Becoming a travel psychologist | Javier Labourt | TEDxNKUA

Javier Labourt is a psychologist, full of energy and optimism. He received his university diploma in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and holds a degree in psychology from the University of California, Palo Alto, California. He worked for many years as an authorized therapist in his home country, Argentina. Traveling is his great passion, and he has been part of the most successful travel show of Greek television, the World Party! Laughter holds an important place in his life - maybe that's why he trained for six years as a clown!

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx.

This girl is Amalia, and she's a musician.

She has a great voice,

she's super talented

and she has a deep sensitivity
to write her lyrics.

For many years,

Amalia suffered of stage fright.

This means that she was afraid
to play in front of an audience,

and she avoided these kinds of situations.

This intense fear did not allow her
to grow as an artist.

I am a pyschologist,

and I'm passionate about helping people
create a positive change in their lives.

For many years,
I've worked as a therapist,

and I've seen many patients
just like Amalia.

As you know,

when people go to a psychologist,

they're usually seeking
for a personal change.

Ironically, the first deep change
in my life perspective

came without even looking for it,

and it was not because of therapy.

Let's go back in time.

I was a seven-year-old kid,

and I lived with my family
in a suburb of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I was curious; I loved to read.

I was also kind of introverted,

but above anything, I had lots of fears.

My greatest fear was to spend the night
at a friend's house.

The few times I had to tried to do that,

I ended up phoning my parents
in the middle of the night

and asked them to pick me up.

But something interesting happened

when I received a proposition
from my grandparents.

They were inviting me
to travel with them -

a two-month trip to visit my aunts
that lived in California and Hawaii.

It was going to be
my first long airplane flight,

and it was the first time

I was going to spend so much time
away from my parents.

I had mixed emotions about it.

Of course, I was fearful.

Yet deep down inside me,
I wanted to travel.

On the day of the departure,

that fear of missing my parents
started to grow,

and I remember I was there,
in the airport, about to depart,

before crossing the security line,

and I started shouting:

"I don't want to leave.
I don't want to travel."

I was crying and panicking

because of the two months
I was going to spend away from home.

After a while, I managed
to calm myself down

and I was able to connect with my desire.

So I grabbed all the courage I had
and took the step.

I was going to travel.

Those two months were amazing.

And I remember when it was time
to go back, to go back home,

to fly back home to Argentina,

I remember telling my grandma,

"Grandma, I don't want to go back home."

On this very first trip,

I learned two really important lessons
that had a deep effect on me.

The first one

is that when we are fearful of something,

we can grab all the courage we have,

we expose ourselves,

and we can overcome that fear.

Our self-esteem will grow,

and we will be able to enjoy experiences
we never thought we could.

The second great lesson

is that travel offers a great opportunity
to gain a new perspective,

to change the way we see things.

Right after this very first trip,
many more followed,

and each one of those trips shaped me.

But of all the trips I did,

the five weeks I spent in India

contributed the most to develop
a positive state of mind.

What I experienced on that trip

is extremely related to an important
psychological theory regarding happiness.

There are three factors
that influence happiness,

and I'm talking about
the long-term happiness,

the chronic feeling of happiness.

The first factor is the biological factor,

and it is responsible for 50%
of our long-term happiness.

It's our genetic disposition,

it's our basic temperament,

it stays constant
throughout all of our life,

and, of course, we cannot
change this factor.

It's our set point for happiness.

The second factor
is our life circumstances,

where we live, how old are we,
if we are married or single,

the type of job we have

or even how much money we make.

Usually, most people think

this is the most important factor
that influences their happiness level.

How many times have we heard,

"Oh, I will be happy
when I find my soul mate,"

or maybe,

"Oh, I will be happy when I buy
this new and incredible cellphone"?

And let me tell you, these statements,
in a certain degree, they are true.

Because these events
can make us feel happier.

But we sure overestimate
the influence of its effect.

Because research showed

that our life circumstances

are responsible for just a 10%
of our long-term happiness.

No matter how much control
we have over our life circumstances,

their influence is small.

Why it's just 10%? Why?

Because we humans, the whole human race,

have an incredible capacity of adapting
to the novelties that life brings us.

And six months after I start this new job,
I adapt to what the job implies -

to its benefits, its responsibilities -

and I return to my usual
level of happiness.

This phenomenon is called
"hedonic adaptation,"

and by definition,

it's the human tendency

to quickly return to our relatively
stable level of happiness

despite any major positive
or negative changes in life.

So, my friends, the question is,

What else influences
our long-term happiness?

And let me tell you,
this last factor is very important

because we can work on this factor.

This last factor

is the intentional activities
that everybody can do and practice.

They imply some effort, of course,

but if we do them frequently,
we practice them,

we can turn them into habits,

and we can call them "happiness habits."

They will shape our way of thinking.

They will lead us into
a more positive and happy state,

and, my friends, they will allow us
to live happier lives.

Let's talk a little bit about them -
I will give you some examples.

A really easy happiness habit
is to do random acts of kindness,

being kind.

I mean doing things for others

without expecting anything in exchange,
anything in reward, anything in return.

For example, it can be helping
someone in the street,

helping that old lady to cross the street

or maybe donating money to charity.

