Today we’ll explore the secrets of your unique travel personality to help you better understand your distinct travel type. Did you know everyone has a distinct travel personality related to your persona? Well, you do. Heck, even my rescued poodles had a type. William was the extrovert, and Harry was the introvert! Also, realize you can’t be a combination of types, so state the typology gurus: Carl Jung, the founder of psychological types, Myer-Briggs®, David Keirsey, and others.
The secret sauce behind the 16 travel personalities will help you further identify the type that best describes YOUR preferences or how you function in the world. Yes, this gets into a bit of psycho-babble, but it’s really good stuff if you’re willing to be open and embrace something new about yourself.
Are you ready to transform the way you travel?
Unlock Your Souls Desire for an Exceptional Vacation?
“Unleash your inner travel guide for soul-stirring journeys” – Zapala
- Does your soul desire a deeper one-to-one connection with your family or friends?
- Or do you seek ‘sexy togetherings’ and quality time with your partner?
- Are you on an inspiring, soul-searching mission to embrace practical spirituality?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re reading the right blog. My goal is to educate travelers about a revolutionary way to travel using travel personality typing. Travel personality typing will help lead you to mindful travel.
Travel Personality Secrets Unlocking the Basics, Please…
A snippet of research presented by “Dr. Jeroen Nawijn, a senior lecturer in Tourism at the NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, stated, “The aim of this study was to obtain greater insight into the association between vacations and happiness. We examined whether vacationers differ in happiness compared to those not going on holiday and if a holiday trip boosts post-trip happiness. These questions were addressed in a pre-test/post-test design study among 1,530 Dutch individuals. 974 vacationers answered questions about their happiness before and after a holiday trip. Vacationers reported a higher degree of pre-trip happiness, compared to non-vacationers, possibly because they are anticipating their holiday.”
Revealing Unique Travel Preferences Takes You Beyond Anticipation
We all tend to get excited anticipating an upcoming vacation. Why? Because we imagine blissful, fun-filled times. Fun family outings where everyone is getting along, we all agree on where to go, what to eat, and we are following a planned itinerary? Or a solo traveler dreams of meeting their soul mate in an exotic destination? Hey, dream big, my friends!
Then reality sets in. How often does everything go perfectly while on vacation? You’re probably imagining a Disney commercial. Notice a Disney commercial never includes; waiting in two-hour lines, crying kids, and the sticker shock of an $11 turkey leg. Not ditching Disney, but this is real life. And we all travel in the real world. So let’s get REAL.
How to Unpack Unique Travel Personality Traits?
The majority of vacationers aren’t aware of our unique travel personality preferences – preferences that speak to how you function in the real world, attitudes, decisions, perceptions, and decided lifestyles.
Often, things like crowds or off-the-beaten-path places, scheduling or flexibility, routine or spontaneity, and lavish or simple budgets are important ⏤ as these physical attributes help you feel the most comfortable. If these preferences are unconscious, they can create stressful vacation experiences as they oppose one another. Travel personality typing may be the answer to avoiding disappointing vacations because it allows you to get in touch with your specific traits; behaviors linked to your type.
Get to Know Your Travel Personality
Getting to know your travel personality from the inside out brings clarity, an understanding, if you will, about your ideal travel choices. This knowledge allows you to express your likes and dislikes with your family, husband/wife, friends, and extended family. If your spouse says, “I want to go to Daytona Beach, Florida,” and your thinking I don’t like crowded beaches, nor do I want to see cars on the beach. Do you think you’d be happy vacationing here? Probably, not, even if you love beach getaways.
Travel Should Be Fulfilling
We live in a world that is right-side-up and upside-down. Travel can and should be some of the most fulfilling moments of your life. I want to revolutionize the way you travel by helping you discover your “inner travel guide” – your 24/7 personal concierge – is the guide you TRUST. It knows you best. And your inner travel guide will always have your back no matter where and when you hit the road!
Are your bags packed? Let’s get this journey started!
Today, I want to share the essential aspects of personality typing related to cognitive functions, i.e., how we’re mentally wired. Cognitive functions are defined as the act of or the process of knowing and then making a decision based on this knowledge.
