Let’s talk about unrealistic adventures for a minute. So many people consider unrealistic adventures to be a taboo topic, but I wanted to discuss why they’re so important to have.
But first, let me back up and explain how I got on this topic.
I’m not a huge reader. I enjoy reading a good book, but I often get so relaxed when I read, that I end up falling asleep. But then I go through spurts of time where I’m on fire – I can knock out a book in a week or so, but that’s not my norm. Sure, I can binge-read the entire Harry Potter series to kill the time, but very little growth occurs from those all-nighters.
I recently picked up a book that most of you will be familiar with, even if you haven’t read it yourself: The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. The premise of the book is how to design your own lifestyle, however you want, and gives practical tips and exercises that lead readers to start thinking…differently.
Although I’m only a few chapters into the book, it’s done just that – got me thinking.
One of the first activities the book introduces is to create a dreamline worksheet – where you write down the most epic dreams you’ve had and calculate out how to actually achieve them.
I’m definitely paraphrasing here, but I followed through the exercise and wrote down a few things that, if money and time were no object, I would want to have/do/achieve. Of course I included all of my unrealistic adventures on the list, as well as some that I’ve already started working towards. Then I did some research to see what the cost would be, and calculated out how much per month I’d need to turn those dreams into a reality.
What surprised me so much was how…achievable those unrealistic adventures became. Once I could quantify the actual time commitment and cost, those unrealistic adventures started to evolve into realistic possibilities.
So…why does this work? Why are unrealistic adventures important to have, plan for, or reach for?
Unrealistic adventures offer you something to work towards, rather than simply working.
We all complain about our jobs. Don’t lie to yourself, you do it too. Even if you have the best job in the world, there are moments when you wish you were doing something else. Or complain that our jobs are holding us back from living our lives.
But for all of our complaining about being held back from living our dreams, most of us have a hard time coming up with what dreams we’re being held back from. So we just keep working in a circle.
Planning unrealistic adventures can be the antidote.
“But how can I have unrealistic adventures? Aren’t they impractical and unattainable?”
No.
Simply put, unrealistic adventures tend to be categorized as such because of our limited perceptions.
We tend to look at the whole adventure as a big package deal, and really never take the time to break it down.
We choose to listen to others’ opinions, society’s standards, and our own limitations, rather than figuring out how to make those unrealistic adventures become…realistic.
We need to recalibrate the way we consider options and make decisions.
Have you ever heard the phrase: “if your dream doesn’t scare you, it isn’t big enough?”
I didn’t fully appreciate the meaning of this until recently when I started working on a big project. It scares me. It’s new. I don’t know how it’s going to end up. I started out hoping for the best, but understood that I needed to work as hard as I’ve ever worked before, and then some.
I started to break down what I needed to do, and had an epiphany.
Every big project is comprised of small, manageable tasks. When combined together, they build upon each other to create something substantial.
Unrealistic adventures work the same way. When we break down the unrealistic adventures into smaller, actionable tasks, the light at the end of the imaginative tunnel burns bright.
If we have a goal to go on a month-long adventure to another country, we might look at the whole package and think, “there’s no way I could afford this $2,000 trip.”
When in reality, we could break down the costs into monthly goals. Let’s say we give ourselves a year to save up and do some simple math.
Trip total estimate: $2,000
Months in a year: 12
$2,000/12=$166.67 per month to save
Regardless of your situation, looking at a monthly amount to save, rather than the total estimate, is a lot more palatable to digest.
And this can be applied to whatever unrealistic adventures you have in mind: learning a new language, becoming a professional dancer, chef, or artist.
When unrealistic adventures are broken down and you create an action plan, the adventures suddenly become achievable.
No longer are they a far-flung dream that “maybe someday” you’ll get to.
Need some help? Check out the Adventure is Never Far Away Academy!
Do you have any unrealistic adventures that you’ve been thinking about?
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