Adventures Are Not One Size Fits All

Are you utilizing your adventurous side?

Know Thyself, Heal Thyself Thursday Prompt: Unleash your adventurous side

Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.— Lovelle Drachman

What Fuels Adventure?

When you hear adventure, do you think —Adrenalin?

The feeling we anticipate from an activity is what motivates us to participate. This goes for adventures, habits, and almost anything in life.

A major factor that motivates many toward extreme adventures is the anticipated feeling of the biggest adrenalin rush of their lives. For those that don’t like that feeling…they are much less likely to participate in such activities.

If we are not feeling curious and seeking those adrenalin rushes, we don’t have to stay on the couch. There are all types of adventures. We should find adventures that we like because they provide many health benefits:

Adventure behavior is an experiential method for learning new skills, which requires the use of all senses and cognitive processes.

The positive consequences of adventure behavior are multifaceted: improving psychological and social well-being, feeling healthy, socialization, risk management, taking responsibility for oneself and others, learning and improving skills, feeling happier and relaxed, or deeply experiencing nature. -Piotr Próchniak, Pomeranian University

Defining Adventure

Would my adventures on four-wheelers, jet skis, and water skis count? How about kayaking down a slow-moving river? So slow there is no paddling needed. So relaxing that you can take a nap…until the end of the kayak bumps a log and you end up in the river. Maybe that part makes it an adventure? (If nobody saw that part…did it ever really happen? Just asking for a friend.)

My family has been know to play choose your own adventure. Everyone writes down adventure ideas for the day one is selected and we try it. These are ordinary adventures: hikes to take, bumpy off-road trails to drive and explore, maybe even bars to hop. Do these count as adventures?

According to Piotr Próchniak from Pomeranian University, adventure is a behavior:

Adventure behavior is free-time activity that occurs outdoors with inherent elements of risk, typically taking place within natural environments.

The most widely known research on risky behavior within natural environments is Marvin Zuckerman’s work on the personality trait called sensation seeking.

The sensation-seeking trait is defined as the seeking varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations and experiences, and the willingness to take physical, social, legal and financial risks for the sake of such experiences. The explanation for sensation seeking is based on a model influenced by biological, psycho-physiological, and social factors.

These factors determine specific preferences and behaviors. The sensation-seeking trait has negative and positive consequences. It is related to using drugs, alcohol, or engaging in risky sexual behavior.

The sensation-seeking trait is also related to participating in risky behaviors in close contact with natural environments.

With adventure, there can be extremes that are too extreme. The same sensation-seeking trait that leads people on extreme adventures can also lead them down a road of addiction. Like all things in life, there must be a combination of common sense and self-control to make safe and healthy choices.

There are other adventure definitions that include risk and the natural world. Webster has an interesting definition that takes a more broad approach to adventure: An exciting or remarkable experience.

The one thing that all of the definitions have in common is some level of excitement. That is where it becomes super personal. What is exciting to me…may very well much less exciting for others.

Adventure is not outside man; it is within. ― George Eliot

Motorcycling the Cliffs of Hawaii

One year my husband and I planned a trip to Hawaii. As an experience gift for him, I signed us up to get our motorcycle licenses so we could rent motorcycles in Hawaii. I even created a visual to present the idea to him.

Then, I was on the phone with my mom and I was explaining the feeling that was motivating me to make this adventure happen. I described the wind in my hair. Whipping around corners high up on the cliffs, looking down at the ocean.

WAIT…A…MINUTE…at that second, I realized that did not sound awesome. It sounded like we may be one second away from flying off the cliff and tumbling all the way down to the ocean below. These cliffs in Hawaii might not be the best place for our first motorcycling adventure.

I rushed home to tell my husband my new perspective. He felt the same way. He just didn’t have the heart to tell me because I seemed so excited about it. He was glad to have an easy way out of that one! We made other plans. That was not the right adventure for us. Too much risk.

Adventure behavior risks can be a cause of extreme discomfort leading to injury, illness, or even death. Therefore, adventure behavior requires great endurance, perseverance, overcoming one’s concerns, or confronting one’s fear. Practitioners of adventure behavior must be highly skilled and fit.

Csikszentmihaly’s theory of flow highlights the synergy between personal skills and the challenges presented to the individual by natural environments. An insufficient skill set or an overly demanding challenge means that the adventure activity in question will not be undertaken. -Piotr Próchniak, Pomeranian University

I am into nature adventures. Exciting explorations. Following my curiosities. Experiencing awe. Traveling is my ultimate adventure.

I am not big on the adrenaline rush type of adventures — I prefer to skip the ones where I feel I could end up seriously injured. I know the risk is relative to the risk-taker. I am a snorkeler, not a scuba diver.

Sometimes YOLO (You Only Live Once) is not the smartest advice. Especially if skill levels don’t match the risk levels. On the other hand, if an adventure opportunity is just a step outside of your comfort zone, it could be a great feeling of accomplishment to face fears and overcome challenges.

It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves. ― Sir Edmund Hillary

Life is an Adventure

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

Taking a new direction in life is an adventure. Aligning your authentic self with your goals and your actions and trying new things. Adventure.

I am currently starting new projects and reaching out to people for support and collaboration. Networking. I am taking the first steps before the last steps and the whole outcome is clear. I am not sure it is going to be perfect.

I am operating outside of my comfort zone. This is something new for me — an adventure. I believe there is more risk in not taking these steps even if they will feel uncomfortable at first. It actually feels exciting.

Instead of trying to make your life perfect, give yourself the freedom to make it an adventure. ― Drew Houston

It Is Never Too Late

It is never too late to be who you might have been. — George Eliot

Those are powerful words. Even more so coming from George Eliot. In order to find success as a writer in the Victorian era, Mary Evans used George Eliot as her pen name.

She was thirty-seven years old when she started her writing career. She was a leading writer of her time. She authored seven novels.

This is an instance when we can say to ourselves:

Wow, if she could pull that off…what adventure is too grand for us?

Final Thoughts

If you are on a life adventure or an extreme adventure —get going and keep going!

The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams. ― Oprah Winfrey

Thanks for reading! I wish you happiness in every adventure! Thanks, 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘊. for the prompt: Thursday- Unleash your adventurous side