Nowadays, the reasons for travel are assumed to be so obvious, the benefits so universally agreed-upon, that it seems almost inappropriate to ask: Wait, why exactly are you doing this? But are the benefits really so obvious, the objectives so clear or are people just running away from responsibilities? So here are my personal reasons, maybe mainstream, maybe different, but in any case, explicitly formulated. My own sanity check - forcing subconscious feelings into the unforgiving light of consciousness. Making sure I can stand behind my reasons, which hopefully exceed just pimping up my Instagram account.

I'll start talking about the 9-to-5 job, which always produces this slightly uneasy feeling inside me. The division of life into 5 days with 8 hours work, 2 days weekend. It's to easy to imagine how you can do this 1, 5, 40 years and snap - it's over. Consistency and routine consuming day after day, while simultaneously creating the illusion of an endless existence. The danger is that after each repeated day, one forgets more and more that there are other ways of living. And everyone else in one's bubble is enforcing this one-way-only lifestyle by also following it. Yes, possibly an optimal structure emerged by each generation continuously improving upon the lives of their parents. However, we could have also just ended up at a random and suboptimal solution by sheer chance and by not questioning the status-quo. Since the "optimal" lifestyle also varies from person to person, one objective of this travel is to test different models of structuring life, breaking the routine, some exploration before exploitation.

Nonetheless, I view this excursion as only a temporary activity. Human craving for routine is perfectly sensible. A repeated day allows focusing brain power on a few select activities since everything else can be achieved running on power-saving autopilot. Unfortunately, those times of the day where the brain is running at full capacity are dedicated to work. Most other times, the brain is already drained and not suited to think about life on a grander scale. However, during travels, one can allocate brain power more freely. When one desires to think about more fundamental aspects of life, the brain can be used at full capacity. Like sporadic jumps to briefly overlook the wall of today to get an idea where you're heading. And if you haven't done leg-presses all day long, you jump higher, maybe see a bit further and clearer in these moments of recalibration.

One might argue that there is time for this reflection during vacation – roughly 28 out of 365 days the agreed upon magic number. A time for deep introspection, with a recharged and balanced mind to think clearly. From personal experience, however, a vacation tends to one of two extremes: either all hell breaks loose and two lifetimes of activities are crammed into a one week slot. Resting is perceived as a waste of precious time – you snooze, you lose. There's no time for deeper reflection in such a busy schedule.

On the other end of the spectrum are the overworked, the mentally drained. Those that just want to lay under a palm tree sipping Pina Coladas for days on end. However, in such a scenario the mind is not balanced, recharged and ready for top performances. For example, just imagine extending this vacation indefinitely. There will probably come a time when just lying at the beach will become boring, Pina Coladas just another drink, the sight of the ocean just... blue. Until this time the mind is busy resolving the contrast between the routine back home and the shimmering turquoise ocean. Only after this contrast is resolved and the last months of work digested, one is ready to think clearly and unbiased... but also the vacation is over.

Travel can also reduce the attachment to unnecessary privileges: the private room with a memory-foam mattress, the 40-inch flat screen with Dolby Surround, the Italian coffee machine using freshly grained Arabica beans flown in from South America. These are great, but as with many luxuries, one tends to get attached to them, thinking they are not just an optional add-on to one's life, but a necessary amenity. As the attachment to these things increases, one's comfort zone continuously shrinks. It reduces year after year, further clinging to newly acquired objects until the zone reduces to a zero-dimensional comfort point - where a deviation in any direction causes unhappiness of mind and body. A self-made prison, prohibiting us from experiencing the captivating diversity of this world.

Luckily, our comfort zone is mostly psychological, not physical. After an initial discomfort the brain is impressively capable of adapting to new situations after some time; to sleep deep in a hard dorm bed, enjoy Netflix on a 6-inch phone, even appreciate a luke-warm instant coffee on a fresh morning. As with most addictions, the withdrawal symptoms are proportionate to the length of the addiction. So budget-travel can be used to oppose the constant shrinking of one's comfort zone; to remind the mind of all the stuff that's nice to have, but not really important; to keep the world open.

During these travels, I will deliberately crisscross between structure and disorder, relaxation and challenge, comfort and discomfort and inevitably happiness and unhappiness. Travel as an exercise for the mind, with workout and rest phases alternating for best results. And like every cliché gym-goer, once in a while it's hard to resist posting a shirtless photo on Instagram.