We’re always hearing comments about how great it must be to be so adventurous and to be off on new adventures regularly. However, exploring new places, getting into new adventure activities and pushing the limits of what we already do is unfortunately not always as glamorous as it might seem. Here are what we’d consider to be five of the main pitfalls of being an adventurous person.
being chased down by a wolf while out on a hike
5. Staying safe…
Clearly safety is a huge problem an adventurer must face on a daily basis. Assuming, that is, that you enjoy life and everything it has to offer (such as the next big adventure). You need to weigh in on risk vs reward constantly and of course that ties into factors such as your age, physical condition, and health. Knowing where and when to draw the line is important. If one didn’t have to be safe, just imagine the possibilities! You’ll get injured at some point along the way, so do what you can to minimize the hazards!
Canyoning requires extensive training, gear and experience!
4. Costs…
There are always ways to be on an adventure “close to home”, but you can be guaranteed that even close to home you’re going to experience costs associated with being an adventurer. You can minimize, and cut costs in a variety of ways, but the deeper you venture into the world of being an adventurer, the greater the costs involved. Be sure to start saving where you can, put aside money in your rainy day adventure fund and plan a bit for your future too! Unless you have a bottomless bank account do some research on ways to start saving and travel (adventure) hacking. One good thing about gear (see the next point), is that if you buy quality gear, you generally don’t have to replace it – or at least not sooner than later anyway.
3. Gear and training…
This, of course, ties into both costs and safety. After all, proper protective gear is necessary for each adventure and the training in its use is also required, which adds to the costs of being and adventurous person. Get yourself wrapped up into a few different activities and now you’ve got a garage full of gear – possibly without a garage to keep it all in. Don’t forget about the headaches involved in picking and choosing what gear to even bring with you while on different outings.
old school overlanding in the Canadian Rockies – sled dog style
2. You get bored with routine…
The routine of getting up at 6 am for “the day job”, followed by force feeding oneself breakfast and lunch has lost its appeal to me. You’ll quickly discover that there are many more enjoyable activities to be had in life and that the “regular” routine is barely, if at all, tolerable. I can’t imagine some people venture off to the same job every day for forty years, some not even taking a two-week vacation each year. It’s quite unfortunate that my high school guidance counselors didn’t even talk about the possibility of being a “professional adventurer” back when I had my sessions to evaluate my potential career choices with them.
Just missed a tornado on this storm chase!
1. Wondering what is next…
I pace the floors at home and stop to look out the window like a caged animal does every few minutes. I need something to do. Something different that what I’m doing now. I constantly collect interesting articles and photos on what I enjoy doing or what looks like I might enjoy getting into next. I plot interesting locations in a map in hopes of one day visiting all these places and living out a multitude of adventurous activities in each place. It is a frustrating – although necessary – part of being adventurous – but then you end up in this vicious circle of adventure problems – back to evaluating risk, costs, gear, etc.
Reach out and start living a life of adventure!
Welcome to the pitfalls of being an adventurer. But that being said, they really are meager problems to have when it comes to living a life of adventure, and if you were to really consider any of these problems ‘off putting’, just start small. One adventure a month and make it a mini “safe” adventure close to home – watch for an upcoming article with ideas if you’re struggling to get something figured out. After all, pushing yourself beyond your normal comfort zone is important to living life instead of just existing through life.
Very accurate points…i struggle with the routine daily but try to find mini adventures daily