Get Outta That Rut!

If you’re like me, you read a story about some adventurous person taking a trip to (insert country here) in order to build homes, explore a new land or just be a tourist.  I love those stories since they are an encouragement to me to never stop striving for adventure and never stop learning.  But, if you are also like me in that you just can’t up and leave for a month-long trip to fantasy-land, how can we maintain that adventurous spirit in our every day lives?

First of all, it is important to simply be more aware.  We tend to fall into the trap of doing the same thing the same way every day.  We drink the same coffee, eat the same foods, take the same roads and shop at the same stores.  Take the next opportunity you have to tweak things up a bit and explore something new.  You don’t have to travel to a far away land to try something new.  If you slow down and become more aware of your surroundings, leaves, trees, neighbors, etc., every day experiences can be far more rewarding.  If you switch up your route to work and the store you buy your groceries from, you’ll interact with new people and be able to have a little adventure every time you leave the house.

Keep in mind the mantra of the journey, not the destination. If you can learn to appreciate all that is around you and all that you commonly take for granted, your surroundings become the adventure.  I know that sounded a little hokie, but I think you understand where I’m coming from.  If we can learn to appreciate the trees and make a point to “see” them every day, we start to see the small changes and become more aware of the rest of our surroundings.   Keep that adventurous spirit alive and make every day new.  It will keep things fresh for you and might even make your drive to work more fun!