Modern-day travel can be overwhelming; too many choices. Two decades of travel experience plus ten years studying Myers-Briggs led me to develop 16 personalities unpacked, a highly personalized way to travel relying solely on personality typing. Moving along…
Explaining Your Four Mental Functions
Studying and researching Myers-Briggs® theories reveals four distinct mental processes that influence you, whether or not you’re conscious of it. Actually, there are eight functions in total. Some individuals tap into four, but many of us only use two. I’m explaining cognitive functions using travel terms, as I believe travel is the best classroom to observe yourself, and unpacking your personality type -– it’s the basis of my work.
Functions
- The Pilot, the dominant function, is your primary personality preference. It’s the Essential Self and influences a lot in your life.
- The Co-Pilot, the auxiliary function, is a secondary preference and is highly supportive of the Essential Self, so I’ve termed it the Harmonious Self, or the Essential Self’s BFF.
- The Gate Agent, a tertiary function, typically blooms later in life. It emerges as you mature, which is why I call an Emerging Self an emerging aspect of the sacred self. It will help you ask questions like; is that all there is? What is my purpose in life beyond the cubicle? Awakening to your Gate Agent can be a magical time in your life. It can unveil new gifts buried deep within your soul and often changes your life in unbelievable ways.
- The Air Traffic Controller is the inferior function contrary to your Pilot. Through my lens, I view this as your Contrary trait as it opposes your dominant preference. It has the power to be your greatest asset and provide you with your biggest breakthroughs. It can also create stress.
Cognitive Functions: How We’re Wired
Learning Processes:
Extroverted Intuition (Ne)
- This trait involves noticing hidden meanings and then interpreting them. This person can entertain a wealth of possible solutions from just one idea, seeing what others don’t, or decipher what someone’s behavior actually means. This traveler will always be looking for new experiences beyond the present moment.
Introverted Intuition (Ni)
- Involves organizing vague or contradictory information to deliver a new level of understanding. This function can bring moments of new and unimagined realizations. These travelers will see different alternatives and ideas in any given travel situation.
Extroverted Sensing (Se)
- This trait exists when we unabashedly follow exciting, physical impulses or instincts and relish actioning upon them in the present moment. It’s a oneness with the physical world, hands-on, and total absorption as we move, touch, and sense what’s around us, engaging the five senses while accumulating experiences. Expect spontaneous and unscheduled escapes.
Introverted Sensing (Si)
- Words and experiences will register with an individual who harbors these traits. These traits focus on how a person sees things. Do they connect to a place as something familiar or see it as something different. They’ll use accumulated knowledge, often linking a memory, a familiar feeling of a prior event. This travel personality seeks traditions and customs.
Decision-Making Processes
Extroverted Thinking (Te)
- These traits organize our environments and ideas through charts, tables, graphs, outlines, and contingency planning while managing people to work efficiently and effectively. Thes travelers are fabulous planners!
Introverted Thinking (Ti)
- This type can take thoughts apart, see what works and where the inconsistencies are, and then logically put them back together, creating something newly imagined or much improved. They are excellent problem solvers and can be perfectionists.
Extroverted Feeling (Fe)
- This preference brings a sincere desire to connect with (or disconnect from) others communicated with expressions of warmth (or displeasure). Extroverted feeling works to get people to respond kindly to one another while honoring their values and feelings. This traveler will consider another person’s feelings when planning a trip, as their extroversion is concerned with the outer world.
Introverted Feeling (Fi)
- This function deals with morals and what feels right based on values; this is a deep and complex function. People with introverted feelings are more concerned with how their feelings and values represent who they are. These travelers won’t be swayed by what’s trending or popular if it doesn’t resonate with their values.
Unpack the Secrets of Your Unique Travel Personality
The Intuitive/Sensing preferences are how we learn new information. The Thinking/Feeling preferences center on how we make decisions.
Plus, we each process energy through a specific flow; introverted – inward-looking and extroverted- outward-looking. Everyone needs four primary components.
We All Need
- A method to take in new information (learn)
- A way to evaluate the information (make decisions)
We Also Need
- The introverted part of us – is the way we get in touch with our inner world
- The extroverted part of us – is the way we get real-world feedback
Each personality type chooses ONE of the learning processes as their predominant way of gathering new information and ONE decision-making process, which is essential in evaluating novel information when making decisions. Add in extroversion or introversion, coupled with our attitude processes; how we like to live in the world; judging or perceiving, and we are off to the races.
