“What’s your next big adventure?” Is a question I’m commonly asked. Sometimes I provide an explanation that may help to maintain the image I portray on social media. Sometimes I tell the truth. “I’m staying put,“ was my response to a friend recently. “Sorry, where’s that?” my friend replied.
When I provided more detail to my answer, my friend replied with “but that’s not what you’re supposed to say. You’re supposed to be off doing all these amazing things that the rest of us can’t do. If you are staying here getting on with life, that makes you normal too.”
Everyday choices
I believe each of us has the opportunity to achieve the extraordinary. Each day we can make a series of choices that have the potential to lift us from the ordinary to the extraordinary path. There is nothing not normal about me or the way I live, I make choices that anyone can make.
Imagine two train tracks running side by side. Sometimes they are close together and the jump required to move from one to the next is more like a hop. Sometimes they are far apart and the jump required is monumental. Sometimes the paths cross and we can get confused about which path we are on. Oftentimes we are at a crossroad and both paths ahead are shrouded in cloud and fog. We never know for sure which decision is right, or which path is sure to lead us where we want to go. We may not even know where it is we want to go.
Make the choice. Choose your path. Live the life less ordinary.
Living true to values
What I’ve learnt is that knowing where I’m moving is not important. I shrink into myself when someone says “what’s your big picture? Where do you see yourself in five years time?” I literally want to disappear and my mind starts racing, thinking, “quick, quick, think of something good that is worthy of this bold question…” If someone thinks enough of me to want to know where I see myself in five years time, I can’t let them down by telling them I don’t know. Or can I?
I learn more and more every day about who I am and what’s important to me and I do the work to keep me grounded in this. I learn about my values and the challenges and rewards of living a life that’s true to them. Maybe I don’t have my big picture or vision clear enough in my mind to able to produce at the drop of a hat like an elevator pitch. But I’m not sure I care. I know enough to be confident in my mindset and where I’m headed and I love the journey of finding out what the future looks like rather than having it all planned out.
The Foundation of Self
Underpinning every decision I make is the foundation of who I am, my values and belief system. Although this foundation is a constant work in process, it’s this that’s important for us to know and harness. It’s this foundation that guides us in maing the choices that deliver. Choices that deliver an opportunity to step up and say yes to the grand adventure of life.
Every day we make choices. To succumb or fight. To move forward or fall back. To say yes or no. To confront fear or let it control us. To hide in the shadows or run towards the light. To love or hate. To forgive or harbour negativity. To choose happiness. To pick ourselves up after failure. To find a way to smile through the darkness.
Coming out the other side
Many of these choices have been facing me loud and clear in recent months. Social media only tells half of the picture. Behind the smiles there has been the biggest turmoil of my life. The biggest questions, the hardest choices. I am coming through it and will be writing more. Perhaps the most challenging blogs I have written. Be gentle with me.
In the meantime, let’s keep making choices that move us towards who we want to become. That’s what we’re all here to find out.
