Why you should go on adventures
Going on adventures is the key to a happy life
Theres a big difference between having an adventure, and going on an adventure holiday. The former involves the unknown, challenge, exposure and risk whereas the latter seems to be the kind of thing your auntie Pat does to get a taste of something different and prove she’s still got it.
In my opinion, it’s important for your development into the awesome future-you that you understand the difference between ‘having’ an adventure and trying to buy one. Having adventures is like throwing a good party- You can’t buy the fun in a package, you need to just make sure all the ingredients are there for the night to evolve. That’s what adventures are about.
Sadly, we live our lives these days in a bubble of convenience. Literally everything that we engage with is specifically designed to deliver maximum value and maximum convenience (unless you use the central line), and so we now live quicker and easier than ever. Trouble with this is, and why I feel so many people lose touch with themselves, is that all emotions and states of wellness we can experience as humans are relative. This means that in order to feel great, or be in a positive state, we must by definition experience some bad feeling or some bad state as a frame of reference. Without struggle comes no growth, no evolution, no change…and no good.
See the dilemma?
Our world is evolving to remove bad things and inconvenient things, as quickly as possible, so that we never feel hunger, never get lost, never have to walk anywhere… and as a result, we’ve become a numb society. Gradually, the extreme ends of the emotional scale are worn away, enough so that for many of us, our emotional pendulum swings flaccidly just either side of neutral. Why do you think so many people obsess over Love Island, are unfaithful in relationships, or post every single thing they do on social media. We’re hungry for a frame of reference. Something to make us feel better, and we validate or prove our happiness by imagining it into existence on instagram. It’s very clear that humans need emotional variety, but the modern world is designed to take that away, solve all our problems and in the process make us a little less happy as a result?
I fear that, in the age of commercialisation and convenience shopping, even the last humanly pleasure- Exploration and adventures have been commercialised to this same end. Everything is so neatly packaged up with a bow on top. Purchasable, organised fun bought with a few clicks and delivered in bland formats. Checking “fun” off an itinerary and knowing exactly what’s around every corner… Does that sound like an adventure to you?
This might be a strange point of view to see from the founder of an adventure company… but it’s an important message to spread, and it’s why I started this business.
Having real adventures, owning and experiencing something fully, is one of the only true ways left to feel alive, to grow and change your perspective for the better. It was also one of the first ways humans learned to live, pushing the boundaries of exploration into new lands is the subject of many a tale, and the centrepiece for fiction writers the world over. You want to be challenged, you want some risk, you want to see things for the first time with your eyes- not with your phone, you may want to be scared, lost, at risk and tired- all these things are essential components of a full and happy experience on Earth, and of the stories you’ll get to tell for years into the future.
Having an adventure, going on an expedition, entering an expedition challenge or race are great ways to get to know yourself, and own a new experience. Why? Because your aren’t buying a package, you’re buying an opportunity…
An opportunity for something to go wrong, for someone to get lost… for an awakening. Aside from being the centrepiece of almost all good stories, bad things or challenging situations are actually good things in disguise. It’s true that they build character, but ordeals also make the fondest memories, and give you perspective on your life. If you know what being truly, truly tired is, won’t you feel a whole lot better about having a tough day at work?
So do yourself a favour, get involved with your next expedition- plan some or all of it yourself, try something new, do something ridiculous. Join an expedition into dangerous territories, learn to ice kite in polar conditions. Do something that will make you feel ALIVE.
