Félix Cuéllar: "On a trip we are more open to experimenting"

In an increasingly globalized world, traveling has become a popular option as a form of leisure (or even to show off on social networks). But beyond this relatively superficial facet of travel, these kinds of experiences can be a resource very useful to promote personal development processes from them.

This is precisely the topic that we will talk about in this interview with Félix Cuéllar, who at the head of Trips that Change Lives, he proposes a series of routes that focus on self-knowledge and personal growth in aspects such as the management of emotions, the discovery of our values, the ability to connect with others, and many other fundamental aspects of day to day.

• Related article: "Personal Development: 5 reasons for self-reflection"

Interview with Félix Cuéllar: How does a personal development trip benefit us?

Félix Cuéllar is a coach, a specialist in Emotional Intelligence, a Business and Tourist Activities Technician and CEO of Viajes que Cambion Vidas, a travel agency specializing in personal development tours that take place both inside and outside of Spain. In this interview, Félix tells us about the keys to personal growth through self-discovery journeys.

How did the idea of ​​creating Trips that Change Lives come about?

Well, it arose while I was preparing the Master's Final Project in Coaching, Emotional Intelligence and Neurolinguistic Programming, in which I presented precisely this idea and the teachers who I had.

I believe that the best way to learn something is to experience it, and for this reason, from my point of view, a trip is a good opportunity to grow as people and as workers, in a different environment from the one we usually spend the rest of the year, and in which thanks to the fact that we are disconnected from that autopilot that dominates most of humanity, we are much more open and receptive to being able to learn tools to improve our life.

It is often said that you learn through challenges. Does exposing ourselves to new environments and new situations help to enhance our ability to manage emotions?

Indeed, having challenges, goals, objectives, is essential to advance in our personal and professional development. Being out of our comfort zone, with people we don't know and with personal development professionals, makes it the perfect mix to be able to go through the experiences that we are going to live so different from our day to day. This allows us to learn to manage our emotions so that when we find ourselves in situations complicated in our day to day, we are able to get out of the themselves. Emotions are always informative, and if we know what are the ones that govern us, and we can manage them, we have a lot of cattle.

What do you understand by "personal development" in Trips that Change Lives?

We come to this world without an instruction manual, and in the school stage, learning about things is very little taken into account. important in life: managing stress, emotions, decision making, managing uncertainty, being resilient, emotional intelligence (which, according to studies, accounts for 80% of a person's success in her life, much more than excellence academic)... And these are aspects that a large part of the population dies without knowing how to manage them. That is precisely what personal development is for me, going every day wanting to be freer, happier, depending on oneself, wanting to be better every day, a better person. In short, evolve as a person, as a professional, as a parent, partner, child...

Some people might take it for granted that when we travel, our attention is directed towards everything that we perceive through the senses and seems curious or exotic to us, something that may seem the opposite of self-knowledge: we focus on the exterior, what surrounds. To what extent is this true?

Precisely on a trip we are more open to experience and to know. Thanks to the help of personal development professionals, during that same journey the great change occurs from within us. is what makes these trips something exceptional, because at the same time that we travel abroad, we also travel towards our inside. And this set of experiences make the experience much richer in nuances and more likely to remain in our unconscious compared to, for example, when we are in front of a talk with that same professional in a living.

What principles or ideas do you take into account when selecting destinations and designing itineraries and activities?

We look for places that help us connect with that interior, places of spiritual tradition, magical, silent places, where nature is part of that connection with ourselves. We do not want trips from which we return more stressed or tired than when we arrived. In addition, by having different types of trips, such as trips for families, along the De Santiago, retreats, long distance… because they make the experiences very varied and for all pockets.

What are the main benefits of a trip specifically designed to promote personal growth?

Well, returning with a greater knowledge of oneself, of the strengths we have, releasing stress, seeing things from another point of view, and knowing how to face our lives in a different way.