Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Finding your adventurous self
• Part 2 of 3: Entering the world (and coming back)
• Part 3 of 3: Finding Adventure Opportunities

Do you sit in a booth all day with that panoramic view of a blinking screen and fabric-covered half-wall? Do you feel like your childhood has slipped away? Or do you just feel like something, something else? Live an adventure! You don't have to climb Mount Everest or sail solo around the world to have a satisfying and rewarding adventure (although that probably helps). Let your imagination guide you, prepare (but not too much), don't wait for the perfect moment and just do it!

To step

Part 1 of 3: Finding your adventurous self

1. Define adventure for yourself. People usually think of an adventure as something daring or dangerous; if you have to rethink this, you may need to think of it as "something pleasant, unique and a departure from your routine".
   • What counts as an adventure depends on you - your perspectives, wishes, experiences and so on. What is an adventure for one person is boring for another. Don't worry about how others define it; if it feels like an adventure to you then it's one.
2. Seek inspiration. Even if it is entirely up to you to determine your own adventures, studying the adventurous lives of others can help clarify your own goals, desires, and boundaries.
   • Read famous true adventure books and stories. Study them not only because of the activities described but also because of the transforming experiences of the author / adventurer.
   • Talk to friends and family. You will not only get ideas and inspiration but also a better appreciation for someone you thought you already knew well. Who knows, your boring great-uncle Stan may have had some fascinating adventures in his youth.
   • You will find that what others call an adventure also differs. Is it base jumping? Visiting a foreign country with a pocket dictionary, no itinerary and no planned return flight? Going to an open mic night and try some stand-up? Camping in a national park? Quit your job? Don't be ashamed to "borrow" one of their adventurous ideas if you like.
3. Fantasize. What do you dream about? What activities do you do when you fantasize about doing what you want? Brainstorm a bit about adventure and don't let your ideas on this point be limited by practical objections or feasibility.
   • Ignore the voice with "be realistic" in your head. That's partly what keeps you from having adventures.
   • Create a "to try" list. If you want, you can put them in order from most feasible to most challenging. Check them off if you try them.
4. Know why you are saying "no" or "not now." If you feel like you have become "boring" over the years, you may be craving the comfort of predictability in your hectic life. Mix that with the common fear of failure and you have a recipe for a non-adventurous life.
   • Do you postpone or don't follow your adventurous dreams for fear of a disaster scenario? Face the challenge and write a "Disaster Scenario List" for each adventure. Once you have written them out, you rationally consider how far-fetched they are. Compare them to your risk of getting into a traffic accident on the way to work or getting cancer, if you have to.
5. Don't be afraid of your fear. Courage is the control of fear, not the elimination of it. Fear is part of what makes an adventure an adventure.
   • Control your fear of not only experiencing an adventure, but also failing in it. You know the saying that the journey is more important than the destination? Well, the challenge of learning to surf is more important, and more personally satisfying, than whether you can stay on your board and ride a big wave.

Part 2 of 3: Entering the world (and coming back)

1. Plan for the unplanned. Don't wait for the perfect time to have an adventure, because the perfect time never comes. That's just an excuse people make for not going.
   • Do less planning than you like. Pack your suitcase as normal, then force yourself to repack in a suitcase half the size. Drive without having a destination in mind and without GPS. Go skydiving without updating your will.
   • Clear your expectations. Don't assume you know what will happen if you take a trapeze lesson or go abroad as a disaster relief volunteer. You will be surprised no matter how much you think you know what to expect. Embrace this uncertainty.
2. Say yes'. If you are offered an opportunity, take it. The next time someone asks you to do something that you would immediately turn down, accept the offer. Get into that NASCAR racing track driving experience. Sign up for the next musical from your local theater.
   • Don't be absurd, though. If someone asks you to help rob a bank or change partners for a month, that might be a bit too much of an adventure. Set boundaries based on physical limitations or essential responsibilities you have, but go a little further than you normally would.
3. Find support networks. No one ever said that an adventure should be a lonely affair. Backpack through South America or go white water rafting with a friend.
   • Join an adventure club. You will receive ideas and support for your adventures, as well as some benefit from peer pressure to get out and do things.
   • When you are on adventures, you still look for ways to keep in touch with loved ones. Just because past adventurers "disappeared" for extended periods of time doesn't mean you should too. Let people experience a bit of the thrill of your adventure and, conversely, give you support to keep going.
4. Make mistakes. Focus more on control than fear of failure. Assume that you are not a good skier in the beginning. Don't be afraid to go to France because you fear those arrogant Parisians will mock your crappy French. Maybe a few do, but what's that caring? Keep on struggling and continue your adventure.
5. Choose to "swim" if you could "sink". Don't give in to the impulse of "I knew I couldn't" when things get difficult. Don't give up on your adventure because it is tough - it should be.
   • If you get booed on an open-mic comedy night, next time you go back and start with a joke about how badly the audience can scream. (No one said this was "How do you do stand-up comedy.")
6. Celebrate your adventure. No matter how successful your attempt at riding the rodeo bull was, be proud of your achievement and enthusiastic when you share your adventure with others.
   • Remember that the adventure itself is more important than the outcome.
   • Prepare for your next adventure. Don't rest on your laurels. Forge the iron while it is hot. Prepare to do the following on your list while still remembering the previous one.
   • The best way to get the most out of experiencing an adventure is to stay another adventure.

Part 3 of 3: Finding Adventure Opportunities

1. Continued adventures in your daily life. Such adventures may not be worth a book or movie, but they can be fun, easy, and a nice change.
   • Try a new cuisine - West African, Argentinian, Pakistani, something you've never heard of.
   • Redecorate a room in your home with a favorite theme or a bold color palette. A different pastel color and a Care Bears decor in your dining room on every wall? That's an adventure!
   • Go to a haunted house. If you're even more adventurous, look for one where you can stay overnight.
   • Turn off your phone and go without internet for a week. Or even just a day. See if you can do your daily activities without it.
2. Do an adventurous performance. Getting out of your comfort zone, especially if you are afraid of standing in front of a group, is one way to have an adventure.
   • Sign up for a belly dancing class. Use that thing!
   • Go to an open mic night at a comedy club and take to the stage.
   • Start a garage band and put on some gigs. Maybe that didn't work in high school when you tried it, but why not now? It also gives you a good reason to tidy up your garage.
   • Ask if you can sing a song at an event. If your voice is really too bad, ask a few friends to join in and put the best singer in front of the mic.
3. Travel the adventurous world. Close to home and on the other side of the world, countless adventures await.
   • Take a train journey of several days in another country. And don't stay in your compartment all day. Get out and experience a different culture.
   • Visit the hometown of a distant ancestor. Southern Italy? The countryside of China? A hideout in the Appalachians in West Virginia? Go experience some family history and a different world.
   • Search the internet for the best picture you can find of any place on Earth… and check it out. Print the photo and compare it to how it really is.
4. Put some action into your adventures. If trying Korean barbecue or digging up a plastic tub of junk isn't adventurous for you, take it one step further.
   • Go skydiving. Yes, one of the classics, but still fierce.
   • Go cliff diving. Another common one, but it means at least you are on a nice beach somewhere.
   • Train and register for a triathlon. If this is not within your physical capabilities, you will start smaller. If walking 5km is an adventure for you, go for it and be proud.