Remember that scene from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast where Belle sings, “I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, I want it more than I can tell”? Instantly, some shout, “YES!” excited by possibilities that lie ahead, what they get to explore, the new experiences that await them. Not everyone desires or yearns for such a great adventure. Some prefer to adventure their own yard and then back into their home. We all have a well-defined radius that is comfortable for us to adventure in. For some, that radius is bigger, than for others.
Recently, my family moved halfway across the country. It is no easy feat to move a family of 5 into a new house, let alone to a new state. Having a kid in a different season of life (elementary, junior high and high school), there were some valid reservations about a big move. Questions upon questions were evaluated. Budgets were made, numbers were looked at, conversations were had. Friends prayed. Other’s questioned us. My husband and I spent many, many evenings walking around our Northern Indiana subdivision talking while our kids rode their bikes. The debates seemed endless. But the end of each conversation there sat one question: Is the risk of moving worth the potential gain of the move?
Like everyone else who makes a decision, the benefit seemed to outweigh the cost. We just need to be willing to risk….and more importantly, we need to be willing to risk failure.
In every adventure lies a guarantee that there is no guarantee of the outcome.
Some personalities are more open and willing to jump into the fun experience part of the adventure while others only see the potential cost and risk associated with the adventure. What’s critical is to be able to see both. We all need to be willing to see the big picture: The fun, the journey, the exploration of unanswered questions, the uncertainty of the outcome, the challenges and of course, the happiness.
A friend of mine is in the throes of adopting a 13-yr old girl from a different country who is getting ready to age-out of the foster home. She has scrambled around filling out papers and all that comes from an international adoption. Yet, the decision wasn’t made overnight. It came from a similar process.
The process that leads us towards deciding is just as important as the decision itself. That’s step 1 of an any true adventure: Making a decision. For some, Step 1 may take a day or a week, for others (like us) it can take years.
Step One: Making the Decision
As we grow older, we realize life is less about events and more about process.
Events occur in a single-minded fashion, while a process is a series of small steps, we diligently take to lead us somewhere….and in this case, towards a decision. Below are a few tips in beginning the process of decision making. Of course, like most things in life, this is meant as a guideline, not an all-encompassing, black and white list.
(1) The beginning usually comes from an awareness of discomfort or feeling uncomfortable with where you are at. For my husband and I, we had the uneasy tension about where we were in life. There were many factors that played into that: family, friends, career’s, kids, and although least important but still visible, our dislike of extreme cold.
(2) The more we become aware of the discomfort/tension, the larger it grows in our hearts and minds (i.e. our awareness), the more we feel pushed towards making a decision. For my friend, her discomfort went ignored until an illness (the flu) gave her insight into this pain she had been living with, yet not aware of. She would even credit the flu for making her so uncomfortable that she was either going to acknowledge the tension growing inside her or consciously ignore it. The only relief she found came from a real and honest dialogue with her husband about what was (literally) eating her up inside. Our bodies have a way of communicating to us, even when we want to ignore it.
(3) Beginning to have conversations with your closest friends, loved ones who will speak truth and wisdom into your life. This isn’t fun. It’s not meant to be. It is meant to help move you forward towards the moment where the decision is made. It is meant to be deliberate and slow. It is meant to make us breathe long and slow, so our minds can wrap around the intake of information we are receiving. It is meant for us to be able to see from a different perspective, keeping our vision open to potential hazards or challenges up the road. It is the unwise that skip this step. It is those who regret their decisions, that do not surround themselves with loving and wise people who is willing to speak into them.
(4) Evaluating risk is the next and one of the scariest steps in this process. The hardest part is that we are not sure what we are truly opening ourselves up to until the decision is made and/or we have moved into the full-on adventure. Our sight is limited, and we typically only see what is right out in front of us. Let’s take a quick moment and go a little deeper on this one.
-When I fear risk, what am I really afraid of? Is it failure? Is it becoming vulnerable or moving from what is familiar to what is unknown? The fear that people will see through me? That they will see I don’t have it all together or I am not always a happy-fun loving gal? Maybe it is something deeper. Maybe the fear of risk taps into a wound you forgot you had. Maybe it brings back a memory of when you did risk or was vulnerable and the result was horrible, scary, uncomfortable, disappointing. If there is a fear or an unwanted memory that is holding you back or keeping you stuck. Name it. It’s power over you is only as great as you allow it to be. After all, you are an adult. Too often, we forget this incredibly important piece (“I am an adult”) and collapse into the part of us that was wounded as a child or adolescent.
“Vulnerability is not weakness, and the uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure we face every day are not optional. Our only choice is a question of engagement. Our willingness to own and engage with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose; the level to which we protect ourselves from being vulnerable is a measure of our fear and disconnection.”
― Brené Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
Many would argue that Step One is the only step that matters. Others might say that it is just a step into a million more and that’s where the adventure truly lies.
Here’s the bottom line: Life is an adventure.
It is filled with moments and decisions needing to be made. You do not need to move your family across the country or adopt internationally to find adventure. It is waiting for you, where you are at, today. It takes a willingness to risk and be vulnerable. It takes an awareness of myself and what keeps me hindered or stuck. And it takes having people in our lives that will speak truth in love.
Let’s chat! Tell me what you think your adventure is? Where are you headed?