How this Works in Our Daily Life
To make things more interesting, each type zeros in on ONE of the preferences going from eight to ONE, which is the Pilot, your dominant function. The Co-Pilot which takes on a critical and supportive role in keeping the Pilot working at its highest level. A reminder – we all need to embrace the introverted and extroverted sides of our personalities. It’s necessary to develop a sacred persona. If your Pilot function is introverted, your Co-Pilot will automatically be extroverted. It’s how the mind balances your inner and outer worlds.
Understanding how you’re wired will revolutionize the way you travel! Stop and think about it. We are just talking about you here. Now throw in the travel personality types of your lover, family, grandparents, co-workers, or besties, and can you see why travel can become a scene from Titanic.
Dissecting the Curious Travel Personality
The Inquisitive type (Myers-Briggs®, ENTP) the name shines a spotlight on my travel style. Let’s look at the four-letter code, ENTP. The two middle letters tell the story. In the four-letter code, the “N” (stands for iNtuitive ⏤ the letter I represents Introverts). The “T” (stands for Thinker). Remember, all of the information-gathering processes are either intuitive or sensory. All of the decision-making processes are either Thinking or Feeling. Using this example, N and T are the starting points.
The Pilot and Co-Pilot for the Inquisitive Traveler (ENTP)
The Inquisitive Traveler is Piloted by extroverted intuition with a Co-Pilot of introverted thinking. Here’s the order in which this travel personality uses their cognitive/psychological functions:
- Pilot – Extroverted intuition (Ne) is the dominant information gathering process aka the primary driver for this type
- Co-Pilot- Introverted thinking is the auxiliary function it supports the Pilot. In this case, it sorts through and brings logic to my storehouse of data.
- Gate Agent- Extroverted feeling is a tertiary function that is often unconscious until you reach maturity. I’m finally tapping into this trait, and it’s brought me a wellspring of new perspectives.
- Air Traffic Controller – Introverted sensing, the interior function provides an area for significant growth.
When we Don’t Want to Hear it
When a family member, a lover, a co-worker, and now a fellow traveler is telling us something we don’t want to hear or acknowledge, we either:
- Shut off our listening mechanism (Introverts will do this)
- Or ignore those nagging voices inside our heads that tell us we’re doing something wrong (Extroverts are more inclined to experience this behavior).
We, humans, tend to opt for what is comfortable – either the ‘outer world’ for extroverts or the ‘inner world’ for introverts.
Revolutionary!
An Inspirational Story That Leads Me to Believe Travel is the path to your Sacred Personality Type.
I was representing a client at The Miami Boat Show. Being an inquisitive type, I was immersed in my surroundings. I struck up a conversation with a man who was in line behind me. We got to talking, and he asked what I did for a living, and I said,
“I’m a writer, and I help brands differentiate themselves by using storytelling.” And then I asked, “And why are you attending the show, looking for a boat?”
His answer was, “I’m here visiting with my son. He’s getting a master’s degree and writing his dissertation on our summer vacation in Maine. This vacation was decades ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.” His smile grew from ear to ear.
“During our vacation, my son was eager to learn everything about boating, and for me, I was just relieved to get out of the office for a week. We spent the time toe-to-toe in the trenches of the boat. I was amazed at what a wonderful young man he was even at the age of ten. I saw things in him I hadn’t noticed at home, and he in me.”
OK, by this time, I’m on the verge of crying, and the father is teared up, too. I told him, “Now can you see why I love the travel industry? He smiled and said, “I know this to be true.”
It’s really about priceless memories that money, algorithms, or bosses can’t take away. Memories that become part of your soul story and live in your heart.
Join The Movement
Will you join me on this journey? I believe spiritual personality typing is Divinely timed. It’s a relevant new tool to assist those who aspire to ascend during the great awakening we are all experiencing. So let me ask, are you ready to learn more about who you really are?
Then please subscribe to Nina’s Newsletter. You’ll get front-row seats to my upcoming book, my new membership portal, and monthly tips for positive mental health! It’s shenanigans on steroids.
xoxo 🙋🏼♀️
