Diploma in Decision-Making

The value of extended travel can be debated, depending on the context in which it’s framed, and also what you’re sacrificing to enable it. Put aside work or study for a year and your skills are bound to regress. Spend a year on the road and you’re bound to fall into bad habits. Enjoy a holiday whilst everyone else remains disciplined, grinding away at their craft. Perhaps. There can be truth in all those sentiments.

Long-term travel is different to tourism. It often appears shiny and idyllic on the surface, yet manifests as a prickly mess underneath that hood. Your life becomes an ever-expanding web of decisions. Each day, you have to make a decision as to where you are going to sleep that night. In itself, that already presents significant complexity compared to life at home. Then how you’re getting there, how you’re booking that transport, and what you’ll do if those plans fall through—also pressure decisions.

Pausing tertiary study comes with a cost. You’re losing time, your knowledge is decaying, and you’re falling behind. Yes, sure. But travelling abroad, you’re still learning every single day. Your arsenal of knowledge, experience, and skills is fostered constantly, whether you realise it or not. It just takes a different flavour. You become more adaptable, resilient, and confident. It may not be coming in the traditional way, but I think that the resulting growth is unequivocally useful.

Decision-making ultimately influences every single fibre of our life. Avoiding decisions is inherently a choice, as well, after all. Putting yourself at junctures where you have to make a call, right or wrong, over and over again, nurtures your capacity to take action wherever you need in your life. Whether you’re travelling or not, I feel that putting stock in your decision-making ability is one of the highest-value investments you can ever make. Reframe it as a diploma, or a certification, if it helps. The most impactful skills usually aren’t found on a piece of paper, though.