How to Be More Adventurous This New Year

Now that the New Year has rolled in, you're probably wanting to try something new. Sure, you could go on an adventure, but why not try being more adventurous in your day-to-day life?

There are ways to go about doing this, whether you want to go on grand adventures every weekend, or just want to try something new at home.

Read on for seven of the best ways to teach yourself how to be more adventurous. 

Create a Bucket List

The first step to take on your adventuring journey is to make a bucket list.

What do you want to do? Where do you want to go? Where can you go?

The important thing to remember is that there is no wrong thing you can add to this list. It's yours for a reason. Whether you start big or small, just get it all down onto paper or into the notes app on your phone.

Categorize It

Once you've written your list, it's time to categorize it. While you don't have to come with some extravagant organization system, you should figure out what you can do now vs. what you can work towards.

Say, for example, you put going to a certain park in town, but then you also want to travel to Japan. While you can travel to that park this weekend, you'll probably need to work toward a vacation in Japan.

Start Small

Once you've separated your list, it's time to start. Starting small is often a great idea, especially if you're new to adventuring.

There's no sense in overwhelming yourself with the most ambitious thing on your list right off the bat! Unless you want to, of course. But all of this is going to depend on the person.

Starting out by accomplishing small tasks is the best way to ensure that you keep ticking things off your list for the long haul.

Try New Food

Cooking or trying a new meal is another thing you can add to your list! Trying culinary dishes from around the world is a perfect way to invite more adventure into your life without ever leaving home.

Some ingredients may have to be special ordered, but the food will be worth it in the end.

Be Spontaneous

If one day, you wake up and decide to call out of work, then you should treat yourself and do it! Taking a personal day to relax in the park or taking a drive somewhere new isn't a bad thing to try.

In fact, it could be just the thing you need if things have been feeling stagnant at work. Breaking up the mundane from time-to-time is the perfect way to be more adventurous.

Turn Normal Into New

Trying something new could be as small as trying new milk in your coffee or tea, or it can be something bigger — and even more entertaining.

Maybe you're out with friends one night. While that's nothing new, talking to only strangers is. 

Simply saying yes instead of no is a way to turn your normal routine into a new way of experiencing life.

Learn a New Skill

Whether you've been wanting to learn a new language or simply take up tarot reading, learning a new skill is the perfect way to challenge yourself.

While you're not automatically setting yourself up to fail, you are setting yourself up for a new challenge. Even getting to the gym more often is a skill to adhere your mind to.

If it sounds intimidating, chances are that it's going to be fun for you to learn. Whether it takes a long time or you find that you're a complete natural, you might surprise yourself in the end.

Even if you don't, you've given yourself the opportunity to learn from what you couldn't immediately do.

Don't Overwhelm Yourself

The biggest thing to remember about being adventurous is to not overwhelm yourself. Getting out of your comfort zone can actually trigger your fight-or-flight response, making it quite the task to simply walk out your front door.

You might feel shaky, dizzy, nauseous, and more reactive than usual. That's because your body is trying to fight the feeling you have off. You might know that you're fine, but your physical body is perceiving a threat.

Often, all it takes to calm our nervous system is a few deep breaths and a small reminder like, "I can do this." But sometimes, we can't fight off that feeling and we might want to put it off for a few more days.

If you find yourself doing this often, it's worth it to make yourself try the new thing. But if you've been ticking off the boxes on your list nonstop, your body might need a break.

It's important to listen to your body when it comes to trying new things, and remember that rest is not a waste of time. Just because you'd like to be more adventurous doesn't mean you have to do new things every single day.

Learning How to Be More Adventurous Isn't an Easy Thing

If you're used to playing things safe or simply don't get out of your comfort zone very often, learning how to be more adventurous can be a hard task.

There are certain things you can do to make it easier on yourself, like trying things with friends or finding aspects of familiarity in the new experience, but it can still feel like a lot.

We're here to make things easier on you, though. Or at least make sure you're adventuring in style.

Contact us today with any questions you may have! We're happy to help.