The Adventure Next Door

"There's nothing worth doing anymore," is a phrase I often catch my brain throwing my way when life seems dull.

My solution is to choose something scary or hard and go do it.

It's not that you have to manufacture adventure, but if you commit to living a life in pursuit of your personal best, in service to your dream, and to honor your goals, you will find adventure. It just sort of happens. You become heroic. It doesn't matter if you are living in 1840, 1940, or 2040 (in the future, we'll all have hover boards, and then things will really be exciting, oh, wait...)

No matter when or where you live, whether your life is full of story-worthy events is up to you.

Remember, history is made up of people doing extraordinary things. You can either ride on the wave of the history they create, or you can be one of the men and women creating history with your life.

Romanticize the past or the future all you want, but not at the expense of the present. Romanticize exotic locations and other peoples' lives if you want to, but not at the expense of your own here and now.

Because there is adventure around every corner, in every moment. It's up to you whether or not you follow it down the rabbit hole.

So, how can you open yourself up for adventure? Here are some tips:

• Whatever scares AND excites you, go do it. If it just scares you, you still might consider learning more about it and getting enough mastery of the issue that it isn't as scary any more (eg, if you're scared of being assaulted, don't go do it, but consider learning how to defend yourself).
• Foster relationships. Adventures and opportunities come from people, so do everything you can to meet as many people as possible.
• Don't ever write yourself off. Never say, "I can't." Instead, ask, "How could I?"
• Be willing to be uncomfortable. Pain and fear have a bad rap in our cushy modern lives. These feelings and emotions signal impending danger, not actual danger (You're never afraid of something that is currently occurring, just what you imagine might happen next). Instead, be willing to entertain pain and fear. Have a conversation with them. Don't shut them out completely. They tell you where you are growing and where you need to grow.
• Commit to doing one unreasonable thing, like running an ultramarathon, or taking only cold shower (my favorite), or only eating excellent food. It will annoy the hell out of people, but it will also earn their respect, and you'll probably have some crazy adventures making it happen.

Do you ever catch yourself making the excuse of, "If I lived then/there my life would be more exciting and fulfilling?" What can you do to get that sense of excitement and adventure right now?

KC***