The Four Pillars of Adventure and How to Live Them In Your Daily Life

Prior to the dark days of the pandemic, I felt like I was living a pretty bold life. I had just moved across the country to Arizona, not knowing a single soul in my hometown and making the decision in under a week from idea to execution. I wasted no time in exploring around the entire State, trekking and playing in the outdoors every weekend and during the week too, visiting obscure spots all across the diverse state. I was running everyday, one of my all-time favorite activities. And I was putting myself out there to make new friends in my new home. Life was fun and full of things to keep me moving and exploring! 

Like most people, when the pandemic hit I fell into quite the slump. I stopped going to the gym and started working out at home, we were all unable to travel for a while, and my social life became almost nonexistent. It was downright depressing. Here's a question for you: did the onset of the pandemic make you feel at all like you had been shoved down a tall mountain that you had been happily climbing? And as we began making our way out of those dark times, did it kind of make you feel like you were starting the climb from the very bottom again? That’s kind of how it made me feel.

A big part of me really missed the way things were before the shove off the mountain. After wallowing in my discomfort for a while, though, I began to recognize those lonely couple of years as an opportunity to redefine what adventure and joy meant in my daily life. (Though this isn’t the focus of this post, I did learn about the Danish idea of hygge during this process and it’ really helped me during this period). So guess what? We can experience adventure in so many ways and we don’t have to jump out of an airplane or scale a mountain to do it! 

What is adventure, exactly? If the word ‘adventure’ brings up for you initial images of Alex Honnold free soloing it up El Capitan, that’s fine. But it is a misnomer. Broadly speaking, adventure is an ‘exciting’ experience that typically comes with some risk (but not necessarily with imprudence, according to Mirriam-Webster). Can it get more subjective than that? People find excitement in different things, and what feels ‘risky’ for some may not for others. The thing is, the simple act of getting out of bed every morning is not done without risk. 

If we narrow in on the word ‘venture,’ it means to try something without knowing where it will take us. Adventure is about trying new things, being open to different experiences, and accepting that we don’t always have to have control. People often call me ‘brave,’ when I know what they want to say is ‘crazy.' They think being a woman solo traveler who often has no set plans from one place to the next is dangerous and stress-inducing. But the truth is it's no more dangerous than (and sometimes even less so) hopping on the light rail to get to downtown Phoenix. I believe in keeping myself open for whatever opportunities may present, and I’ve had some of the most beautiful experiences because of complete spontaneity. There’s a deep sense of freedom when you let go of the need to control that many of us cling to, and embrace possibility. And you don’t have to be traveling to adopt this philosophy, either.

Hiking Flat Iron and Peak 5057 during my first few months of exploring Arizona

Even if you haven’t realized it yet, you have an adventurous spirit! All you have to do now is nurture it. I’ve identified four pillars, if you will, of living life adventurously. Allow me to share!

Excitement. I think most people relate adventure to feelings of excitement. And we can get excited about a lot of things. Going to have dinner with a friend you haven’t seen in six months? Feeling the flutters as you check-in for your flight to Iceland tomorrow? Maybe you’ve just checked the clock and noticed it’s 11:55am – only five more minutes until lunch! Yeah, that’s exciting too. 

It doesn’t matter how big or how small the event or the activity if it brings you feelings of joy and anticipation. Part of what makes most things so exciting are the opportunities that become possible. And really, opportunities abound for us every day. We’re presented with them the moment we wake up. For example, I would get excited every Monday when our local organic market posted their soups for the week. The revelation of the vegetarian soup flavor would present me with an opportunity for nourishment, and even for human engagement as I revealed the flavors to my colleagues and we headed to the market for lunch, interacting with the good people there who had put so much work into making the soups. My colleagues and I would sit outside happily ingesting our carefully crafted soups, embracing the sounds of our ‘mmm’s’ and slurps as we marveled at how fresh and delicious our lunch was. Do you see how much fun can be had in something seemingly small if we just tap into our sense of excitement? And trust me, those feelings have a way of touching the many other activities we end up engaging in throughout our day.

