Why travel? Is there a bad reason?

Why does a person travel?  Many answers come to mind:  to see and experience new places, to relax and get away from our everyday work routine, to enjoy free time with people we enjoy, or to meet new people.  There are lots of good reasons for travel and adventures.  We enjoy our travel from beginning to end:  from the anticipation and planning through the trip and later when we share pictures and stories with family and friends.  

I recently read an interesting research study which found that travel and adventures can boost happiness IF we have the right reasons.  The researchers found there is a wrong reason for travel and adventures:  trying to impress others.  When a person’s goal is to impress others the results are less satisfying:  the people reported they felt “less self-sufficient, competent, and connected to others.” 

Interesting research that makes a lot of sense:  when did playing “one upmanship” ever make us feel good about ourselves?   More information can be found at Yahoo Health page at http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/hsn/travel-and-other-adventures-can-boost-happiness or Buying Life Experiences for the “Right Reasons:  A Validation of the Motivations for Experiential Buying Scale,”the Journal of Happiness Studies ahttp://www.springerlink.com/content/348264386r600035/t