For the last 4 years, I have been developing a new language around the concepts of “Adventure Consciousness”, “Comfort Management” and “Enriching Humanity”.
This is part 1 of a three part series exploring these concepts, what they mean to me, and why they are important for leaders, entrepreneurs, visionaries, and change-makers.
1. WHAT IS ADVENTURE CONSCIOUSNESS?
Before I can answer that, I ought first to define adventure.
I consider myself to be on an adventure when the following two conditions are met:
– The environment is uncontrolled
– The outcome is uncertain
When most people hear the word ‘adventure’, images of wingsuited daredevils inevitably come to mind. Adventure is something that happens far away from civilisation, requires enormous risk and something of a disdain for life.
But I look at almost all aspects of life as an adventure.
By the standards above, any relationship is an adventure, because we can never be sure what another person will show up with.
Running a business is an adventure.
Exploring a new city or country is an adventure.
Intimacy is an adventure.
A CHANGE (OF CONTEXT) IS AS GOOD AS A REST
You’re almost certainly familiar with the story of a young Isaac Newton being hit on the head with an apple. This event caused him to go on to develop his law of universal gravitation, but what if there is more to the story than that?
What was it that put young Newton in the state of mind for his genius to show up? Of all the apples that have fallen from all the trees, what was it about this young boy that caused him to think in a way that had never been done before?
His discovery happened, coincidentally, during a time of lockdown. It was the bubonic plague, and his school was closed, which was the reason he found himself in the orchard. After a lifetime of adventure, I posit that the ingredients for his inspiration boil down to three factors:
He was outside of his normal environment
He was in nature
He was curious
When we step out of the known and into the unknown, we open ourselves to a world of possibility previously unavailable to us.
But why is this?
STRIPPING BACK THE LAYERS
We spend our entire life applying layer after layer to ourselves.
Child. Brother. Student. Girlfriend. Graduate. Husband. Wife. Lover. Architect. Dyslexic. Champion. Failure. Employee. Business owner. Adventurer.
When we are on an adventure, in nature, in business, or in relationship, we inevitably find ourselves in uncomfortable situations.
And in those moments, all these layers come off.
We are left with our true essence. Who we really are.
In those moments, three things happen.
1. We come face to face with all our stories, limiting beliefs, and excuses
2. We discover resources we never knew we had
3. We have to make a choice between retreating to safety or passing through the discomfort.
I’ll talk more about passing through discomfort in the ‘Comfort Management’ piece, but what is relevant here is that in these moments of intense struggle, when we make the choice to go through the eye of the needle, we connect with something much bigger than ourselves.
We have a spiritual experience.
And we have a direct access point to the things that hold us back in our lives, and an opportunity to work through and overcome them.
This is the magic of adventure for me.
This is adventure consciousness.
Those of you who know me well will know that I have found healing, safety, and purpose in the time I have spent in nature.
I’ve learned a lot about flow states, peak experiences, what my blocks are and how to deal with them, who I really am.
COURAGE CAN’T SEE AROUND CORNERS, BUT IT GOES AROUND THEM ANYWAY
Adventure is a step into the unknown.
It’s doing something that you don’t know you are capable of.
It is courage.
We have somewhere between 15,000 and 60,000 thoughts every day, and science has shown that 95% of those thoughts are the same thoughts we had yesterday.
The unknown is where magic happens. Where new possibilities exist. Where the impossible becomes possible.
Going on an adventure, changing your context, experiencing new things literally causes new connections to form in your brain.
If we don’t step around the corner, challenge ourselves to be better, to learn something new, to step into the unknown, then we will always stay the same.
That’s why I’m committed to challenging myself in new ways every week, month and year. It’s the only way to become more.
Because I’m excited about who I become on the other side.
And if you want to explore Adventure Consciousness and take on your own impossible dreams, let’s talk. I’d love that.