When we view more parts of our daily lives as exciting, as opportunities for fun or growth or whatever it is we want more of, we’re able to tap into that sense of adventure. So embrace every opportunity and let even the little things excite you!

Purpose. Do you ever feel like you’re just going through the motions? Or like you’re living on auto-pilot most days? When we’re operating on auto-pilot we’re not living purposefully. We get stuck in our routines and they run our lives. Now, I do like a good routine. I have a weekday morning routine in which I run 7ish miles before coming home and strength training for an hour (and my favorite is my Sunday long-run routine). After some stretching I wash my face and get ready for work by pulling up my calendar and answering emails. Sounds pretty simple – but while I’m running I visualize what I want from today (keeping myself open to the unexpected). I ask myself; ‘what am I going to do today and what does it mean to me? Is there a specific goal I want to accomplish? Is there something I want to give attention to or show appreciation for today? What do I want to give the world today?’ 

Everything we do serves a purpose in our lives and often in the lives of those around us. But we miss it when we’re not paying attention and just going through the motions. If it’s helpful to you, set an intention when you first wake up (or perhaps after you’ve had that first cup of coffee). When you do catch yourself zoning out, which happens to me more than I’d like to admit, bring yourself back by asking why you’re doing whatever it is you’re doing in that moment. Did you zone out when chopping an onion? Ask yourself, ‘Why am I chopping this onion anyway?’ Your answer may be, ‘Because I’m going to add it to this dish that I’m cooking, which I am going to eat with my friends tonight for dinner. We’re going to sit at the table together and share the nice things that we’ve experienced today, and moments like these bring us closer.’ So much purpose in one little onion. Peel back the layers!

Cooking a lovely dinner for my ladies while visiting Montreuil, France

The bottom line is: When we feel a sense of purpose it has the effect of increasing our personal joy and presence in our lives.

Imagination. It’s not just for kids. Imagination is so important for adults, too. It promotes learning, growth, creativity. All of these things can be very useful for us in varying aspects of our lives – personally, socially, professionally. It allows us to see things in different ways, leading to new ideas and giving us feelings of success, contentment, and joy. Another thing I love about imagination is that it’s often coupled with curiosity – and that’s my middle name! Despite old fables about cats, curiosity can be a very good thing. It inspires us to look for meaning, to search for knowledge, and to learn from the world around us. 

The Earth can be one of our greatest teachers. Take a walk in a nearby forest (or desert, or beach, depending on where you live) and be curious about everything around you. Give it the opportunity to teach you something. Remaining curious about life and about the experiences of others, including Mother Nature herself, will contribute more to your own personal growth than any self-help book. And it will spark imagination from so many facets of your being! (Check out this fun piece about the importance of imagination.)

Courage. We know that adventure involves taking risk, and there is some level of risk in everything we do. Therefore an important pillar of adventure is courage. 

Courage is an innate quality that we all have, but it takes a lot of nurturing to strengthen it. Is anyone picturing Free Solo again? Maybe that’s what comes to mind when you think about courage. Or, if you’re anything like me, the idea of speaking in front of a group of people might come to mind. But remember, risk is daily and so is courage. 

In today’s world, it takes courage just to be our authentic selves. We’re constantly inundated with messages and images about who we’re supposed to be, how we’re supposed to look, what goals we need to be working toward. But what benefit is it to everyone else, to the world, and to ourselves if we’re all striving for the exact same thing? It’s okay to want different things and to embrace your wonderful uniqueness. You have so much to offer the world by just being you, AND you deserve to feel joy and fulfillment in your life, which can only happen if you embrace who you are and feel okay, no, PROUD of it. When you have the courage to be your authentic self, you can truly embrace your adventurous spirit and be the EPIC you!