Adventure or Anxiety?

Be honest.

It gets to you, doesn’t it?

You feel trapped in a life of monotonous everyday routine. One dull day merges into the next, each equally forgettable. The months slide past until you look up from your desk and suddenly another birthday’s here.

Ever since I can remember I’ve liked to travel. It does something to me, something strange and oddly uncharacteristic: I am suddenly very laid back.

At home, when I am stressed out and worried, my mind likes to give me lists of things to do that I can’t keep up with. It juts me way out into the future, compels me to question myself, and stops me from being present with the task at hand.

The idea of discovery, exploration, experimentation, and curiosity generally goes hand-in-hand with the sense of anticipation when thinking about adventures.

When I travel, I expect the unexpected and have faith in the fact that things will not always go my way. This is part of the whole adventure.

Travel is just the most obvious place for me to accept that I do not have control. I relax because I realize I never have control over anything anyway, so why not anticipate or even marvel at the ways my vacation may be going “wrong”?

The luggage didn’t arrive—guess we’ll have to go shopping!  It’s two in the morning and we can’t find a cab—guess we’ll have to walk!

No really, it just feels good when I travel to anticipate changes, new routes, and different views. I appreciate my life looking a tad bit different for the duration of time. Receiving relief from being stuck in my head, I enjoy every minute of the ride.

Welcome the places that may make you feel uncomfortable or fearful, and use these situations as catalysts for change. Welcoming what makes you uncomfortable will open you up to a new way of being. Let your inner-adventurer guide you to the places you may not otherwise dare to go.

When I judge myself as not enough to succeed at a project, or doubt my ability, or strive for perfection, suddenly my creative endeavor comes to a halt. Yet, when I travel, my self-judgments go away, as well, simply because I love the experience of being on an adventurous journey.

We are led by our life force within when we remind ourselves in our daily lives that pleasure comes from showing up to our work— in being curious about the step-by-step process to build our dreams, in feeling the moment of jubilation when we meet ourselves fully and dive in, in experiencing the joy of being alive in the moment.

When we reach and expand our creativity beyond our usual limitations, everything is more vivid and awake.

We don’t have to travel to a foreign country to experience this, because every moment is a different, new, and exciting place that we have never known before.

Being able to see life as an adventure really can make all the difference.