Yesterday I had a private session with a delightful lady who was stuck in the mud. Not literally, of course. But her whole life (her flow, her vibe) was one stalled out, stuck, endless loop of indecision and subsequent anger at herself for being in this predicament.
“I’m stuck,” she said to me.
“I know,” I replied. “How’d you get this way?’
“I was hoping you’d tell me,” she said.
We picked and pulled on threads that led her to this point. But more importantly, I like to find solutions. I like to find open doorways that lead to the next point.
Being stuck is actually a misnomer. You’re aren’t stuck; you’ve just been sitting there at a pivot point for so long that you started to think all the roads and choices you had have disappeared.
They haven’t. You’ve just gotten blinder to them.
So how do we fix that?
To begin with, I urged my client to go on some adventures. Adventures ask you to play with experiences without committing to them. They ease the burden of finding the “next perfect right move” because by definition, an adventure doesn’t require any “right moves.” It only requires a sense of curiosity and willingness to a make a choice.
Adventuring can free you from the mud and more importantly, wake up your life to movement again without that pressure to find the “right and perfect choice.”
It eliminates emotional and mental paralysis in one fell swoop.
I make it a point to go on at least two adventures each year. And here’s the clincher: these adventures CAN’T be related to my work or central interests. If they are, I’m too tempted to think of them as work-related enrichment, which has a purpose.
Instead, I’m seeking soul-enrichment, and that means going way outside my known-zone into things that I have little to no knowledge about, and frankly don’t know if I’ll even like or not.
Right now, for instance, I stumbled on this 3-day virtual training event for psychologists that somehow doesn’t require a psych degree to join. I’m thinking of quietly registering myself with this group of therapists to learn about a specific system of trauma release. It might be really fun. Or really dull. I know nothing about it other than trauma release fascinates me.
One of my adventures last year was to fly off to a spa in Lanzarote, Spain. That’s the island that’s right next to the island who’s dormant volcano suddenly exploded last year, just a few weeks after we came home. Going there was never on my bucket list. I just saw a fully refundable trip posted and told my family we were going.
“Where’s Lanzarote?” they all asked.
“By Africa,” I said.
They stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
Your adventures don’t have to be physical. Travel might be off the table for you right now. But you can adventure inwardly or virtually.
Online intensives and retreats abound. Or you can take a wellness adventure.
For instance, curious about microdosing? Mindbloom.com has caught my eye. I’m not brave enough for it yet, but I might be someday once I get Hulu’s “Nine Perfect Strangers” thoroughly cleansed from my mind, LOL.
Or maybe I’ll take a virtual course in “world-building,” which is the term sci-fi writers give to the act of creating entirely made-up worlds and civilizations that become the setting for their novels (think of Hunger Games—Katniss occupied a whole world system very unlike ours).
My point here is that adventuring might be just what you need right now. Ask yourself, “What two things can I plan for myself that will wake up my senses and curiosity? What two things can I enroll in, travel to, or otherwise experience that will bring in something potentially game-changing for me?”
Thoughts? I’d love to hear your comments below. I’m looking to plan my second adventure. Got any ideas for me?
So what’s on YOUR list? Please leave me a comment below! I’d love to hear!
Lots of love to you and wishing you a wonderful adventure
