As a dedicated introvert, I wouldn’t necessarily call myself the most adventurous person. However, when I think about the kind of life that I’m trying to live, it does include what I could call “quiet adventures” or, put slightly differently, adventuring on my own terms.
When I think about adventure, it’s often about trying something new, pushing outside of the norm, or even challenging previous boundaries that I’ve set regarding what’s possible.
But, for me at least, that doesn’t mean jumping out of a plane, climbing a mountain, or exploring remote parts of the world (although it probably won’t surprise you to know that I love reading about people who do these things!).
I think it’s important that I can define what a way of life looks like to me, especially when I can personalize that definition in a way that feels meaningful, personalized, and realistic for my current lifestyle.
Here are some examples of what quiet adventures look like for me at this stage of my life:
- Driving to a new city and exploring new scenery along the way (one of my summer goals is to explore some Colorado towns)
- Reading a book that’s outside of the genre that I would typically read (last year I did a deeper dive into fantasy books and found a new genre that I really love)
- Cooking something new (my summer bucket list includes experimenting with air frying tofu)
- Pushing myself to a physical limit with exercise (like the half marathon I walked last year)
- Exploring somewhere new on foot (recently I walked to my local library through a bunch of neighborhoods and a trail that I’d never seen before)
- Writing in new genres (this is especially the case when I explore different kinds of fiction writing)
- Playing with a new medium of expression (my YouTube channel is a good example of this)
- Watching a movie or reading a book without knowing anything about it beforehand (I often do this when I trust a generalized recommendation without many details)
- Trusting my instincts (I often will jump into something new on instinct — a good example is buying my Peloton bike — without having much previous experience)
- Applying for jobs that I don’t feel completely qualified for (this has gotten me into some great career transitions over the last 10 years)
- Learning and/or practicing something new that’s outside of my comfort zone (the online yoga teacher training that I did is an excellent example of this — I still can’t believe that I’ve taught over 100 hours of yoga online for the credential that I earned)
- Volunteering for projects at work that I know will stretch my current skill capacity (like the recent campus-wide budget re-alignment project that I co-lead at my institution)
As you can see, I find quiet adventures in all kinds of ways. What are some of the kinds of adventures that are most satisfying to you at this stage of your life and work?