“I don’t know!” I called over my shoulder as I headed down the drive way…..
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I am just going to start driving….” I said, with a smile on my face….
I had been working my butt off for the previous fortnight, and was pretty pooped, but I was determined to make the most of the Autumn sunshine and top up the happy bucket.
Having popped in to see a friend nearby for a quick cuppa, this conversation happened as I was walking down the drive to my car.
I had packed my car up to cater for a few random eventualities, including food if I happened to stay in a hostel, trainers for walking, togs for swimming, three different types of jacket… and then everything I needed for the following couple of days as I was on the road again after that for work…. Bearing in mind the adventure time was about 18 hours I did seem to have a lot of stuff, but I like having options!
Freedom has always been an important value of mine and back in 2017 it took a step up to become Adventure.
Having lost a very close friend who was always planning adventures and sharing links to fun events that I had never heard of, I was determined to carry on her legacy, and say yes to more adventures.
This got me thinking in that adventures are not all about adrenalin sports, mud runs and back packing into the wilderness. For me it is simply the unknown, learning to trust and have faith in what will be.
I remember when my parents came to stay one time, that it became quite the joke that we would be heading somewhere without bookings, once even to the ferry terminal without a booking or even knowing what time the ferries went. But it always worked out!
Now I would like to say, that for that trip, I had chosen it that way, but to be honest, trying to shift some mega things before they arrived, meant that my focus was purely on getting to the airport to pick them up, and then we could make the rest up from there! Which we did….literally….
But some great things came out of trusting the process and the Universe to take care of us. We ended up staying in a beautiful little place in Piahia when we were up there, and that was only because they had a last minute cancellation. When we were on Waiheke, the place we ended up at wasn’t even ready when we arrived as we had only booked it thirty minutes previous and they were just turning it round for us, but it was stunning, and worth not settling for a previous opportunity that had come up.
So as I say, it is not the adrenalin side of things for me, but the unknown – unknown destination, new paths to travel, places to explore. You know when you are walking along a quiet path that you have never been before and yes, you know that thousands will have walked this way before, and there are some manmade steps and signs up, which kinda gives that away a bit too, but you feel like you are the first person – the first person to set sights on that view, to sit on that rock, to swim at that beach.
People fill their happy buckets in different ways. It comes back to that self care, what makes people either feel alive, happy or refreshed. Yes that day described at the beginning, I could have easily lost it catching up on sleep, jobs and life, but it did me much more good, in so many different ways, getting on the road.
So where did I end up? Piha, a small community out west of Auckland, wasn’t overly far, didn’t need to be, and to be honest wasn’t even anywhere new! Something amazing about Piha is that it has never been the same each time I have been there. There is always something different going on, and being on the West coast, it doesn’t take much for the weather to make a change to any potential plans.
But I got what I needed, the wind in my hair, swirling around, the bright sunshine, followed by short sharp showers, exposed to the elements, Nature at its finest.
I guess for me, life in general took a different turn when I started on my travels from the UK seven years ago. But at the time, even leaving to go over the side of the world, I didn’t see that as an adventure. I remember Dad asking me what I was calling it, it wasn’t a holiday as I didn’t have an end date and I was definitely going to be working, and I replied “it’s a journey….”
I have written about that previously in terms of it being a journey for me, both in personal development as well as a physical journey. But now I almost feel when I stepped up from freedom to adventure, that this ‘journey’ is stepping up a gear and also becoming an adventure. That this story is actually just the beginning, and everything so far is the prequel….
So what does adventure mean for you? Maybe you are like me and the adrenalin side of things is not really your cup of tea, or maybe it is, and you are totally looking for the next high voltage activity day out or holiday. Defined as “an unusual and exciting or daring experience” adventure can really be anything you want it to be, your limits, your boundaries, your rules… Whether you go alone, with a friend or as part of a group, if adventure is one of your values and important to you, you will make it happen somehow.
Are there times that you feel flat, trapped, bored, numb? I know for me that these are surefire signs that I am in need of an adventure, I know that things will be the same when I get back, but I won’t be. New or renewed, I don’t think it is possible to have an adventure without learning, without gaining more insight or understanding, whether that be about you, others around you or the world as a whole.
Not an outdoorsy person? Where else can you find or have an adventure? Does your worklife need a review? Your career or even your business? Remember – anything unusual, exciting or daring…. That phone call that has sat on your to-do list for AGES, that ideal job vacancy if only you would sit down long enough to update your CV…..
Adventure is all about mindset, as soon as you start looking at things differently, the biggest ordeal or hardship can become an adventure. I remember being in a scarcity mindset, seriously struggling to make ends meet….. Back in 2016 I stopped and decided no more. I told myself that the following year was going to be different, and things really started to fall in to place and I took myself on an abundance adventure…
Debt shifting, opportunities coming in, and how did I know it was going to be an adventure? Because I had no idea of the destination, ie how I was going to make this happen, but I had some plans to sort out my back accounts better, said yes to a financial opportunity which was my equipment, said yes to a coach, my assistance, was feeling pretty darn courageous and committed to the whole thing, found and maintained the energy to see it through, so that when opportunity knocked on the door, and as I was all ready to go with my metaphorical adventure gear on, I was able to say yes, in fact it was a BIG YES!
So just to reiterate:-
Plans – As you can see, my plans are never very detailed, but you may want yours to be.
Equipment – From ice picks to sunscreen, from emergency blanket to mobile phone, what do you need for your adventure
Assistance – Do you need any? Are you going alone? Do you want others around you? Backup
Courage – Unusual, exciting, daring doesn’t just come in your cereal box, give yourself some credit!
Energy – What have you got to sustain you? I’m not just talking about bananas and an extra shot in your coffee, I mean what is going to keep you going on your adventure, your sustenance, your support, keeping you both physically and mentally strong?
How can you make today a mini adventure?
Can you speak to someone you have never spoken to?
Take a different route to work or a different form of transport?
What is that trip, idea, place that you have been thinking about, can you do some more research?
What about in other areas? Does your worklife/your career/your business need an adventure, what small (or large) tweaks can you make there?
Try attending a meeting, group or club in your area that you’ve thought about but never quite made it to.
Eating out today? Why not try somewhere or something new…..
Walk the dog at a different place.
Try a different recipe
Arrange a catch up with a friend to do something different to the usual.
Start a bucket list….
