I’ve wanted to do a more in-depth reflection on my 30-day adventure challenge ever since I first began. I learned so many things about myself and had to quickly jot them down along the way so I could remember them.
For anyone that has done a long challenge (while still working full-time and organizing youth camps at the same time), or even long-term travelers, you’ll understand that there isn’t always time for reflection while in the midst of everything.
Now that my 30-day adventure challenge is over, I’ve had time to process everything. Well, as much as I possibly could.
30-Day Adventure Challenge Pros
Thankfully the list of pros faaaaarrrrr outweighs the cons for my 30-day adventure challenge. Because, well, let’s be honest, if the cons list is the dominant for any experience…you might reconsider your life choices.
I got to mark a lot of things off of my bucket list. I love making bucket lists, but they never stay stagnant. I am always adding to them, updating them, and I like to say the list is alive. The hard part is I usually add more items to the lists than mark off. And usually when I add things that are relatively “easy” to mark off, I wind up putting them off because…well…they’re “easy.” Thankfully I got to mark off a bunch of things this month for my 30-day adventure challenge.
There was always something to look forward to. Sometimes we get stuck in a routine and the thrill of having something to look forward to and plan is lost. Knowing that I had a fun adventure planned after work made the day so much more bearable. Working in a customer service-related field wears on your heart, mind, soul, and patience, but having something to look forward to helped me keep my chin up when things got crazy.
I found new “favorites.” I think one of the reasons that people don’t like to try new things is because they fear that they won’t like it, will waste money, or just be uncomfortable. I love trying new things because I am always on the lookout for a new favorite – a new favorite restaurant, city, activity, or hobby. This 30-day adventure challenge yielded some new favorites: lookout points, hobbies, and restaurants.
Having daily adventures whet my appetite for more. Adventuring was something that was lost for most of us in 2020, or at least became more difficult. And since surviving and making it through the day was more of a priority for me, I lost the feeling of what it was like to have adventures. I got stuck. But not anymore. And it helped me remember what it was like to feel the thrill of trying something new again.
I feel like I got my adventure mojo back. In all honesty, the first few adventures were really rusty for me. It took me a few days before I was able to get into a groove again. Think with an adventurous mindset. Convince myself that waking up early in the morning was worth it. To think outside of the norm for adventures.
Creating daily vlogs for my 30-day adventure challenge captured memories that I might have forgotten. Again, I was not sold on the idea of daily vlogging. With a full-time job and other responsibilities, I had precious little time to begin with, so adding another thing to the pile was pushing it. But I was SO GLAD I pushed myself. I was able to record memories that would have been forgotten: the little things; the thoughts I had and fleeting comments I made.
Talking to the camera every day helped me remember what it was like to talk again. I’m sure most of the world feels like this, but there was a time when all of my interaction was through a screen – texting, emailing, and FaceTime/zooming. It was hard to talk about anything other than what was going on in the world, work, and how everyone was coping. Talking to the camera every day helped me dig a little deeper into a variety of emotions and help me rediscover my love for telling stories and sharing adventures.
I realize how much better I work when under a time restriction. I’m one of those weirdos. I’ll admit it. And it’s something that I’ve known for years. Decades, even. I remember being given writing assignments in college, with plenty of time to spare. I’d do the research, find my sources, and chunk out an outline…and then wait until the last possible minute to write my paper. And I always received better grades on these, over the ones that I took the full 2 weeks (or however long) to write. I just work better with a time restriction. Under pressure. Whatever you want to call it. And for my 30-day adventure challenge just cemented that trait in me.
Finally, I was able to prove that you don’t have to go far to have an adventure – the tagline for my brand. That’s right – I stayed within close proximity to my house and managed to fill a month full of adventures. Truly – adventure is never far away. Sure, going to foreign lands is exciting. But if you’re looking for a life full of adventures, your wallet can relax.
30-Day Adventure Challenge Cons
Whether or not we like to admit it, we love reading about the struggles of others. Maybe because it humanizes others? Or makes us feel better about our decisions? Whatever the case may be, I’m super grateful that my cons list for my 30-day adventure challenge is so short.
I spent more money than I thought. Although most of the adventures were cheap or free, some cost a bit much (cooking classes) and the gas added up. Whenever I checked out a market or store, I made sure to patronize it. Support those who were supplying me the adventure space. And restaurants started to add up. I didn’t realize how expensive lobster was! I mean, I guess I always knew, but when I got a sandwich with 2 ounces of lobster and it cost more than an Uber ride to the airport? Hm.
Time was tight. My schedule for most of the month looked like this: wake up at 7, work by 8, home by 6, adventure until 8-9 (depending on what it was), edit until I didn’t care anymore, sleep, repeat. On the rare occasion that I had little footage or adventured during the day, I bought myself a few extra hours. Thank goodness there are 2 holidays in Utah during the month of July!
I had no downtime. After years of packing my schedule tighter than pants after Thanksgiving dinner, I have come to appreciate downtime. The time that can be used to get my life in order. Time to meal-plan. Do laundry. Clean my room. Watch a movie. I felt like I had no time to keep my life together. And now that it’s over, I value that time more than ever.
I almost burned out. It’s painfully difficult for me to admit this, but it’s true. I almost burned out. There was a time when I was in about week 3 when I considered if risking my sanity was worth it. And the last few days of July were extremely laborious. The weather hadn’t really been cooperating with me and I had to scramble a bit to find adventures that fit within my schedule and budget…and would still be something that I had been wanting to do. All of this, combined with the drama of almost losing my drone, had me weighing my options. Fortunately, I pushed through and am forever grateful that I didn’t give up.
So…I’m not a mathematician, but the numbers speak for themselves. There were SO many more pros to having a 30-day adventure challenge than cons. I had a blast and was able to check off numerous Utah-based bucket list items, without fully breaking down, having to take time off of work, and managing to document everything.
Would I do this again?
Yes…with a few changes.
July was super hot and the weather didn’t cooperate. I’d say about a week’s worth of adventures had to get sidelined. Every afternoon when I’d get off of work, the clouds would roll in and we’d have our daily summer storm. The stress of having last-minute changes was tough and, if I had to do this month-long adventure again, I’d allow myself a few days where I could rest. Regroup. Go grocery shopping without guilt.
And I’d probably choose a month where it wasn’t over 100* every day.
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