — Nope, should have brought the adapters.
- A metered ride from our apartment to my workplace takes 20 minutes and cost Rs. 70, so I can time and budget my daily travel accordingly. — Nah, where’s the fun in that? The daily commute could last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, and cost between Rs. 70 to Rs. 350, depending on who’s driving and when the trip occurs. Every day in India is an adventure. Build in extra time and cash.
- I wear shorts at home when it’s hot; I’m sure I can do the same in India. — If you’re a man, you can probably get away with this. If you’re a woman, I wouldn’t recommend doing so in Bangalore unless you enjoy getting a lot of attention.
“The least questioned assumptions are often the most questionable.” – Paul Broca
I got the above quote from the folks over at Married with Luggage, who also had this to say about assumptions and challenging them. Apparently a lot of folks associate challenging assumptions with travel. Here is Bonnie Biafore’s take.
Another way to challenge assumptions is by applying a different lens to things. What better way than through photography? Here’s Aaron Huey on Shattering Assumptions for NatGeo:
While international travel has a way of slapping you upside the head with your assumptions, there are gentler ways to explore them. Doing so requires vigilance and awareness, however. If you aren’t aware when you’re making assumptions, after all, how can you challenge or change them? Or check that they’re still serving you?
“One’s first step in wisdom is to question everything—and one’s last is to come to terms with everything.” – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
What assumptions do you live by? Are you going to question any today?
Cheers,
