How often do you think of your work as an adventure? I associate the word adventure with embracing what is hard, or even unknown, to experience an amazing place. This includes taking risks. Like most, you do things every day that you don’t want to. You take risks (or avoid them). But let’s be real. Do you dread these moments? What would happen if you viewed every difficult client call, frustrating meeting, and every chance to take a risk, as moments to lean into?
What would it look like to reach the point of embracing and experiencing frustrations as adventures? Could you imagine looking forward to that next uncomfortable conversation with your boss, employee, or teammate? Not just looking forward to it but using it to create an opportunity to choose to do what is hard, uncomfortable, and full of the unknown?
Every time you do something you don’t enjoy, something happens in your brain. I would argue that something very different happens when you choose to embrace these moments rather than just endure them. Do you want to continue to grow as a successful, accomplished leader? If yes, you will need the willingness to do hard things and venture out into unknown territory.
Again, these are not just hard things. These are adventurous things. If you were training for a marathon, you would run every day, eat healthy, and prepare yourself for the big race. To be an innovative leader who will go where others will not, you need to train and practice doing things you don’t want to do, even when you are not the one accountable. When you prepare, train, and practice, your brain is less likely to panic.
If you consistently choose to embrace hard things, you will prove to yourself that you always make it through. What is one thing that you could voluntarily choose to do today or this week (that is not fun and/or uncomfortable) to help train your brain to expect hard and uncertain circumstances? Uncomfortable but adventurous choices train you to remain calm, confident, and resilient when you are faced with unexpected challenges and/or circumstances. By embracing hard things and viewing them as adventures that edge you closer to your dreams and goals, you remove their power to cause you fear and anxiety. This helps you see your work and life as an adventure—a journey that helps you become a more resilient, confident individual and leader.
Perspective changes everything—Live Your Adventure Now.
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Jonathan Moody is Founder & CEO of AdventureAngle. AdventureAngle brings the best from coaching, strategy and personal and team development, combined with the benefits of adventure-based challenges and experiences outside of daily life.