Ciao from Italy!
Recently as I roamed the historic streets of Rome and Florence, appeasing my inner history nerd and indulging in pizza 🍕 and gelato🍦, I searched for my latest lifestyle souvenir ✨.
A lifestyle souvenir is what I call all the lessons I learn from the local culture and traditions when I travel that I try to apply to my everyday life🏅.
I started this tradition back while I was in Japan 🇯🇵, and I always like to find a common theme for my lifestyle souvenir.
For Italy I landed on problem solving💡, so here are three takeaways on what my trip Italy taught me about problem solving:
- Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. One of the first things I noticed after landing in Rome was that sidewalks and roads 🛣️ were more of a recommendation than a requirement 😅. Countless times during my trip I've found myself walking on blank roads; no sidewalks, no guard rails…just cars zooming past literally less than 6 inches from me 🚗.
At first, this was uncomfortable and a little bit frustrating 😖. And honestly, what problem isn’t? The more I dealt with and was exposed to it however, the more comfortable I became. It may be a stretch, but that made me reconsider what problems are 🤔. Rather than unknowns filled with frustration, they can be opportunities to get uncomfortable, step outside of our norm 🐾, and try something different that we may enjoy, or at a minimum that can teach us something 🎓. - The most traveled path is not always the best. As I mentioned, coming to Italy for the first time meant taking time to explore all the most popular places: the Colosseum in Rome 🗡️, the Canals of Venice ⛵️, and of course the famous Sistine Chapel 🎨. As amazing as the Sistine Chapel was, I found myself lost in a crowd of people, being rushed to the exit, having a hard time savoring the moment 🫤.
On my trip I've also visited Capelle Mediccee, a lesser-known chapel in the heart of Florence that completely blew me away 🤯. The architecture was massive and intricate 🏛️. The artwork was vibrant and full of life 🖼️. Perhaps best of all, there was plenty of space to explore and I was able to spend as much time there as I pleased 😃.
Nothing against the Sistine Chapel, but Capelle Mediccee was far and away my favorite 💛. And reflecting on that also made me rethink the problem-solving process. Often there are others who have come across the same or similar problem who encourage us to simply do what they did 🤷🏻♂️. But how much can we truly learn if we simply walk in the footsteps of someone else? What might we discover if we took a completely novel approach to a problem? I continue to ponder this as I explore Italy 💭.
- History should be respected, revered, and reviewed. Few places protect and display their history quite like Italy 🔐. That may be why it’s so well known; you’d be hard pressed to walk down a street in Rome and not see architecture, artwork, or other creations from hundreds or even thousands of years ago ⏳.
When it comes to solving problems, most of us don’t have that mindset. We want to find the solution, solve the problem, and move on as quickly as possible 🏃♀️. But in doing so, we miss out on so much. How did we feel as we worked through the problem? How can this problem help us solve the next one? 🏗️
I know I can be guilty of sometimes trying to rush to the finish line 🏁, but being in Italy surrounded by culture that people have worked so hard and even risked their lives to preserve it was a much needed reminder that the journey should not be forgotten once we reach the destination 🛤️.
While my trip to Italy was a welcome break from always focusing on being productive and getting things done, I’m grateful that I was still able to pick up some mental tidbits I can keep with me as I jump back into the hustle of the day to day 🔑.
📚 My Book Notes: If you liked these takeaway lessons, you'll love my book notes featuring similar lessons from some of my favorite reads.
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