How to Rediscover your Sense of Adventure
Scrolling through my Instagram feed on Saturday evening, I came across several inspirational quotes re-posted by people I follow stating that ‘Life is an Adventure’ and ‘Never lose your sense of Wonder’. But as I sat down with my favourite takeaway and pressed play on my latest Netflix fix, The Crown, it occurred to me that I could not remember the last time that I did something adventurous, and that thought concerned me.
It’s a known fact that humans are creatures of habit. We are happy to conform to a routine and changing it can feel incredibly stressful, but being tightly bound by our own behaviour can be equally as unhealthy.
So, how do you rediscover your sense of adventure?
Get out of your comfort zone
The idea of getting in to a routine is something that is encouraged with children as it helps to promote healthy growth and stability, but becoming too reliant on routine can be detrimental as adults. In fact, we can become so committed to our ‘habits’ that it can often cloud our own judgement. It’s something I can certainly see in my own behaviour. Thinking back to my Saturday night takeaway — is my ‘favourite’ dish really the one I like the best on the menu? Being completely honest with myself, I can’t remember a time I ordered anything different. I’m not even certain that I have tried any other dishes on the menu.
Whilst this might not seem like a particularly concerning revelation, it has actually been scientifically proven that stepping out of what your comfort zone increases productivity and creativity. An article on this subject in the New York Times refers to our comfort zone as the ‘anxiety-neutral position’, suggesting that we are likely to find anything outside of this zone stressful. Clearly, forcing yourself in to a situation that you find terrifying will not be particularly healthy, but taking baby small steps further away from this ‘anxiety-neutral position’ will have the power to stimulate your curiosity, without causing you too much unease.
Never stop trying new things
Like anything, rediscovering your sense of adventure is a process. It’s not enough to take one step and assume that that’s enough. One way that we can all ensure we are doing this is to try new things as often as possible. Of course, that doesn’t mean spending a small fortune to travel around the world, seeking out cheap thrills. You can rediscover your sense of adventure much closer to home, as long as you are doing something new to you. It could be something as small as learning a new cooking technique using an unfamiliar ingredient, or splashing out on one of those aluminium road bikes you have admired for years and testing your local cycle routes. The important thing to remember is that you get to define what adventurous means to you, and that you should never stop pushing the boundaries.
Don’t let fear hold you back
Of course, you will sometimes find limits in what you can comfortably handle. But often the reason we hold ourselves back is not because of deep rooted anxieties, but rather a fear of ‘getting it wrong’. As children, we are persistent and will try and try at something until we achieve what we set out to do. In adulthood, we put pressure on ourselves to get things right first time, or will give up at the first hurdle if we find something ‘too hard’.
There are lots of resources available on overcoming fear, the most important of which when trying to rediscover our sense of adventure is to accept that we are not perfect. We need to learn to ignore our inner voice that is telling us we can’t do it, as well as not paying attention to other people’s perceived judgements.
I think of all the times that I saw an inspirational quote posted on social media declaring that ‘Life is an Adventure’ and rolled my eyes, but the reality is that when we try new things and force ourselves out of our comfort zone, we can unlock new layers of creativity, discover new passions, and ultimately feel more alive.
