5 Tips To Unlock the Secret to Living an Adventurous Life

Living an adventurous life doesn’t have to be difficult!

Adventure is everywhere.  Yet, in today’s society we tend to get wrapped up in our  daily whirlwind lives and these moments and chances for a new experience just pass us by.  

A question I’m asked all the time is how on earth do you have time to travel and go see all of these places that you share on Facebook and Instagram, especially as a working single mom?

I can probably write an entire book to answer the question of how to live an adventurous life.  But please believe me when I tell you that you don’t have to wait until you’re retired and then look back with regret at a life of boredom.

Here are 5 simple ways you can live a more adventurous life.

 

Even though my son is in college now, those busy days of being a working single mom with football practices and games and school meetings and community obligations are not that far behind me. 

In fact, I still find myself juggling the demands of a corporate career with deadlines and responsibilities of motherhood.

I’m also active in my community and I run this little ol’ blog.   So how then do I find time to go on all of these random adventures?  

Well that’s a simple answer.  

1.  I made a personal commitment to myself to make it a priority to literally stop and smell the roses as often as I can.  

 

If living an adventurous life and a having a chance to embrace the world around you is truly what you seek, then the first step is a change in mindset and the way you manage the time you  have.  

As with anything in life, if it’s important to you then you will make time for it.  Full stop.

That’s not a negotiable statement or just my opinion.  We must own this fact that we are in control of making decisions that will lead to the life we desire to live. 

2.  Take advantage of an obligatory trip you already have planned.

If you already have travel plans that were not necessarily for pleasure, but for maybe a conference, business meeting, wedding, family event or something of that nature where you weren’t traveling as a tourist per say, then plan an adventure into that trip.  

It just makes sense right? 

Showing up for the people we love is definitely important, but so many of us, especially in the US, are only allotted a small amount of PTO (paid time off).   

If you’re self employed, then it may literally cost you money to be away from work but nonetheless, being there for major milestones of the people we love is important.

If we have to use our PTO and be away from our jobs anyway, then why not also make that time away work to your benefit?

If time allows, extend your trip by a few days.  If not then at least earmark a block of time for yourself to give you a chance to explore something you find interesting or fun.

You can search for a park, beach, historical site, etc using TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Google Maps.

For example, I attended a friend’s wedding in Puerto Rico.  Everyone else wanted to use their downtime to lounge on the beach, but I was determined to get in some adventure.  I went on Trip Advisor and found a rock climbing waterfall hike in the rain forest.  

It was perfect because they picked me up from the hotel and brought me back. 

On another trip recently, I was attending a travel industry conference in Montana.  I pulled up the conference city in Google Maps and saw right away that Yellowstone was just a couple of hours away so I knew when I made my travel plans that I had to extend that trip so that I would be able to visit a national park that was so close. 

When I traveled to Washington D.C. for a work conference, I was determined to visit the NMAAHC.  I knew we would have free time and I decided to forego one of the many networking parties that week to get to the museum. 

Totally worth it and if you haven’t been you absolutely should have this on your list!

If you have kids, that time off is even more precious because school breaks are only so few and far between.  We traveled to Texas for my aunt’s birthday party and it happened to fall near my son’s spring break.

I decided to take advantage of this time and extend our trip.  After the party, we would rent a car and head south to Texas Hill Country for a glamping trip. 

We had an amazing time that met both our family obligation and my desire to create new adventurous memories with my son.

3.  Foodie Adventures are the best! Have a meal at a restaurant that is out of your norm.

This is probably the easiest way to work in a bit of adventure, whether on a business trip or just a random Tuesday night.  Choose a place to eat that’s not chain, but locally owned.  

To truly be a foodie adventure, eat a meal that will challenge your palate, whether it’s food from a different culture or a place serving unique ingredients you haven’t had before.  

You can also choose a restaurant that has some claim to fame.  Maybe it was featured on a TV show. 

My son loves looking up restaurants from Food Network’s “Man Vs. Food” and then we try one of them if we can.

On a work trip to St. Louis I actually made it a point to visit the famous Sweetie Pie’s Restaurant from the TV show on the OWN Network.  It was a bit far but certainly worth the Uber ride because I had one of the best peach cobblers I have ever had in life.

Shhhhh. Don’t tell my mama I said that.

And the best part….I was lucky enough to meet Miss Robbie, the star of the show!

Try switching it up right in the city where you live and have something out of your normal cuisine for your meal.  This is how you will discover new foods you didn’t even know you like.

And hey, even if you end up not liking what you try, what’s the harm in a little experimentation?  

 

4.  Downsize your vacation and take a staycation or a day trip instead.

Don’t misunderstand.  Elaborate vacations are great!  We all need those from time to time but most of us, especially us moms, are lucky if we get one big trip in a year, maybe two if we are really lucky.  

However, it’s important to rejuvenate yourself between the grand vacations. Mini trips or staycations are the perfect way to sneak in a little extra adventure.

 

Staycations, like the one we had at Tradewinds Resort, will let you feel far enough away from home without breaking your wallet or needing to burn through those precious vacation days.

 

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Groupon is a great way to find deals on staycation destinations!

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Another great way to maximize your time and add more adventure to your life is a quick day trip . Wherever you live, I’m certain there’s something within a reasonable driving distance that you can go see in one day on a weekend.

An often underutilized and overlooked destination that is perfect for day trips are our state parks and national parks. 

Why not check out what there is to do at a park near you?

Many state parks, national parks, and national forests offer boat rides, hiking, kayaking, and wildlife viewing.

A few of my favorite day trips in Florida are Myakka River State Park or a day on the water at Weeki Wachee State Park. 

5.  Take the scenic route or plan a detour.

When you’re out and about you take the fastest, shortest, least congested route you can find right? Or at least the route Google Maps tells you to take.

What if instead of taking the same route you navigate purely off of muscle memory, you take a route you aren’t as familiar with?

You never know what you might find.  

On my drive back from Ft. Lauderdale for that wedding I mentioned earlier, I decided on a whim that I didn’t want to just drive up I-95 looking at nothing.

I was already adding more adventure to my life because I was planning a detour to Blowing Rocks Preserve on my drive back home to Tampa, but I thought why not take a more scenic route since I’m really in no hurry.

I’ve always wanted to drive up the A1A highway along the Atlantic coastline.  What better chance to do that then now?  

I pulled off the interstate around Boynton beach and slowly but surely I navigated my way north along the coast for about 40 miles.  

The weather was gorgeous!   I let the windows down and listened to the ocean.  When I saw something particularly beautiful, I pulled over.  

 

I  happened upon John D. MacArthur Beach State Park and spent an hour wandering around before finally reaching the beautiful Blowing Rocks Preserve.

Your adventurous life is just waiting for you to activate it!

With a little creativity and planning, you can incorporate these 5 tips to live an adventurous life into your busy schedule.  

You will be greatly rewarded when you get a chance to try something you haven’t tried before or see an amazing natural wonder or best of all, when you create a magical memory with your family.  

If this busy single mom on the go can find the time to be adventurous, trust me you can be more adventurous too.

Ain’t nothing to it but to do it. Make that adventurous life happen!

 

Listen to podcast Episode 18: How To Add Adventure to your Busy Life!

 

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