MOTIVATION FOR THOSE WHO ONLY DREAM OF ADVENTURE
Sometimes we need a bit of reassurance and motivation to make the leap from dreaming to doing
About a decade ago I was a version of you, dreaming of adventures, not sure about the first steps, if I was even capable, totally overwhelmed by choice, second-guessing my motivation, and then I discovered the incredible usefulness of blogs. So I’m very happy you’re here, and that maybe I can help you the way others helped me. If I can give you one piece of unsolicited advice it’s this: just take the first step. That’s the hardest part. You’ll make mistakes, you’ll learn, you’ll grow. It will be epic.
Now here I am, doling out advice. And why should you listen to me? Here are some of my qualifications: I’ve lived, worked, studied, and volunteered in a bunch of countries (I don’t tend to keep track of my stats), traveled to over 40 countries at this point, done the backpacking, hiking, hitchhiking, and cycling thing, worked as a tour guide, and worked at an outdoor gear company. That feels boastful, which I’m definitely not comfortable with, but I want you to know you’re in good hands.
You don’t actually have to be super hardcore or know everything
Wrong gear, right attitude.
I’m not special. I don’t have the coordination, stamina, or look of an athlete. I have asthma, no sense of direction, bum knees, zero money, no real useful travel skills, and I definitely don’t look like any of the models in the ads for outdoor gear and adventure.
Before my first cycling trip, I had barely ridden a bike in years, and I definitely didn’t know the first thing about fixing one. The day before my first multi-day solo hike I had a three-person tent and still had no sleeping bag. You don’t have to go into it knowing everything.
Honestly, if I can do it, so can you. I’ve made mistakes so you can avoid those and make your own new ones. I’m also shouting it out that you don’t have to look like the advertisements or have spent your life training to go on an adventure.
Do it for the experience, not the comparison
We live in a time where we’re inundated with photos and stories of grand adventures everyone else seems to be in. It’s so easy to feel that your travels aren’t interesting or epic enough. That your single night of camping doesn’t matter since someone else just posted about spending 47 nights in a tent in the Siberian winter.
Stop it. Your journey is for you and no one else. I stopped keeping track of my travel stats long ago because it bothered me that everyone made it seem like travel was a competition. It’s not. We all travel differently, have different experiences, different comfort zones, different abilities. None are worse than any others. Travel is about learning and growing, pushing yourself and experiencing new things, not about doing it better than someone else.
Adventures can be any size
The Scarborough Bluffs are an hour bike ride from Toronto and offer a bunch of off-trail cliffs to scramble along.
Just as adventurers themselves can be any shape and size, so too can their adventures. Only have a weekend? Hop on a bike and spend the night sleeping under the stars before heading back the next day. Can’t fly across the world? I promise you there are adventures to be found in your own country.
We often think of adventures as these continent crossing epics that might seem way too far out of reach. Honestly, start small, catch the bug, and you’ll be bushwacking through a jungle trying to outrun a leopard in no time.
Common sense and adaptability will be your best friends
Things will go wrong. It’s inevitable. Maybe you’ll take a wrong turn somewhere, a bus will be delayed by hours, you’ll get sick, you’ll lose your motivation. It’s life, things happen. The important part is how you react to things happening.
No matter how prepared you think you are, at some point, you’ll have to react on the fly. This is where if you have any amount of common sense, and can develop the ability to adapt (I’ve never been very good with change, but travel has taught me tricks to handle it), you’ll be fine. Better than fine. You’ll have the sense of accomplishment that comes from a job well done, plus you’ll have had an unexpected adventure (see what I did there? You’re welcome).
Fear is not the enemy
I’ll let you in on a little secret: after all these years of travel, I’m still a bit scared every time I head off into the unknown. That fear tells me I’m about to do something exciting that I’ve never done before. It tells me that I’m pushing my comfort zone, that I’ll learn something new, that I’m on the right track.
Learning to understand your fear, to listen to your instincts, and to find ways to get past the fear that has been stopping you comes with practice. The first step is to know that it’s normal and you’re not alone. One of the most beautiful things about travel is the supportive community of people who have been exactly where you are now. Reach out, share your fears, accept the motivation, disregard the horror stories, and then travel anyways.
Now it’s time to have an adventure!
So that’s it. You’re now an adventurer! Welcome to the club! I hope that’s given you some reassurance and motivation to take you from dream to planning. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, all you’ve got to do is take that first step.
