Why you’re ready — even if you don’t think you are

Help your family become life explorers not life tourists

I like to know

I like to know what I’m doing, how, when, where, what the outcome will be. I like to prepare, to mitigate risk, get things ‘right’, research…I like to know.

And technology helps me with this. I can research, read reviews, learn…lots and lots of information, more information…I can prepare within an inch of my flipping life. It’s all about getting it right. Right?

For me, life has been about 3 steps:

1) Get ready

2) Aim…aim a bit more…aim…review…research…aim….

3) Fire…if I can get past the aim bit

Then, after all that effort it had better be bloody worth it, good enough and perfect.

When it comes to pursuing your dreams, changing things up and stepping outside the known and established, this approach can be slightly problematic. I found out the hard way, trust me.

There’s no trip advisor or review site in the world that can help you plan for this one. And when you add your family in the mix and your kid’s future is involved…whoa. We don’t need to know, we want solid guarantees.

So, how can we move beyond this? How can we feel ready and FIRE?

We can see things from a different perspective.

Maybe it’s because the sun is out but it got me thinking about holidays and different types of travel experiences and how they can mirror life.

Are you a tourist or an explorer?

Most of us know what it’s like to be a tourist. I’m not talking about your backpacking trip to Borneo when you were 21, I’m talking a proper tourist. Think package holidays, tours, airport coaches, itineraries, nice hotels, tourist maps, guides. There’s a framework to the whole thing, you know what you’re getting, what you’re doing and there’s someone called a rep for when you need to find Imodium or book an excursion.

Great. It’s a formula, it’s straight forward.

The thing is, while it can seem easier and less risky, you’re using someone else’s roadmap. You’re on someone else’s bus. There’s nothing wrong with that. It can be money saving, time-saving, efficient…you know what you’re doing and what you’re getting.

But…and here’s the clanger…you have to put up with shit!

Like the packed airport transfer taking 3 hours because there are 30 stops before yours.

Like the Machiavellian sunbed ‘rules’ that means getting up at 5 am to bag a bed.

Like being in the soulless purpose built tourist area rather than the old town.

And then there’s the coach tour…4 hours on the coach, multiple stops at hard sell carpet factories, some seriously dubious food stops and a nasty flare-up of irritable bowel (triggered by coach incarceration)…let’s face it, it’s not all plain sailing. The known, the easy, the safe option can come at a cost.

And when it comes to creating a truly fulfilling life, it’s no different.

Playing it safe

Wanting to avoid mistakes, knockbacks, disappointment and discomfort is a perfectly understandable thing, but unfortunately, it can become a bit of a habit. The more we need to know, to plan, to avoid risk and ensure a result, the more we tend to play it safe. Our world becomes smaller and smaller. Sticking to the known and established may feel more comfortable but it may not feel rewarding or make your heart truly sing. It may not feel like you.

And whatever you do you, however much you plan, you never really know what’s going to happen or what you’re going to find when you reach your resort.

When I look back, our less organised, independent ‘holidays’ meant creating our own itinerary, following our hearts and rolling with the punches. We became explorers rather than tourists.

Don’t get me wrong, there were ups and downs and some right old shockers (decapitated snake incident outside a state penitentiary in South Carolina is one of them) but when I look back they’ve also been the very best experiences. I’ve grown as a person, I’ve expanded rather than contracted, my world got a whole lot bigger and I felt braver, bolder. My wings unfurled.

Now I’m not saying being a tourist is bad. Not at all. We all need a holiday now and again. But in terms of living life, following the known, the established path, the safe option all the time can keep you small and keep you limited.

And when it comes to helping our family become unlimited, learning to leap before you’re ready, adapting, problem-solving and trusting you’ll land are key skills.

So, (inspired by Michael Masterson) I’ve changed my steps to:

1) You’re Ready — you’ve been ready for a long time

2) Fire — just fire!!!!

3) Aim — as you learn, connect, adapt, thrive

This is about crushing fear by getting into action. It’s about going for it and developing the plan as you go — and by doing this we’re helping our kids. We help them learn how to leap, to go with the flow, adapt and problem solve so they thrive in an uncertain, unpredictable world.

I’ll leave you with this:

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” — Andre Gide

If this resonates with you click the 👏 and you’ll help others find it. If you’re shouting HELL YES then why not join The Unlimited Club mailing list. I’ll only ever send you an email when I have something to share.