Another happiness habit is to develop
an optimistic view on situations.

If we work on being hopeful
and confident about the future,

our happiness level will rise.

Let me give you a simple, practical tip
to practice our optimism.

Whenever you think
of a situation that you can say,

"Mmm, this is a problem,"

let's change the word

and instead of "problem,"
use the word "challenge."

Remember, challenge instead of problem.

This will empower you

about the possibility
of overcoming that issue.

Remember, challenge instead of problem.

This is being optimistic.

Another happiness habit

is to use our own internal standard,

to practice and stop comparing
ourselves to others.

And believe me,

this is kind of hard these days
with the all the exposure we have

to social media.

Another happiness habit
is to learn how to forgive.

Another one - really, really easy,
and I bet a lot of you actually do it -

is to exercise on a daily basis.

Another happiness habit is to focus
your experience in the here and now,

in the present moment.

These are just some
of the happiness habits;

there are many more.

But for me, the most important one
came unexpectedly

on this backpacking trip I did in India.

On those five weeks,
I lived experiences I will never forget.

I discovered magical places.

India is incredible:

its colors,

its smells,

the celebrations,

its people.

But there was not
a single room where I stayed

that I had a shower with hot water.

I was on a tight daily budget -
I had not a lot of money -

so all the places I stayed

were just cheap guest houses
with small beds and no hot water.

Having only cold showers for five weeks

made me realize that something
that was really common for me,

something that I took for granted -
like taking a hot shower -

can actually not be that common.

And when I went back to Argentina,

this simple idea totally changed my head

because when I had the chance
of finally having a hot shower,

I experienced a deep feeling of gratitude.

Since then, every time
I take a hot shower,

as I feel the hot water
hitting the back of my head,

I feel a deep appreciation
for the simple things in life,

and I feel grateful.

This simple act enhances my happiness
each and every day of my life.

It makes me realize the gifts
that are all around us.

It can be a hot shower.

It can be a yummy meal.

It can be a visit from a friend
or a hug from someone I love.

I remember the first time I came to Greece
and I saw the beautiful blue Greek sea.

I was amazed, totally amazed.

And for many of you, this is just part
of your everyday lives.

You can just take a bus
and get to the sea.

In Argentina, some people
have never even seen the sea,

and you can enjoy
this beautiful gift life gave you

just really, really easy.

My friends, if we change our perception,
not taking things for granted,

a sense of wonder will appear
and we will start feeling grateful

and we will start feeling happier.

Let me give you
a small and practical exercise

on how to make ourselves more grateful.

This exercise is called
a gratitude journal,

it takes 15 minutes,

and you can do it once a week.

15 minutes - once a week.

You need to sit down
and focus on this feeling

and write five things
that you are grateful for.

Take your time, write them down,

think about the small and simple things
that you are grateful for -

for these hot showers
or this looking at the sea -

these small events
that you are grateful for.

If you practice this exercise,
you focus on this feeling,

you will start feeling happier.

But give it some time;
it will not happen instantly.

Give it some time. Give it some time.

Do you think you can do it?

Yes.

Okay, so we have a commitment.

Today, some of you
will do this gratitude journal.

So this is how one day
I had this crazy idea

of integrating my two passions:

psychology and traveling.

And I thought,

What would happen if I take someone

that needs a change in life

on a trip?

And on this trip,

every adventure within,

every experience we chose,

would be especially thought to promote
this change we are searching for.

Do you remember Amalia?

This is what happened.

(Video) (Spanish) My name is Amalia.
I am 22 years old.

I love music,

so I write my own songs,
I play the guitar, I sing.

But I have stage fright.

It's been like four years
since I last played live.

And I block myself.

I would love to be able to play live,

but what happens to me
is that I get terrified.

(Video) Javier Labourt:
These are specially intended trips

to promote personal change,

the same change that
takes place while traveling.

Amalia will be the leader of this trek;
she will take us to the top.

We made it, we did it - 272 steps!

We are on a classic Kuala Lumpur market.

It's good.

A: I don't like it!

It’s good, it's good!
Probably the best I’d tasted.

JL: Each of the adventures has a goal:
potentiate the travelers' personal change.

In Bali’s traditional market,
I taught Amalia how to bargain.

A: I did it!

Good, it was easy!

JL: I saw she was more relaxed,
she loosened herself.

She started talking to people,
she started taking initiative.

This is the real happy yoga,
the laughter yoga.

A: To tell the truth, I don’t want
to be hit with the mud,

but maybe today …

JL: We were in the mud, fighting.

This was incredible.

A: I feel really great.
I feel really great here.

JL: The effort we put into our things
has its positive consequences.

A: The hike was hard.

But having arrived,

sitting and watching the sun come out
gave me a lot of peace.

It has something, a nice energy.

JL: Amalia is here, about to play live.

She is nervous,
but I think she'll do great.

She has an amazing talent
that comes from her soul.

Every trip changes you,

but traveling with me
will transform your life.

Could you see her transformation?

There are many ways we can achieve
a positive change in life.

Traveling can help us.

Exposing ourselves
to what we fear can help us.

Developing a sense
of gratitude can help us.

Practice these happiness habits
and start building happier lives.

The solution is in our hands.

Thank you.