Adventure

I laughed as I wrote the headline for this post. Audibly laughed. Because you’d be hard pressed to find someone who would associate me with “adventure.” When I think of adventure I think of Bear Grylls, Amelia Earhart*, Ann Bancroft, and James Cook. I don’t think of… me. Going to my “goals” job at the highest floor of the historically tallest tower in the city. 

But that’s where I’m wrong. 

I’m not sure how to properly describe Dr. Joe Dispenza. Luminary, philosophizer, sage, quack. I happen to love his books. But regardless of where you fall on the Dispenza spectrum, I heard a clip from him the other day that struck me. The distillation was this: Approach each day like a new adventure. 

We all hear the alarm every morning. Maybe your alarm is a phone alarm, a child crying, an actual rooster your neighbor bought and HATE them for it. Whatever it is, something alerts you to the day, and you begin processing. What you need to do, where you’ll go, what needs to be executed during the day. 

But hear me out… what if you didn't? 

What if you woke up and felt the same way you did as a kid when you were going to Disneyland, or on a field trip, or whatever made you feel alive as a kid.

What if you — an adult with a job — woke up thinking, “I can’t WAIT to explore the adventure of today! I don’t know what will happen, but it’ll be great!” 

It sounds… exhausting. But it also sounds… exciting! 

I don’t know about you, but I want to wake up and be EXCITED! Excited about what? Nothing! Everything! Who knows! I don’t. You don’t. As much as we think we know what will happen that day, we don’t! 

So, the day after I heard this clip from Dr. Joe, I tried it out. I heard the alarm. My brain fell into a pattern until I stopped it: Wait! This is the day where I don’t know what will happen! It’s an adventure! Unexpected things will happen! 

You know what happened? Nothing. I sat at my desk for two hours before another teammate showed up. But right around every corner I mused… maybe magic will happen. And again… it didn’t. 

Maybe this sounds depressing but I promise, I had the coolest day at the office. Every email was an invitation to adventure. Even if the adventure didn’t pan out. I had such a good day that the next morning I did the same thing. And the next. 

I thought I’d get disappointed after a while… but I didn’t. Because the world is filled with wonder if you EXPECT it to be. Maybe not OVERT EXCITEMENT, but the wonder never ceased. And what is life without wonder? 

So maybe you try this and you don’t find ADVENTURE. Maybe no one approaches you with a life changing proposition to sail the seven seas in search of a long lost buried treasure. But the treasure isn’t the goal (duh). It’s the journey. 

Every day you have the chance to search for adventure and treasure, even if it isn't the conventionally tangible kind. 

So this week, I will continue to strive to be curious and approach the day like an exciting adventure. I gotta tell ya, even waking up in that mindset made me feel at least 1% better.

With gratitude,

Natalie 

*After watching too many Amelia Earhart docus, I’ve settled on the theory that she crash landed on a beautiful, Instagrammable tropical island… and was eaten alive by coconut crabs.